Chapter 30: Saved by the Bell… or by the Boss’s Friends - part 2
Chapter 30: Saved by the Bell… or by the Boss’s Friends - part 2
“Can you breathe?”
“Not very well, but I think that’s panic.”
He nodded, as if that was an acceptable answer.
“My name is Pietro. You’re safe now.”
I let out a short, desperate laugh with absolutely no humor.
“Safe? There was a man pointing a gun at me thirty seconds ago!”
“And now he doesn’t have a gun anymore.”
I looked at him.
“Was that supposed to comfort me?”
“A little.”
“Terrible job.”
Before he could answer, another shot sounded farther away. My body flinched on its own, and Pietro placed a firm hand on my shoulder, keeping me in place.
“Hey. Look at me. Breathe.”
“I’m trying!”
“Try harder.”
“Wow. Thank you, Doctor Breathing.”
His mouth almost smiled.
Almost.
Then a voice came from the kitchen.
“CLEAR!”
My heart jumped again.
Another man appeared right after, also dressed in black, weapon lowered, face serious, dark hair stuck to his forehead and a little blood on the sleeve of his clothes.
Not his, I hoped.
Please, God, let it not be his.
Or mine.
Or anyone I knew.
He looked me up and down for a second, but not in the disgusting way the invaders had. It was an assessment. A check. Like he was looking for injuries.
“You’re Celeste?”
My mouth went dry.
“Depends. If you’re here to kidnap me, no.”
Pietro made a low sound, almost a laugh.
The other man raised an eyebrow.
“I’m Tom.”
I blinked.
“Tom?”
“I work with Abraham.”
Ah.
Of course.
Because apparently Abraham’s job included armed men, shootouts, mansion invasions, and coworkers showing up covered in blood in the middle of the night.
Totally normal.
Very LinkedIn.
“The children,” I said, my voice suddenly breaking. “Abby and Adam. They’re upstairs with Brenda. In the guest room. In the closet. I left them there. They’re—”
“Anthony already went up,” Tom said quickly. “We have them.”
My legs lost strength.
Pietro caught me again.
“Hey.”
“Are they okay?” I asked, grabbing his arm. “For the love of God, tell me they’re okay.”
Tom looked at the communicator attached to his shoulder.
“Tony, status on the children.”
There was static.
Then a male voice answered.
“Two little ones found with a redhead armed with a lamp. All alive. The redhead almost killed me.”
I started crying.
Automatically.
Ugly crying.
With sobs.
With my breath failing.
With my hand over my mouth.
I couldn’t hold it in. All the fear I had been pushing down, all the fake strength, all the improvised courage, it all broke right there, in front of two armed men I had just met.
“They’re alive,” I whispered, more to myself than to them.
“They are,” Pietro said, lower. “You bought enough time.”
That made me cry harder.
I didn’t know why.
Maybe because I didn’t want to be brave. Maybe because I was tired. Maybe because, for the first time since the alarm went off, someone had said I had done something right.
Then I heard it.
“CELESTE!”
Abby’s voice came before she did.
I turned so fast I almost fell.
She ran into the room, hair a mess, unicorn pressed to her chest, eyes red from crying. Adam came right behind her, trying to look composed, but his face was pale and his mouth was trembling. Brenda appeared at the same second, wild-haired, crying, and still holding the damn lamp.
“Celeste!” Abby threw herself at me.
I hugged her so tightly I almost squeezed too hard. Adam came right after, and I pulled him in too, kissing the tops of both their heads while I couldn’t stop crying.
“Are you okay?” I asked, running my hands over their faces, their arms, their hair, searching for any injury. “Did they touch you? Did you get hurt? Adam? Abby?”
“We’re okay,” Adam answered, but his voice broke at the end.
That destroyed me.
I pulled him close again, holding them both against me.
“I told you I’d protect you,” I whispered, shaking all over. “I told you.”
“You came back,” Abby cried against my neck. “My heroine came back.”
There.
I was going to die.
Not from a gunshot, but from a broken heart.
Brenda threw herself over the three of us and hugged me over the children, almost knocking us down.
“You bitch!” she cried in my ear. “I told you to come back. I didn’t tell you to turn yourself into a target for criminals!”
“I love you too,” I answered, crying and laughing at the same time.
“Are you hurt?”
“I think only my dignity.”
“Girl, your dignity died about three chapters ago.”
Even terrified, I laughed.
An ugly, trembling laugh, half sob.
That was when I noticed the other man standing behind them.
He was big too, of course, because apparently Abraham only worked with men who looked like they had walked out of an indecent military catalog. He had short hair, a mocking expression, and a huge gun hanging from his body like it was just a casual Sunday accessory.
He looked at me, then at the nightgown, then at my face.
“So you’re the nanny?”
My face burned instantly.
Ah, great.
Excellent.
I had almost been shot, fought criminals with a frying pan, saved the children, cried in front of armed agents, and now I was remembering I was wearing a short, thin, black nightgown, completely inappropriate for formal introductions.
I tugged the hem down with one hand while still holding Abby with the other.
“I… was sleeping.”
“I figured,” he said, smiling.
Brenda narrowed her eyes.
“Look less, soldier boy.”
The man raised his hands, laughing.
“Respectfully.”
“Respectfully, my lamp in your face,” Brenda threatened.
Abby sniffled and looked at me.
“This is Uncle Tony.”
I blinked.
“Uncle?”
“Uncle Tony,” she repeated, as if it were obvious. Then she pointed at the others. “Uncle Tom. Uncle Pietro.”
I looked from Abby to the three men.