Natalie sprang into action, kneeling before her three children and gathering their attention. “You listen to me. That man might be your father on paper, but yourdadis the man back home waiting for us in Connecticut. He’s the one who is there for you every day and loves you more than anything in this world. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Mom,” a chorus of three voices responded.
Those poor kids were dealt a crappy hand. Not only were they born into royalty, where their every move was of general interest to the public, but the man who fathered them was a piece of shit human being and mentally unstable. No one as young as them should have to deal with this situation, knowing that even someone who shares the same blood could be a threat. I wished they could be normal kids who never had to question whether their family loved them and put their safety above all else.
Being alone with my thoughts in the silence was dangerous. All I could think about was all the awful things Leo might do to Lucy. If he was crazy enough to take her, there was no telling what he would do.
I bargained with God, promising him anything if he could just let Liam bring Lucy home safely.
Chapter 30
Lucy
The cold seeped intomy bones as the time passed, and the throbbing under my eye was relentless. There was no way of knowing how long I’d been in this room, being underground with no windows. All I knew was that one of Leo’s henchmen left a little while ago and hadn’t returned.
I kept quiet after Leo struck me, but I couldn’t stand the silence a moment longer. My voice was scratchy with lack of use, but I dared to ask, “When are we expecting Liam?”
Leo picked at the dirt under his fingernail with the tip of a knife. “We aren’t.”
“How do you expect to eliminate him, then?”
If Leo was smart, he would learn to keep his mouth shut, but his ego won out. “Your heroic big brother is headed to a meeting point far from here—lured by a picture of you tied up here before you woke up—where Colt will be waiting to put a bullet in his brain. Once he returns with confirmation that the job is done, then it’s your turn.”
The last thing I wanted to give Leo was the satisfaction of seeing how terrified I was at the prospect of being physically assaulted and then murdered, so I used my years of practice and schooled my features to give an outwardly calm appearance.
Leo mentioned a picture—if taken in this room, then he underestimated Liam. He’d know this room was inside the tunnels. We used to play down here when we were kids. We couldn’t resist a game of hide and seek, given the massive maze the tunnels created.
Liam had tactical training from his service in the military. He wouldn’t bite on a promise of me if he had proof of my location. And he also wouldn’t allow someone else to come for me. Liam would take charge, insisting that he be the one to rescue me instead of remaining in the panic room, sitting on his hands.
That meant he was coming for me. It was just a matter of when he found the right room, and if that came before Colt returned with news that he’d been a no-show at their meeting.
I needed to find a way to get out of this chair. Years of self-defense training would only be useful if I could get my hands and feet free. Sure, I was no match for a gun if either of them had one—Leo, for sure, had a knife—but I would rather go down fighting than remain a sitting duck.
My ass went numb from its immobile position on the wooden chair for God knows how long, and it gave me an idea. Squirming to make it look believable, I declared, “I need to use the bathroom.”
Leo didn’t even look up. “Tough luck, sis. There’s not exactly indoor plumbing down here.”
Trying again, I asked, “If you’ve been living down here, how have you managed?”
Tilting his head toward the corner, my gaze landed on a bucket there. “Figure it out.”
“I’m not too good for a bucket.”
“You might as well just piss yourself. You don’t have much time left anyway.”
Thinking quickly on my feet—or my ass, in this case—I yelled, “I have my period!” Leo finally glanced up, a disgusted expression on his face, and I watched as the remaining guard squirmed, looking uncomfortable, so I leaned into it. “I don’t know how long we’ve been down here, but much longer, and things could get real messy.”
Leo narrowed his eyes. “What do you want me to do? It’s not like I’m stocked up on a bunch of feminine products down here.”
“That rag you stuffed in my mouth earlier. That would work for a little while.”
Snapping his fingers, he directed his accomplice to grab the rag from where he’d tossed it on the floor. “Carson, help the princess out, would you?”
Carson wrinkled his nose but grabbed the filthy rag and stalked toward where I sat. When he began to lift the hem of my dress, I protested, “I need to remove my tampon first.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Carson mumbled. Turning to Leo, he held his hands up. “I’m not doing that.”
Leo glared at me. “Fine. Untie her and let her have a moment.” Pointing his knife in my direction, he added, “Don’t try anything stupid. Just remember . . . I don’t exactly need you alive.”
