He moved over to the stairs and with a wave at me, he plunged the basement into darkness with a flick of the switch.
Panic started to close in around me and I needed to get a handle on it. I closed my eyes and dropped my chin to my chest, focusing solely on every single second that I’d spent with Ryker.
I sat there in the dark, in my bubble of memories, reliving the last time we had been together up in the mountains.
Footsteps pounded. I blinked against the harsh glare of the bare bulb as the stairs groaned under someone’s weight. My head felt like it was being crushed in a vise, each pulse a hammer against my skull. Panic curled in my gut of the unknown but then I saw her.
Mia.
Behind her came Vance with a remote in his hand and a gun at her back. He stayed just out of reach of her like he didn’t trust her, voice smooth as he assured her that I was unharmed… for now. The edge of his coat caught the light, revealing a knife tucked at his side. My limbs trembled so badly as I forced myself to swallow around the tape, trying to will my dry throat into producing sound. Confusion and terror washed through me when he circled to stand behind me, his hand pressing onto my shoulder. I flinched, the metal armrest biting into my wrist.
Then I heard a sound. One that I had heard so many times was with Ryker and Royal. The unmistakable sound of a knife being pulled from its sheath. It reverberated through my mind long after he worked the blade along my throat until I felt the tiniest warm trickle of blood. My vision narrowed; every word they exchanged registered like stones thrown into my skull.
Then the click of a button and a distant boom rattled the cellar. Vance had pressed a button on his remote and called it a “warning shot.” I barely heard his explanation over the roar in my ears. Mia’s face turned white.
I tried so hard to concentrate on what they were saying. Snippets of their conversation were all that registered. Mia’s husband was out there, waiting on a ridge. Did that mean Ryker was there too? I tried so desperately to shake off the effects of the drugs, needing to hear if his name was mentioned.
Their voices rose in an argument. Explosives, betrayals, a hidden black book that sounded like it belonged in a nightmare.
Then all hell broke loose.
Mia lunged, the chair slammed back, metal squealed, and equipment clattered. I heard palms thump against concrete, the remote skittering across the floor. Vance cursed. Mia cried out, and a blade whispered free from its sheath. I squeezed my eyes shut as he pinned her to the floor on top of her, his weight crushing. Something wet and metallic clicked in my mind, and then a scream as the blade found its mark.
Silence fell. My mouth opened, and I tasted blood and dust. Then footsteps—someone calling “Mia!
I blinked against the bright stairwell light. Someone peeled the tape from my lips, and warmth flooded in when Mia’s voice spoke over the drug fog calling out the name, “Connor.”
A man approached me and softly said, “It’s okay. You’re safe now. We’re here to help you.”
Mia turned towards me, still clutching the remote control. My eyes fixed on her.
“Mia?” I whispered, her voice hoarse. “Is it really you?”
“You... recognize me?”
My hands trembled as the man freed them from the bindings. “I have your picture,” I said. “From before... before Mom died. I always knew I had a sister.” My eyes filled with tears. “I’ve been looking for you.”
My confession looked like it hit her like a physical blow.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “For everything. For bringing this into your life.”
“Is he dead?” I asked, glancing at Vance’s motionless form.
She nodded grimly. “Yes. He can’t hurt you anymore.”
Boots pounded on the stairs as a team of people descended into the basement, weapons drawn. They quickly secured the scene, checking Vance for any sign of life and finding none.
“We need EOD for this,” Mia said, carefully handing the remote a man. “It’s connected to charges throughout the property. Possibly on a Deadman’s switch.”
He nodded, taking the device with practiced care. “I’ll handle it. You should get her out of here.”
The man that Mia had called Connor helped me to my feet, supporting me as my legs were threatening to give out. “Can you walk?” he asked gently.
I nodded, though my body swayed with the aftereffects of the drug Vance gave me. “I think so.”
“Let’s get you somewhere safe,” Mia said, moving to my other side. Together, Connor and she helped me up the stairs.
The fresh air cleared the drug fog from my mind as the first hints of dawn peeked over the horizon and tears filled my eyes. I was alive.
