CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Cora gripped Vlad’s hand tightly as they walked out of the house. She actually felt sick from fear. Mike Williams had escaped from jail and he was coming for her. Vlad didn’t tell her that Mike would be coming for her, but she knew he was. She could feel it. Since Mike wanted her father and her father was nowhere to be seen, it’s only logical for him to come after her. She had no idea what he wanted though.
Vlad hadn’t allowed Cora to go through the things in the hidden room with him. He had said the less she knew about what was in that room, the better. Whatever he had found had put him on edge.
“We’re going right to the truck,” Vlad told her as they headed down the path.
The truck was parked in the driveway only a few feet away. Cora had to run to keep up with his wide strides. They were two feet away when Cora heard tires squealing. She glanced up just in time to see four vans coming to a stop in front of the house. One of them was blocking the truck. The side doors of the vans opened. Cora gasped when an arm slipped around her waist. For a few seconds she was airborne and then her ass hit the ground hard.
“Stay down.”
He said something else, but it was drowned out by the sound of sudden gunfire. Cora pressed her palms against her ears and curled into a ball. There were so many guns being fired all at once. She opened her eyes and stared at Vlad. He had his gun out and was firing at the vans. Cora realized that he had grabbed her and ducked down in front of the truck. They had cover but for how long?
Just as suddenly as it started, the gunfire died down. Vlad, leaned forward slightly to glance around the truck. He duck back quickly and took a seat next to her. Cora slowly lowered her hands from her ears. She bit her lip when he reached down to pull another gun from his ankle. She had no clue what he was doing.
“I’m going to cover you,” Vlad muttered. “When I’m up I want you to run for the house. When you get inside you call the police. Do you understand?”
She nodded. Vlad got up onto his knees. Before he could turn around, Cora grabbed his cheeks and pulled his head down to hers. She kissed him like as if she was starving for air.
“I love you,” she whispered against his lips.
Vlad’s eyes locked with hers for a few seconds before darting away. Maybe when all this ended she would regret telling him that, but for now she wanted him to know how she felt. Cora felt a little anxious as she waited for him to tell her that he loved her too, but he didn’t. He licked his lips and then turned away from her.
It happened so suddenly—one minute he was kneeling next to her and the next he laid sprawled on his back. Cora hadn’t heard the shot but the red crimson spreading across his chest was a clear indication that Vlad was just shot. Panic hit. Cora crawled towards him. Her hands hovered over his chest. She wasn’t sure what to do.
“V-Vlad?” she whispered, pressing a hand against his cheek. “Vlad? Please don’t leave me.”
“I’m not leaving you,” he croaked with a groan. “Get back to the truck.”
“You’re b-bleeding.”
“Get back Cora,” he yelled.
She jerked back. Cora crawled backwards until her back hit the truck. He eyes never left his still form. A sound to her left made her head snap in that direction. Her eyes widened when a man dressed in black appeared next to her. He had a gun pointed straight at her forehead.
“I got her!” he yelled to someone over his shoulder.
A loud bang made her jump. The man in front of her jerked back and then dropped to the ground with a small hole in his forehead. Her hands shot up to her mouth to stop the screams from escaping. Vlad suddenly hauled her to her feet and pushed her towards the open garage doors.
When had he opened them? How had he gotten up? She stumbled slightly but managed to regain her balance before she could hit the ground. Vlad was right behind her, urging her into the house. The doors started to close when they entered the house. He slammed the door closed and twisted the lock.
“Here. Call the police.” Vlad pushed his phone into her hand. “Tell them that Mike is here.”
“O-okay.”
Cora entered the wrong number twice because of her shaky hands. When she finally entered the correct number, she couldn’t keep the tears at bay any longer. They streamed down her cheeks uncontrollably. Her voice cracked a few times as she explained to the officer on the phone what was happening. He asked her to stay on line as he reported the incident.
