34. Domenic
Chapter 34
Domenic
The boom is distant but distinct. The floor beneath my feet rumbles as if an earthquake hit, and books fall off shelves. A glass rolls from the table and smashes.
Something just fucking exploded.
I stare in shock at my father, but he’s already moving.
He opens the safe and at the same time uses his other hand to place a call on his cell. “Lock it down. Everything. Students to the safe meeting point. Guards at every fucking entrance. Find out what the fuck is going on in my college.” His words are snarled.
He’s angry, but if I’m not mistaken, a little scared. That fact makes my stomach bottom out in dread.
Shit, I need to get out of here and find Mackenzie and my friends. This could be an all-out attack. What if it’s the Bratva, vengeance for what we did in that cabin?
Would Kirill’s father still have enough committed men to want to avenge his death? I’d have thought by now that his territory in Russia would be a mess as the remaining factions fought for superiority and to take over. Surely, they wouldn’t have the resources or focus to not only figure out who was responsible for his death, but also take revenge. It’s too much, too soon.
I pull my shoes on, fastening them hastily.
My phone buzzes, and I pick up immediately. Nataniele is pulling weapons from the safe and tossing them onto the bed. It looks like an arms convention in the room now.
“It’s Paxton,” Kirill growls down the line. “I’m with Tino now, but he’s injured. Paxton has Mackenzie in the converted stables, across from the kitchen. I think he’s heading for the staff parking lot.”
“I’m on my way.” I hang up and turn to face my father. “Dad, it’s Paxton Kassell.”
My father’s face sets into a grim line of rage. “That motherfucker.” He stuffs a handgun into the back of his jeans and pulls an automatic over his shoulder by the holster.
“He’s got Mackenzie,” I inform him.
Worry flickers across his face. “What about Lucia?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know. I’ve got to go.”
“I’m coming.” He takes a knife and sheathes it in the holster he’d strapped to his side moments earlier. He gestures at the weaponry laid out on the bed. “Take your pick, son.”
I do. I select a pistol and a deadly looking knife.
We exit the door together and hit the hallway. I hide the weapons, not wanting Paxton to know I’m armed. I’ve already decided I’m happy to risk my life if it means saving Mackenzie.
I fucking owe her that much after what we put her through. What I put her through. If I’m being honest, Tino and Kirill softened up to her way before I did. Shame coats my mouth in its bitter taste. I swallow it down because now is not the time for self-indulgence.
Now is the time for me to do what is necessary to save her.
It’s crazy to me that we live in a college where my father, the fucking dean , is walking down the corridors openly armed.
The shouts of the security team, telling people to go to meeting point A, fill my ears. We all know where that is. The main gymnasium. We rehearse this shit once or twice a year, and we all have the emergency procedures in our welcome packs.
We reach the first floor, and I pass a window that gives me a view across the central courtyard toward the kitchen.
Or at least where the kitchen used to be.
Despite the urgency pushing at my back, I draw to an abrupt halt, the air punching from my lungs. I’d known it was going to be bad when I felt the walls tremble around me from the force of the explosion, but nothing had prepared me for this.
It’s as though I’m looking out at a warzone.
“Oh, my God.”
Thick dust still hangs in the air. People are helping each other from the rubble. There are bloodied faces, and both women and men crying. I catch sight of a pale arm poking out from beneath the rubble, but I’ve got no idea if there’s even anyone on the end of it.
It’s almost too terrible to comprehend. How can one person’s actions suddenly change the course of all these people’s lives? They were just getting on with their day, expecting things to be normal, and instead it’s ended like this. A split second—a moment in time—and everything has changed.
“Dom!”
My father’s snapped tone brings me back to focus.
“Sorry.”
I tear my gaze away from the horrific scene and force my feet to move. My mind still lingers on what’s happened, though.
Why did that fucker drive the van into the college and only blow up that area? As soon as the question crosses my mind, the answer hits. Distraction . He wants Mack, and now we’re all distracted and scared, running around like headless chickens, it gives him the chance to escape.
I call out to my father. “I know the instinct will be to have all the guards here, where they can defend us, but we need them on the exits and perimeter, too.”
“Son, we can’t cover the entirety of the grounds. The drones are up in the air and the dog handlers are patrolling. It’s the best we can do.”
I bet Paxton will aim for the woods. It’s what I would do. There are trails wide enough to drive a car a fair way through, and, if he can get to the outer perimeter, it’s his best chance of getting off the property with her.
We need to stop him before that can happen.
We keep going, passing frightened and confused students who are all being ushered to the meeting point. An alarm is blaring, and I wish someone would turn it off already—it’s not as though we need it to know that everything has gone to shit.
I almost sag in relief when I spot Kirill and Tino in the ruins of the kitchen. Tino is glugging down water from a plastic bottle. He’s covered in dust, and he winces when he moves toward me. Still, they’re both here. Both alive.
“Where are they?” I demand. “Where are Paxton and Mackenzie?”
My father is distracted by the chaos going on around us. It’s hard to ignore all the cries for help, but I have to if we’re going to find her.
“I think we need to go after them alone,” Tino says, keeping his voice low. He coughs and sips more water. “The security approaching with guns blazing could get her killed.”
“Agreed,” I say.
Kirill nods, and we hold one another’s gaze for a long beat. We don’t need to speak. We want the same thing—for Mackenzie to make it out of this alive.