Alexis moved to exit the room, the security guard crossing his arms as he blocked her in.
“I’m going to the bathroom to wash my face.”
He narrows his eyes but allowed her to pass. Her shoulders brushed across his frame and she tried not to cower at the contact. Alexis got the impression that he didn’t always agree with her father’s command and only did so because Lev was the boss.
“I’d like to use the toilet, please,” she tried to ask nicely, hating how the act of pleasantries had her almost swallowing her tongue.
“Make it quick. Your five minutes is almost up,” he growled.
Alexis guessed because there was no window in the bathroom that he assumed she couldn’t go anywhere. Go - no. Plan - yes. Turning on the sink faucet, Alexis began rummaging through the lower cabinet until she found the small device, no bigger than the palm of her hand. She flipped it open and grabbed one of the small trackers inside. She placed it in the center of her bra, hoping that if worst came to worst, Dylan could use Cliff’s computers to track her.
She took the time to rinse her face free of the blood before opening the door to the bathroom. Her father now stood with her guard.
“Your time is up. Time to go.”
Muscle man gripped her arm tightly, and she was thankful he didn’t grip around her waist again. Once they were back in the living room, the last of the men filed in saying that they found no weapons outside.
She hoped Preston was able to get to Cliff without these men noticing. And if she had any wishes left, she wished that Cliff survived.
Alexis was tugged through the house and as she reached the porch, she gazed at the cabin wistfully in one last goodbye. She’d miss Cliff. This place was their beginning and their end, their love story made out of years of heartache and loneliness.
The group paused at the top of the steps on the porch, something close by startled them.
“Do you smell that?”
Closing her eyes, Alexis let her sense of smell take over.
Gas.
“Smell what?” her father asked the man as he sniffed the air.
The men closest to her began taking heaps of air into their systems, trying to determine the scent. She could hear the raspy sounds of their inhales.
With her eyes still closed another noise pinged, a soft clicking off in the distance. Instantly she knew what that meant and she tried to jerk her arm away, tried to free herself.
“Hey, stop it now,” her captor shouted just as the first blast exploded at the back of the cabin.
The group moved collectively as the blasts continued.
“Get the girl in my car,” her father shouted, and the beast-man lifted her and ran toward the town car.
Alexis fought against the man as he shoved her into the back seat. She kicked and screamed, but nothing worked. With an elbow to her stomach, Alexis hunched over as he pushed her inside at the same time her father pried open the car door and settled in the seat as if nothing was amiss.
The sound of the doors locking echoed in the car as the muscled man closed the driver’s door. He moved the car at lightning speed down the path. Turning in her seat, Alexis watched as Cliff’s home went up in a ball of flame and ash. The cloud of smoke was horrific.
Just as they turned the corner leading them back toward the town, Alexis caught something red off in the distance. It was Preston. And he was not alone.
A plastered smile on her lips, Alexis tried to turn back in the seat, but she was met with a cloth across her mouth and nose. Chloroform filled her lungs as she struggled to breathe. Her kicks became less and less violent until she fell limply against the door of the car.
“Didn’t think we’d let you off that easily, did you?”
Chapter Nine
“Come on, man,” the muffled voice called out to him. The compressions on his chest ached against his tired muscles and bones.
“Alexis needs you.”
Oh, Alexis. He tried to save her, tried to do what was best for both of them, but failed miserably. He deserved to die in the pool of water where they spent their nights to escape the grueling heat.