Chapter 46
FORTY-SIX
“You know what’s sad?” Theo said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Of all the ways I thought I’d die, I always thought it would be stress-related. Heart attack at my desk. Maybe a stroke.” He chuckled as he turned to face me. “Being stabbed by the world’s worst assistant never even crossed my mind.”
I chuckled as I tested my hand restraints for the fiftieth time. After I escaped the last time, Eloise knocked me out with the butt of her gun and tied them in an even more intricate pattern. There was no escaping, not this time. “I’m not that surprised. Remember how many assistants you went through before Calla? Wasn’t there one who only lasted an hour before you fired him?”
“Oh yeah…” Theo sighed. “Tried to swap out my coffee for some green juice, vegan concoction. Always thought he’d be the worst of all time. But stabbing me? Definitely gives Eloise that honor.”
He coughed, and the sound rattled in his chest. I glanced over at him, hating the gray pallor his skin had taken. Theo was running out of time, and if we didn’t get out of here soon, no one would be able to save him. Even though my energy was draining and my head pounded from the subsequent blows, I refused to give up. I wouldn’t sit back and let my friend die all because some deranged woman decided she could claim me.
I lifted myself to check Eloise’s location. She’d been spiraling since she stole my phone, muttering to herself about why Tori hadn’t shown up yet. No matter the reason, I was relieved Victoria hadn’t come, hoping she realized that there was something wrong when Eloise texted her on my phone. That hope was a tiny ember in my chest, but I held onto it, nurturing it until the last possible moment. I had to keep it going, not just for me, but for Theo as well.
But it almost died out when a sound came from the front of the office, the shuffling sound of the door being slowly pushed open. All my limbs suddenly went numb as footsteps walk toward us. “No, no, no,” I whispered, arching my back to try to see more clearly. My heart pounded in my chest, praying Victoria hadn’t turned herself over to try to save me.
But my thoughts died out when Eloise shrieked in disappointment, “You’re not supposed to be here! Where is she?” She waved her gun toward the person, “Where is she?”
“At home,” a deep voice called out, and a weight dropped in the center of my chest. Cole. He stepped forward, and I could make out the outline of his shadow through the window. I strained closer, trying to pick up on their conversation. Cole’s voice was muffled, but I could make out most of his words. “I know what you want, Eloise, but I can’t let you take her, not when I just got her back. So I’m here instead, willing to take her place.”
“This is all wrong,” she cried out. “None of you were supposed to be here. Do you think I want to kill you too?” She hit the gun against her head, pulling out strands of hair with her free fingers. “All I needed was Adam. That’s all I wanted. I wanted to be left alone, to die with Adam .” She lunged toward him, shoving the gun in his face. “But now, you’ve all fucked everything up!”
As Cole said something else to Eloise, my attention shifted to the window on the other side of our room. The bottom creaked, wiggling slightly before it popped up with a spring. I exhaled a sharp breath as I saw a crowbar continue to pry it open, ruining the seal on the antique windows. But any relief I felt died in my chest as Victoria squeezed through the small opening to lift herself into the room with us. She landed quietly and shifted to her knees, her gaze immediately meeting mine.
I didn’t know what to do, paralyzed by the fear coursing through my veins. While I was more relieved than I could put into words to see her face, deep terror froze all my muscles. When she dropped to my side, tucking behind my shoulder, I shifted to try to stare at her, emotions making it hard to speak. “You shouldn’t be here, baby.”
“Neither should you,” she whispered back. As the knot came undone behind me, I brought my hands back to my front, rubbing the raw skin. Before Victoria could move, I pulled her in, kissing her deeply. “How did you know something was wrong?”
“In your message, you called me Victoria. You’ve never done that before, so I knew something was off.”
“God, I love you,” I said. “Please tell me you have the cops outside?”
“They’re down the block,” she admitted, chewing on her lower lip. “We might have lied and said we’d wait for them before we tried to get inside. ”
“Jesus Christ, Tori, are you trying to kill me?”
“The words you’re looking for are thank you .”
“No, no, please keep going,” Theo’s voice called out, now barely above a whisper. “I’m just bleeding out over here. Don’t let it ruin your moment.”
“Oh my God,” Victoria hissed as she dropped to his side. Her hands shook as she looked at his wound, as if unsure how even to move him without shifting the knife. Her wide eyes met mine, trying to decipher what we should do.
I shook my head, looking over at her. “You go back out the window. Get an ambulance here as quickly as possible.”
“What about you?”
I pressed a kiss to her lips, trying to pour in as much devotion as I could with one single touch. “I’m going to deal with Eloise.”
Once I was sure Victoria was a reasonable distance away and Theo could hold on a little longer, I stood, trying to ignore the trembling in my legs. Armed with only the crowbar, I walked toward the main part of the office, saving one last look for my friend in the corner.
All night, I’d been drenched in terror, trying to keep my emotions in check so I wouldn’t risk angering Eloise. But now that I knew help was closing in, I let that rage wash over me, let it reinforce my determination to bring this whole mess to rest. My hands tightened on the cold metal as I twisted the door’s handle, slowly pushing it open a crack. Through the sliver, I surveyed the scene, ignoring the tremble in my hands. As I pushed it open a little more, I found Cole standing by the front door, his hands in the air as he stared down Eloise.
But when I looked toward Cole, his face wasn’t what I saw.
I only saw the gun pointed at his chest.
“You shouldn’t be here. You’re not supposed to be here.” Eloise glared at Cole, raising her voice. She stood only a couple feet away, her arm waving as she became more and more incensed. While Cole was the picture of calm composure, Eloise was unraveling, a ticking time bomb in front of our eyes. “She should be here!”
