She screams again as I come to a stop in the narrow hallway to a heavy door with an old steel knob. I test it and the knob turns easily, her scream louder as I creak it open.
My heart pounds in my chest as I hear the swish of a whip and the crack of it against her skin. The lights are dim as I move down the stairs, my gun held out in front of me.
Time slows as I see her, hanging there from the chains with him behind her. Pure hatred shines in his eyes as he pulls the heavy whip back over her shoulder, ready to strike her again.
It only takes two shots. Bang! Bang!
He wavers on his feet, staring down at his chest where the small holes in his chest seem to vanish, but quickly blood seeps through the fabric and spreads along the woven threads.
I keep my arm up, the kick of the gun still traveling up my arm as he falls to his knees first, his head tilting back up to me, his forehead pinching and his hands moving to his chest. It's not long before he falls forward, his face slamming against the ground, his body lifeless.
My feet move down the steps, going closer to him. I don’t take my eyes off of him as I empty the gun into his skull. Bang! Bang! Bang!
I keep pulling the trigger even after it’s empty. His dead eyes are open and staring back at me as blood pools around his disfigured face.
It’s only the sound of her whimper that tears me away from him.
“Don’t touch her!” I scream at Charles, making him flinch as he puts both his hands up.
There’s so much blood. Lashes mar her back, her shoulders, her thighs. Everywhere. He tore her flesh open. I don’t hesitate to pick her small body up, relieving the weight that’s pulling her wrists against the metal cuffs.
“Zander,” she says and her voice is so weak as her head droops to the side.
“It’s alright,” I tell her quickly as Charles works on the locks at her wrist. He must’ve found the key somewhere, because they’re off in an instant. Her arms are falling like dead weight and making her face twist in pain.
She cries out as I turn her body, cradling it and feeling the warmth of her blood soaking into my shirt and against my arms.
“Here,” Charles says and passes me a white sheet. I question using it for only a moment before wrapping it around her body, not tightly. Every small movement makes her wince with pain.
“Talk to me, Arianna,” I tell her. Her eyes look as if she’s staring far off into the distance. “Arianna,” my voice cracks as I say her name.
I’m too late.
“We need to get out of here,” Charles says as he looks around the cellar. My shoes have traveled through the blood, tracking footprints wherever I’ve been. “I need to call for clean up.”
My heart races as I realize what’s happened. What I’ve done.
“Hopefully there’s time,” Charles says so softly I’m not sure if I was meant to hear him.
My body shakes as I hold her closer to me, carrying her weak body up the steps and letting Charles lead the way. “I’ve got you,” I whisper, kissing her hair. “It’s alright,” I tell her even though I’m not sure it is. My body is so cold, so numb.
Sirens scream in the background as we walk away from the house.
“We should have gotten the silencer,” Charles mutters beneath his breath, opening the car door for me.
We would have time to clean up. Time to hide the evidence if we had stopped to get his equipment like he’d told me to.
Arianna groans with pain in my arms, the blood seeping through the thin white sheet.
But then my sweetheart might not have survived.
Chapter 30
Arianna
I groan softly with the twinge of pain as the doctor works on mending my back. My hands fist the comforter and my head thrashes from side to side. I’m on pain meds, but the prodding and stitches bring sharp pains that won’t go away. I’m alive though. “Zander,” I croak, barely able to force the words from my lips. I try to be still, feeling the cool air sting my open wounds, but it’s hard. It just hurts. I’ve never felt so much pain in my life.
In the background, I hear heavy footsteps softened by plush carpet, coming toward the bed. As the footsteps get closer, I lift my head to see Zander, his face a tortured mask. But my movement proves to be a mistake as horrible pain runs up and down my back. I suck in a sharp breath through clenched teeth, trying my best not to cry out. I don’t want him to see me like this, but I need him here. I just want him to hold me.
A large but gentle hand touches my shoulder where there aren’t any wounds.
“Don’t move,” Zander says, his voice low and sounding like a soft rebuke.
It hurts me to hear that tone in his voice. “I’m sorry,” I tell Zander quietly, my face pressed against the mattress, my lips mashed together. I’m sorry I ever left. I’m sorry I couldn’t fight harder. I’m ashamed. I brought all this on Zander. And now Danny’s blood is on Zander’s hands. Guilt mixes with anxiety in my stomach, making me feel sick.
“It’s alright,” I hear Zander reply, his voice softer now. Even through my pain, a warmth flows through my chest.
“I should’ve listened to you,” I say remorsefully. And none of this would’ve happened.
“It’s going to be alright,” Zander repeats. He crouches down so his eyes are level with mine.
My heart skips a beat at his handsome face so close to mine, his masculine scent calming me. His gaze pierces through me, his heavenly blue eyes clouded with emotion.
I attempt a smile as Zander leans in, pressing his lips against mine, his hand cupping my jaw while his thumb rubs soothing circles on my cheek, causing my skin to warm from just his touch alone. But he murdered someone. I heard what Charles said. There wasn’t time to hide anything. They’re going to know. They’re going to come for him. I’ll tell them everything. They can’t blame Zander. They can’t… I can hardly breathe, and the reality makes me dizzy with agony. “Is it going to be okay?” I whisper against Zander’s lips, my heart in my throat, my eyes shut from the pain. Please tell me that it is. Please tell me that everything is going to be okay.
“Everything’s going to be fine,” he says softly.
My eyes flutter open and I see his piercing blue eyes gazing at me. His jaw is clenched, his expression conflicted.
I look back at him, my heart still in my throat. I have the sudden urge to tell him that I love him. That I want to be with him forever. He really saved me. I truly owe him my life.
But I can’t find the strength to speak the words as I watch the look in his eyes change.
Deep down, I know that he’s lying to me.
Everything isn’t going to be okay. And it’s all because of me.
Chapter 31
Zander
I wish I could just pause time. If only it were possible. The soft sounds of Arianna sleeping peacefully are the only sounds I concentrate on. If I don’t, all I can hear is the bang of my gun. The thud of his body hitting the floor. The sound of her scream.
I close my eyes, wishing the image would go away. It’s not the blood from the bullet holes spilling onto the floor that makes my stomach turn with sickness, it’s Ariana’s blood stained on the cement under her and caked on her back.