Chapter Forty-Eight - Elise
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Elise
If I weren’t so consumed by pain and exhaustion, I might have the energy to feel hurt by how little I’m trusted—enough to warrant having two dozen guns aimed at me.
Ryder’s body moves protectively in front of mine. Although he blocks most of my vision, it still only takes a fraction of a second for me to find who I’m looking for.
Those dark eyes I’ve fallen for bore into mine, utterly expressionless.
Did Joshua catch our signals, or does he think Ryder and I are traitors? Is he going to give the command to shoot?
After everything we’ve been through, I wish I was better at reading him.
Joshua’s shoulders tense as he takes in Ryder’s defensive position in front of me, but he doesn’t give the order to fire.
His gun lowers ever so slightly. “Where’s Mason?”
I sag with relief.
He knows.
Joshua knows he can trust Ryder and me. He knows Mason is behind all of this.
I shift to step around Ryder—to run into Joshua’s arms like every cell in my body pleads for me to do—but he shifts as I do, blocking my path. I want to tell Ryder off and push him aside, but his smooth voice interrupts my plans.
“He’s unconscious in an office on the second floor.”
I blanch at that and wonder what exactly happened to Ryder while we were apart.
Joshua looks over his shoulder at a group of soldiers. “Go.”
“Wait,” I call, shoving Ryder’s arm aside and stepping around him. The second I move, I realize why he tried to hold me back.
My sudden movement prompts every soldier to lift his gun in my direction.
Ryder realized what I hadn’t—that even though Joshua knows Mason is behind this, we’re still not to be trusted.
My heart clenches when I see that even Don and Kade—who stand at Joshua’s side—have rearmed themselves.
The only one who doesn’t aim his gun at me is Joshua, which would be reassuring if not for the fact that he still doesn’t call his soldiers off.
I know that he watched some damning footage tonight, but that doesn’t ease my growing frustration. I’ve had a night from hell, and this is the last thing I need.
I lift my chin and meet their aggression head-on. “Well? If you’re going to shoot me, then do it already. Otherwise, back the hell off.”
Several men glance at Joshua, waiting to see what he’ll do, but I don’t wait to find out. I continue walking, Ryder on my heels.
I want to throw myself into Joshua’s arms, but his posture is rigid, and his eyes are sharp. Now isn’t the time to push my luck, so I stop a few feet away.
When I do, I see the first flicker of emotion in his eyes as he assesses my bloody, bruise-covered body with concern.
“What the hell happened?”
“Not important,” I say, then turn my gaze to the group of men Joshua ordered to go upstairs. “You don’t have time to get Mason. We need to get out of here right now.”
“What do you mean?” Joshua asks.
“My dad is on his way. Mason set this up so neither of you walks out of here alive. We need to leave now.”
Joshua studies my face, and I, once again, curse my inability to read him.
Never taking his eyes off mine, he tilts his head to the side. “Kade.”
“She’s right,” he says, messing with a tablet that must’ve been in the backpack slung over his shoulders. “Five vans are heading down the road now.”
“How long?”
Kade frowns at the screen. “Maybe three minutes. We won’t be able to get away without a confrontation.”
Joshua clenches his jaw and closes his eyes. I start to step forward, but Ryder’s gentle tug on my shoulder holds me back.
I throw an annoyed look at him but reluctantly obey.
When Joshua’s eyes finally open, there’s a steely resolve there. He faces the group of twenty or so men around him. “Take cover. This will get messy.”
“No!” Ignoring Ryder’s advice, I reach out and grab Joshua’s arm, forcing him to face me. “You can’t fight! That’s exactly what Mason wants!”
“Doesn’t matter anymore. We don’t have another option.”
“Let me talk to him!”
“No way. You’re taking cover. With me.”
Joshua takes hold of my shoulders and pulls me toward a barricade of crates. Every soldier in the room scopes out the best places for defense, and even Ryder is given a gun to replace the one he stole from Tripp.
I struggle against the arms that pull me. “Please, Joshua! I can talk to him! He’ll listen to me!”
“No.”
Stomping on his foot, I rip myself from his grasp and glare at him. “You’re going to die if you do this!”
He stops to look down at me, features softening as he does. “Elise—”
“Please, Joshua. Let me try.”
I hold my breath as I wait for his answer, and after a long moment, he finally huffs. “Fine. But I’m going with you.”
“He’ll hurt you. I can go—”
“Either I go with you, or you don’t go at all.”
If Joshua goes with me, there’s a chance my father will kill him, but if he doesn’t let me go, then I’ll lose them both.
“Okay,” I relent.
“Kade, where are they coming in?”
I don’t see Kade when I glance around, but his voice calls out from somewhere behind us. “North. Same way we came in. Thirty seconds.”
Joshua leads me across the room to a panel on the wall. He takes one look at it before pressing a blue button that triggers the large double doors of the garage to open.
The grinding of the metal rising is deafening, but it means Dad won’t be spooked by our presence when he pulls up.
Joshua doesn’t release my hand as we make our way to the center of the room.
This isn’t the time to talk, but I can’t risk either of us dying when there’s still so much left to say.
“Joshua,” I whisper, taking hold of his arm.