As I pushed the door a little more, I snuck around the other side, hiding behind a bookcase so Eloise couldn’t spot me. She never even turned as I walked into the room, too focused on Cole. When I got into position, Cole met my eye, giving me a subtle nod. After decades of friendship, we’d gotten pretty good at reading each other’s cues, so I hoped like hell he could read mine now. All we needed was a distraction, something to get Eloise to lower her weapon long enough to subdue her.
Cole’s eyes shifted to Eloise, almost as if he was telling me to get ready. Seeing him so composed made me wonder what he had seen in the military and if this was the first time he had faced someone so dangerous. He was a fortress, and his words and body language were completely at ease despite the tension filling the room.
I, on the other hand, could feel my nerves coming out to play, my fingers trembling as I tightened my hand around the bar. As I moved a little closer, the floor creaked underneath my weight, and Eloise started to turn in my direction.
“I’m begging you,” Cole called out, pulling her attention back to him. “Take me instead. Let everyone else go, and I’ll stay with you. Just…” He exhaled slowly. “Leave my sister alone.”
She cocked her head, studying him like the predator she was. “You love your sister?”
“Very much,” Cole nodded. “From the moment Tori was born, all I ever wanted to do was protect her, to make sure she was safe. I might have failed her before, but I’m not letting that happen again.” His eyes narrowed at Eloise. “I won’t let you hurt her.”
“Well, you made my decision easier, then,” she sighed, toying with the gun in her hand. She laughed to herself, the sound hollow and frightful to my ears. “I was going to kill her, but there might be something even more poetic about this.” Eloise twisted the gun, moving closer to Cole. “Fine. You can sacrifice yourself for her. Maybe once she loses you, she’ll know how it feels when someone steals the person you love most.”
My arm swung out as her finger started to squeeze the trigger, using all my force to bring the crowbar to the side of her head. She let out a little yelp as she collapsed to the floor. Her body crumpled into a heap, and the gun broke out of her grip, landing on the carpet near Cole’s feet. As soon as she was down, Cole leaped on top of her, pulling her arms around her back. With one hand holding her wrists, the other dug in his pocket, pulling out a pair of handcuffs.
As I looked at him, he just shook his head. “Don’t ask.”
“Theo needs medical attention,” I huffed out. “Tori went to call an ambulance.”
“Should be out front,” Cole grunted, shoving Eloise off to the side. Her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths, enough to show she was still alive but unconscious. Hopefully, she'd be out for a while. Rage simmered in my veins, staring down at the woman who’d made my life hell for the past year. All the nights I spent worrying, all the time I missed out on, all because she thought she was entitled to a part of me.
As much as I hated that my actions had led Eloise to this place, I knew most of the blame lay on her shoulders. I might have made a mistake, but she was the one who escalated it, unable to accept I would never be hers. Honestly, if it wasn’t me, she would have found another target and made their lives hell instead.
Cole placed his hand on my shoulder, breaking me out of my spiral. “Go get Tori. I’ll stay with Theo until the ambulance gets here.” He walked over to the gun, emptied the chamber, and tucked it in the back of his jeans. “Hurry, Adam.”
I nodded and rushed to open the door. My chest almost seized when I looked around, finding four cop cars with their lights trained on me. My legs started to give out with the weight of relief. It was over. It felt like it had been years of my life, but in reality, it had only been hours. And now, it was over. I was free.
My legs started to buckle as the adrenaline drained from my body, but I stayed standing by sheer force of will. The officer who’d interviewed me at my cabin stepped forward first, holding his gun out at his hip. “Is she subdued?”
I nodded, unable to form words. Even though I’d tried to keep hope, there was a small part of me that thought I would die in that tiny room, that Theo and I would never get to hold our loved ones again. But standing here, in the middle of a parking lot, I inhaled slowly, closing my eyes as the officers and paramedics rushed behind me. It wasn’t until I heard my name called that I opened my eyes.
The floodlights blinded me, but I knew she was there. Victoria rushed out from behind a couple of officers who were trying, but failing, to keep her away from the building.
As she ran across the pavement, I walked as quickly as I could, catching her in my arms as she jumped toward me. I held her tighter than I ever had before, savoring the sweet smell of her shampoo and the way she fit against my chest.
This moment—this was what I fought for.
Why I refused to give up, even in our darkest hour.
Because I would go through all of it again just to have my girl back in my arms.
Tears filled her face as she pulled back, searching my face. “Tell me you’re safe. Please tell me she didn’t hurt you.”
“I’m okay, trouble.” I glanced behind my shoulder, seeing the paramedics pushing out the stretcher with Theo on top. Calla broke out of the crowd, moving over to his side. She let out the most anguished sob as she held her husband’s hand, cradling it close to her chest.
One of the paramedics tried to block her path. “Ma’am, you need to move. We need to get him to a hospital as soon as possible.”
“Then do it,” Calla snapped. “But there’s no way in hell I’m leaving him, so you better figure out how to work around me.”
As the paramedics moved them both to the back of the ambulance, we stood there, watching as they attended to Theo and drove away. No one said a word, mesmerized by the cycling lights as they faded into the distance, sending up silent prayers. If anyone would make it out of this through will and sheer determination, it would be Theo.
When the siren finally died out, our attention was drawn to the front of the office, Cole walking outside with the rest of the cops trailing behind him. Eloise was at the back of the pack, her arms held by two officers at her sides. While the officers pushed her into the back of their patrol car, Cole came to us, offering an apprehensive smile. Victoria rushed forward, pulling her brother into a tight hug. But when she let him go, she slugged him in the shoulder. “Don’t you ever put yourself in danger to save me ever again.”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “No promises, trouble.”