“Calm down? Do you have any idea what your bastard of a son just did? He made me look like a fool! He embarrassed me publicly and cast a spotlight on this entire operation! If Lineage gets audited, everything will be exposed.”
“I’ll talk to Michael,” she said. Her voice was shaking so much that she sounded like she was going to cry. “I’ll get him to change his mind and issue a public apology. The media will just think that he’s young and foolish, and they won’t question it further.”
I stood in the corner of the room as close to the door as I could. I watched as my father took huge, fast steps toward Marta and grabbed her by her neck with his thick fingers. He hit her across the face with his other hand, and the ring on his finger sliced a long gash into her cheekbone. I screamed, and two of the security guards outside the office pushed through the door. When they saw my father in his fit of rage, they just stood there as if they had been summoned to watch instead of to help. He was so angry that he was going to kill her. But instead of killing Marta, he turned his wrath on the guards. Killing them would bring less consequence than killing either of us. I knew that’s what he was thinking because I knew what an evil man he was.
He pulled a gun from his pocket, that I didn’t even know he had, and shot both of the guards squarely between the eyes before they even had their holsters opened. As soon as the two men fell down against the floor, he let go of Marta, and she dropped to her knees. Then he stared at me as I backed up into the corner as far as I could go. He held my eyes for a minute and then walked out the door, leaving Marta and I and two dead bodies behind in his wake.
I hated Marta with a passion, but she and I both seemed to be on the receiving end of things this time. So, I walked over to help her up.
“Get away from me!” she screamed.
Never doing that again, you stupid bitch. “I was just trying to help. Your cheek is going to need stitches.”
“I don’t need any help from you,” she hissed.
She got to her feet and stared at me as blood gushed from her cheek and onto her dress. “I wish I could have gotten you killed when I had the chance.”
After Marta left the room, I found myself standing between widening puddles of blood on the floor that was spilling out of the guards. Had I been in this situation prior to all of this, I probably would have run screaming from the room, but since I was already used to being in rooms of dead bodies now, I simply stepped over them and left.
I could tell that my father’s temper had not yet cooled since there was evidence of more carnage scattered around the campus. Locks or no locks, I figured that the safest place for me to go until he had cooled-off was the apartment. I had made it to the door when Adam showed up.
I was so happy to see him that I threw myself at him and then tried to pull him into the apartment with me. When he wouldn’t come, I looked up.
“I have to get you out of here,” he said. “Jack is too dangerous. You’re not safe to stay here through the night.”
“He’s not going to kill me,” I said. “Not yet, at least. He still needs me to make everything look good for him.”
Adam shook his head. “No, be sure that he will kill you, Lisette. That’s why I came back to get you.”
“Where did you go?” I asked. “Why did you leave me here alone? You promised me that you wouldn’t do that.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I had to. I had to go take care of some things so that I could come back to get you.”
“What things?”
“I’ll tell you once we get out of here.” Adam grabbed my hand and tried to pull me along with him.
“No,” I said as I yanked my weight back from being pulled. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on with you. What did that guard mean the other night? What aren’t you telling me? Because I’ve been as patient with you and your nonsensical side-stepping of my questions, but enough is enough. Even I have patience that runs out eventually.”
“Lisette, please, not here. I’ll tell you everything once we get to Goldshire, I promise.”
“We’re going to Goldshire?” I asked. I was stunned to think that was even a possibility.
“Yes, the guys are waiting at the campus line for us.”
Adam let go of my hand and held my face against his. “You can trust me, Lisette. I’m the same man that you think I am. I’m going to get you out of here now, and then we can talk, and I will explain everything, okay?”
He leaned forward and gave me one small, sensual kiss before he took up my hand again, and we both ran toward the edge of campus.
Michael had already made several significant changes to Goldshire. One of the first changes that I noticed was the fortification of the school’s underground library. I hadn’t even known there was an underground library. Apparently, it had been used when the school was first built and then abandoned as the building was modernized. Michael had immediately secured it as a sort of bunker that he posted guards at the entrance to. Except for the guards, Julian, and himself, no one even remembered that the place existed.
As soon as Adam and I had reached the campus line, Michael and Julian were there to usher us toward their new secret hiding place. Julian wrapped his arm around me as we hurried toward the auditorium, which stood on the ground above the entrance to the old library.
“I missed you so much,” he whispered into my ear as we ran. “I was so worried about you.”
“Me too,” I said back.
When we got there, the staircase that led down to the underground library was dark and narrow, and it reminded me more of a dungeon than a haven for books. But once we were fully inside, it was actually quite a cozy place. Most of the books had been removed, but there were still a few old, decrepit volumes that sat haphazardly on the crumbling bookshelves. Michael had some furniture and lights brought down and had even made sure there was food and drink. I imagined that it was probably possible to stay hidden here for a few days, if necessary, without needing to go up to the surface. I had expected that the four of us would all stay together now and talk about what was going on. Michael and Julian both gave each other a look and then acted as if they were going to head back up the stairs. Adam was over at the corner of the room, leaning his body against the side of the wall as he ran his hand through his hair and sighed. He looked stressed.
“Hey, where are you guys going?” I asked.
Michael walked over to me and hugged me so close to him that I could feel each curve of his body against my own. He kissed me on the forehead and smiled.
“We’ll be right above you, and I’ll be back down soon. There are a few things we need to take care of, and, uh, I think you and Adam should talk.”
I looked over at Julian, and he gave me a sympathetic nod.
Okay, what was this all about?
After the other guys left, I walked over to Adam and stood in front of him. I wasn’t going to move this time until he told me what was going on.
“No more secrets between us,” I said as I put my hand on his chest. I loved the way his pecs felt beneath my fingers. I couldn’t help but trace them over his body, even now, when I knew there was something important to discuss.
“No more secrets,” he agreed. “I never meant to keep any secrets from you, to begin with. It’s just that I didn’t want you to know the kind of man I used to be. I wanted to be the kind of man that you thought I was the kind of man that I am now.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