I open my mouth, needing to tell him how sorry I am and how much I love him, but the crunch of gravel under tires is my ticking clock. With only seconds left, I decide to tell Joshua everything in the way we communicate best.
My lips meet his with all of the desperation and passion that I feel, and he reciprocates in full.
This is far more honest than any words we could’ve said.
I don’t need to tell him that I’m sorry. He doesn’t need to tell me he’s afraid of losing me.
We feel it as our lips move in perfect synchronization.
It’s physically painful to pull away, but I force myself to do it, stepping protectively in front of him.
When the first car comes into view, I lift my chin. I have one chance to save all of the people I love.
I can’t mess this up.
When Joshua steps closer, pressing his body against mine, my shoulders relax. Whatever problems we have to solve, my body still knows who it belongs to.
The cars pull into view, but the windows are tinted too much for me to see which one my father is in. One by one, each car pulls up, but no one climbs out until the fifth car pulls in and comes to a stop.
Doors open, and I scan the familiar-looking men until I see him.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been so furious with my father for abandoning me that I told myself I would be perfectly fine if I never saw him again. I told myself that he wasn’t worthy of being in my life—of being my father.
So then, why am I so damn happy to see him?
Striking green eyes take in the sight before him—his daughter, soaked in blood, standing defensively in front of her alleged captor.
I suppose that would explain the scowl on his face.
A worn, black suit makes him look more fitting to attend a dinner party than a potential shoot-out. His frame, though not as broad as it used to be, is rigid. Like Joshua, everything about my father screams power.
I ignore the other soldiers exiting the vehicles, only watching my father as he makes his way toward Joshua and me.
When he stands at the edge of the garage door, he stops, and I risk glancing away just long enough to notice that, for the second time tonight, dozens of guns are aimed in my direction.
Also, for the second time tonight, I’m fairly certain no one will pull the trigger.
Damon, James, and Logan come to stand by our father’s side, and they all do a poor job concealing their confusion and anger.
“Elise,” my father’s gravelly voice snaps, “step away from Mr. Moreno.”
Here goes nothing.
“Dad, I need you to listen to me—”
“Baby girl, we can talk later. Step. Away. Now.”
My hands shake at the order. I’ve never stood up to my father before, but I don’t have a choice now.
I instinctively reach behind me, and Joshua takes my hand without a second thought, squeezing it comfortingly. The action—which felt as natural as breathing—has my family’s expressions twisting with disgust.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I declare with an authority that catches everyone, myself included, off guard.
My father raises an eyebrow and then directs a fiery glare at Joshua. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? You abuse, beat, and brainwash my daughter into being your human shield? What kind of man are you?”
Joshua’s body tenses against mine, but I squeeze his hand and press my body into his, urging him to stay in place.
“That’s not what happened,” Joshua growls, but he doesn’t attempt to move around me.
“How else do you explain these injuries?”
This is such a waste of time.
“I killed the man who did this to me, but that’s not the point.”
Joshua’s hand goes rigid in mine. “You did what?”
I ignore the question.
“Mason has been lying to you for years, both of you.” I chance a quick glance over my shoulder to Joshua.
“Elise, I don’t know what Moreno has told you, but—”
“Just shut the hell up and listen!” I shout, and everyone freezes. I’ve never spoken to anyone in my family this way, but apparently, it’s the only way to get anyone to listen.
“He plans to take over both families, starting by killing everyone here. He has men in both families working for him that will ensure none of us walk away from here alive. We need to leave now.”
The slight raise in my father’s chin is his tell that he’s seriously considering my words.
“Moreno has been lying to you, Elise. Mason would never do any of this.” Damon says, and when I look closer, I notice the glossed-over look in his eyes.
Mason was right about the alcohol.
“I didn’t want to believe it either, but he’s behind all of this. You have to believe me.” I don’t hide my desperation.
They need to see my sincerity.
Logan takes a step forward, cocking his head toward our father but never looking away from Joshua and me. “It’s possible that he could be the mole.”
“Damn it,” Dad says on a sigh.
Tears of joy fill my eyes.
They believe me.
“We need to get out of here,” I warn. “There are others here. I don’t know how many, but they could come any minute. We’re not safe here.”
“And him?” my father asks, locking his jaw and nodding to Joshua.
I straighten my back and steel my words. “Joshua stays with me. No one touches him.”
He looks like he has a lot more to say about that but he refrains. “Where are his?”
It takes me a moment to realize that he’s asking about Joshua’s soldiers, but Joshua answers for me.
“In here. Prepared, in case this conversation veers from civil.”
I shake my head. “We don’t have time for this. We need to hurry.”
When my father’s eyes fall on mine again, I can see that it’s difficult for him to trust me. I want to be mad about that, but how can I be? I’m defending his enemy and accusing his son of betrayal.
I’d be skeptical, too.
That’s why it’s a damn miracle when my father nods, raising his hand with a slight wave that tells his men to lower their weapons.
The soldiers make their way to the cars, but my brothers don’t move an inch.
My father steps forward, closing the distance between us. “You have a lot of explaining to do.”
I couldn’t agree more.
I step forward to meet him, reveling in the realization that I did it. I convinced them all we need to leave. No one had to get hurt.
That is, until a gun fires—and my father falls lifelessly to the ground just a few feet in front of me.