Chapter 44
Imogen
As I cross the threshold I know immediately something is wrong.
It’s too still. Too quiet.
There’s this eerie feeling that prickles at my skin and has my blood turning cold.
Chaos should be ensuing throughout the estate. Especially if the security crew witnessed what I’m sure they did on the cameras. There’s no way it wasn’t already reported to pa.
Which only limits my time on finding ma and getting us out of here.
I stay close to the walls as I make my way to the staircase that leads upstairs. Ma either stayed in my room or returned back to hers.
I take the stairs two at a time. On light feet I run down the hall and open my bedroom first.
Sweet relief comes over me as I find ma sitting on the bed. Her back is to me and she’s looking out the window. The very same window I escaped from.
“Ma, we have to go,” I tell her urgently. She doesn’t move. Just sits frozen on the bed.
Something’s wrong. Something is completely wrong here.
I hurry over to ma and when I spin her around her mouth is sealed with duct tape and her hands are tied.
As I begin to carefully rip off the tape I hear the click of a gun come from the room.
I whip around fast to the sound and find pa pointing a gun at me ready to kill.
I aim my gun back at him. “Lower your gun, pa.”
He doesn’t. I don’t expect him to. He’ll never answer to no one but himself. He's proven that time and time again.
“You betrayed me, my sweet girl.” He sounds torn. And I don’t know what to do with that.
I push my feelings for the pa, the little girl who knew aside. He’s long gone. And maybe he always has been. “You betrayed me first.”
“By not giving up everything I have worked for, for you?”
“By not making me a priority over the family,” I say bitterly. “You could have saved me pa.”
“By surrendering!” He thunders. It feels like a slap to the face. “This is why you could never lead. Niall knew when to make the hard calls. He understood the family above all else!”
“And he’s fucking dead. Just like you’re about to be.”
Pa laughs humorlessly. “You don’t have the guts to kill me, Imogen. It would make you a leader. Something you’re not.”
“You know,” I begin as tears cascade down my face. “I could have possibly forgiven you for not rescuing me. But abusing ma. I can never forgive you for that.”
“The bitch—” I pull the trigger.
We both stare at one another stunned. His hand comes to rest upon his chest where I shot him. When he removes it, it’s covered in blood. He stares at his hand and then me.
And I don’t think. I act.
I unload the clip into pa. His body jostles from the impact of the shots before he falls to a helpless heap on the ground.
My fingers shake as I remove the remainder of the tape from ma’s mouth. She doesn’t look at me. She stares at the pool of blood surrounding her husband. Her now late husband.
I crouch down in front of her and force her to look at me. She stares at me woodenly. I think she’s in shock. “Ma, I need you to stay with me, okay? We’re going to be okay.”
She doesn’t respond. I usher her to her feet and lead her out of the bedroom.
I take one final look at pa. He gives one final breath before his eyes fall shut and his head slumps against his chest.
Don’t think, Imogen. Don’t think.
I lead ma down the flight of stairs while she’s in an out of mind state.
And while I know it would be smarter to go through the back door I take us to the front. We’re running out of time.
A gunshot rings out. I snap my head back to see Sebastian hot on our tails.
I fire a shot back at him in which he returns. It whizzes right past my head.
“You fucking bitch!” He roars as he confuses to fire shots. I push ma through the front door and shut it as a bullet lodges itself in my upper arm.
Spinning on my heel I run in the opposite direction. Sebastian chases after me. When I hear him pull the trigger again it comes up empty.
As I round the corner of the kitchen I fire another shot his way. He successfully dodges it. I keep on running with my arm on fucking fire.
Then he spears into me from behind and takes me to the ground. The gun slips from my hand by the sudden impact. When I go to reach for it Sebastian swipes it away with his hand.
“Bastard!” I snap my hips forward and roll on top of him. Once I do I punch him in the nose. It immediately breaks.
Shoving me off him he comes to a stand and kicks me in my middle. Instinctively, I curl in a fetal position to protect myself.
He continues his assault of kicks but my forearms and shins take the brunt end of it.
I see the gun right behind him. If I can just get him off his feet.
As he raises his leg in the air for the next kick I strike my leg out and hit him directly in the shin. He rumbles to the floor, clutching his leg.
With all the strength I have and adrenaline pumping through me I crawl as fast as I can to get the gun.
His hand clamps on my ankle the second my fingers grasp the handle.
I kick at his hand repeatedly with my other foot. When he howls in pain and lets go I get a firmer grip on the gun.
Wasting no time I point it at him and shoot him in the head.
Bloody sprays my face. Body matter clings to my hair. Bile presses at the back of my throat but I swallow it down.
My body vibrates as I sit in the aftermath of what I’ve done. My tongue grows thick in my mouth as my heart rate speeds up. Suddenly I can’t seem to catch my breath. I clutch at my chest willing my lungs to allow me to just fucking breathe.
Heavy footsteps come running down the corridor. On autopilot I raise my gun ready to kill whoever it is.
The footsteps come to a halt. I’m about to shoot when I hear the Russian accent, “Easy there, princess. It’s just me.” He stashes away his gun and raises both of his hands.
I nod my head but my eyes are unfocused. Fuck, I can’t stop shaking. Why can’t I stop shaking?
“I can’t breathe,” I rasp.
Kirill kneels down before me and firmly pinches my chin between his fingers. Then he does something unexpected. He slaps me on the face. Not enough to hurt but enough to sting and force me to snap out of it.
“You slapped me,” I say.
“And now you can breathe,” he says, quite impressed with himself.
“I don’t know if I can move,” I admit weakly.
His eyes inspect me then. They notice the bullet wound in my arm and how my back is hunched over to ease the pain of my stomach and ribs.
Much gentler than how he handled Rico he lifts me up and props me against his side.
“You did good, princess,” he says warmly. “How about I get you out of here? Hmm?”
I nod my head against his chest feeling strangely protected. Almost as if an unspoken rule has been passed between Kirill and I.
I try not to think of the carnage I left behind as we walk through the Estate.
I allow myself to only think about Rico. My husband. The man I chose. The man I love. The man I killed for.
And I know if given the choice I would do it all over again.