Chapter 38 Chapter 38
Hailey’s POV
My heart hammered against my ribs as I looked around desperately for help, for one of the guards that were supposed to be protecting us, for anyone.
But the driveway was empty.
“What do we do?” Benita whispered, her hand gripping mine so tight it hurt.
“I don’t know,” I breathed back, panic making my thoughts scatter.
The man gestured again with the gun, more insistently this time, and I felt Benita start to move forward.
“Wait,” I hissed, but she was already taking small, hesitant steps toward the car, and I had no choice but to follow, my legs trembling so badly I could barely walk.
We stopped about ten feet from the vehicle, close enough to see the man’s face clearly now. He was young, maybe late twenties, with cold eyes and a scar running down his left cheek.
“Don’t be scared,” he said, his voice surprisingly calm, almost casual. “We’re not here to hurt you. We just came to deliver a message.”
“What message?” I asked, my voice coming out as barely more than a whisper.
He reached down beside him and pulled out an envelope, holding it out the window. “Take it. And make sure it gets to the Kingpin.”
I stared at the envelope, my mind screaming at me not to take it, not to get any closer to this man and his gun.
But what choice did I have?
With shaking hands, I stepped forward and took the envelope from him.
“Good girl,” he said, and something about his tone made my skin crawl.
I started to step back, pulling Benita with me, relief flooding through me that this was over.
But then he spoke again.
“Wait. One more thing.”
My stomach dropped.
“You need to seal it,” he said, and his smile widened. “In blood.”
Before I could process what he meant, he swung the gun away from us.
And pointed it directly at Benita.
“No!” I screamed.
Benita screamed too, her hand flying up instinctively as if that could somehow stop a bullet.
Gunshots exploded through the air, so loud they made my ears ring.
I threw myself at Benita, knocking us both to the ground as more shots rang out, the sound echoing off the buildings around us.
The car’s engine roared, tires screeching against pavement as it took off, speeding away down the street.
For a moment, I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything but lie there on the cold concrete with Benita underneath me, both of us shaking violently.
“Are you hurt?” I gasped, pulling back to look at her. “Benita, are you hurt?”
“I don’t know,” she said, her voice high and panicked. “I don’t know, I can’t tell, oh my God….”
I frantically checked her for blood, for wounds, for any sign that one of those bullets had hit her.
Nothing.
“You’re okay,” I said, relief making me dizzy. “You’re okay, we’re both okay.”
But we weren’t okay. Not really. We were traumatized, terrified, lying on the ground in broad daylight after being held at gunpoint.
“What the hell happened?”
I looked up to see Marco sprinting toward us, his gun drawn, his face furious and terrified in equal measure. Kai was right behind him, already scanning the area for threats.
“There was a man,” I said, my voice shaking so badly I could barely get the words out. “In a car. He had a gun. He gave me this.” I held up the envelope, still clutched in my trembling hand.
“Are you hurt?” Marco asked, dropping to his knees beside Benita and running his hands over her, checking for injuries.
“No,” Benita said, and then she started crying. “No, I’m okay, but he pointed a gun at me, Marco, he was going to shoot me…”
“You’re safe now,” Marco said, pulling her into his arms. “I’ve got you. You’re safe.”
Kai helped me to my feet, his expression grim as he looked at the envelope in my hand. “What did they say?”
“They wanted me to give this to Damien,” I said. “To the Kingpin. And they said I needed to seal it in blood.”
Kai’s jaw tightened. “We need to get you both inside. Now.”
He and Marco ushered us quickly back toward the house, their bodies positioned protectively around us, their eyes constantly scanning for threats.
When we burst through the front door, Isabella and Damien were still in the main room, clearly in the middle of a heated conversation that stopped the moment they saw us.
Isabella’s expression was still cold when she looked at me, her earlier anger clearly not forgotten.
But Sophia, standing near her grandmother, had a small, mischievous smirk playing at the corners of her mouth that made my stomach turn.
“What happened?” Damien demanded, crossing to me in three long strides.
“There was a man,” I said, my voice breaking. “Outside. He had a gun. He made us come closer and gave me this.” I held out the envelope. “He said to make sure you got it. And then he pointed his gun at Benita and….”
My voice cut off as a wave of dizziness hit me. The adrenaline that had been keeping me upright was fading fast, and suddenly everything felt too heavy, too much.
“Hailey,” Kai said urgently, reaching out to steady me. “Stay with us.”
But my vision was already tunneling, the edges going dark.
I managed to press the envelope into Kai’s hand before my legs gave out completely.
Strong arms caught me before I hit the ground, and I heard Damien’s voice, sharp with concern, calling my name.
But I was already fading, the stress and fear and exhaustion pulling me under.
The last thing I saw before everything went black was Damien tearing open the envelope, his expression darkening as he read whatever was inside.
When I came to, I was lying on a couch, a cool cloth pressed to my forehead. Benita was sitting beside me, her face pale and tear-streaked, holding my good hand.
“Hey,” she said softly when she saw my eyes open. “You’re okay. You just fainted.”
“What happened?” I asked, my voice hoarse.
“You passed out after giving Kai the letter,” she said. “Damien caught you before you hit the ground.”
I turned my head and saw Damien standing across the room with Kai, both of them looking at a piece of paper. Isabella and Sophia were there too, though Isabella kept her distance, her expression still disapproving.
“What did it say?” I asked. “The letter?”
Benita hesitated, then squeezed my hand. “You should ask Damien.”
I sat up slowly, the room spinning slightly, and Damien immediately crossed to me.
“Don’t move too fast,” he said, his hand on my shoulder. “You need to rest.”
“What did the letter say?” I asked, looking up at him.
His jaw was tight, his eyes dark with barely contained rage. He held up the paper so I could see it.
Three words were written in red ink that looked disturbingly like blood.
“One more week.“