Vlad muttered something under his breath. Her eyes snapped up to his in question. His eyes locked with hers. The look on his face scared her. Vlad reached out to cup her cheeks. He wiped the tears away with his thumbs. His lips tilted upwards slightly before straightening into a straight line. Vlad leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers.
“I need you to go and hide.”
“W-why?”
“Don’t question me. Just do as I tell you please Cora.”
“I don’t want to leave you,” she whispered.
Reaching up, Cora pressed her hands against his chest. Vlad covered her hands with his.
“I can’t concentrate with you so close to me. Please. Go hide where you know no one will look for you. Once the cops come, I’ll get you.”
“How will you know where I am?”
“I’ll find you baby.”
“Promise?”
He gave her a small smile. “Promise.”
She still hesitated. Vlad pressed his lips against her forehead, her nose and then her lips. For a few seconds he pulled her against his chest and then he pulled away and pushed her in the direction of the stairs. Their eyes locked for a few more seconds before he turned his back on her. She swallowed and then hurried up the stairs. Her steps flattered halfway to her bedroom.
It would be the first place they would look for her. She changed directions and headed in the opposite direction. She stopped in front of a door and hesitated. Father had forbidden her to enter the room. It was always locked too.
To Cora’s surprise, the door opened easily. Cora slipped into the room and closed the door softly behind her. Her hand slipped when she tried to turn the lock. Squeezing her eyes close, she leaned her forehead against the door and sucked in a deep breath. She slowly blew it out. Cora repeated it a few times until her heart had calmed down slightly.
She turned and glanced around the room. It was bare with only the essential furniture. The last time Cora had slipped inside the room, it was fully furnished with portraits hanging on the walls and a vase of flowers on the dresser. Now there was no sign of anyone ever using the room.
On shaky legs she made her way over to the closet. Cora hesitated and then slipped inside. She made sure that the doors were firmly closed before turning away. To her surprise, a few pieces of clothing remained. Her feet carried her over to the dresses hanging on the railing. Her fingertips trailed over the material. One dress caught her eye almost instantly.
Her brows furrowed as she tried to remember where she had seen if before. There was a faint memory tugging at her brain but it was very unclear. Cora tried to grab onto it but just as it became a little clearer, it suddenly faded again.
Her body jerked when the sound of gunfire penetrated the silence. Cora sank down to the floor and crawled in the space underneath the dresses. She pressed her back against the side of the closet and pulled her legs up to her chest.
Please let him be okay. Please let us walk out of here alive. Please don’t let anything happen to Vlad.
It felt like hours before the sound of gunfire faded and silence surrounded her once more. Her legs were starting to cramp from sitting in the same positions for so long. Was it still day? Why hadn’t the police arrived yet? They should’ve arrived already, right?
Cora’s breath got caught in her throat when she heard something in the bedroom. She clutched at her knees tightly as the closet door slowly opened. From the corner of her eyes she caught sight of shiny black dress shoes. She almost crawled from her hiding place and threw herself at the man, until she remembered that Vlad wore boots and not dress shoes. He would’ve called out to her too.
This man stayed silent as he walked around the closet. He stopped in front of her and touched a dress or two. Her eyes were glued to his shoes. He turned and walked away. Cora waited for the sound of the door closing, but only silence remained.
“Got you.”
A scream fell from her lips when a hand gripped her arm and pulled her out of her hiding place. Her eyes snapped up to the man’s face. Ice filed her eyes when she realized who it was. His smile widened when she started trashing.
“You can fight me all you want, but this time you’re not getting away from me.”
“I don’t know anything about my father’s business,” Cora told him.
“I’m not so sure about that,” Mike muttered. “Don’t worry honey, I’ll have you talking in no time.”
Cora screamed and tried to dig her heels into the floor when he started dragging her out of the closet. Her struggles didn’t seem to faze him at all. His hold on her arm only tightened. She stumbled on the stairs but his hold on her arm kept her from falling. When they reached the bottom of the stairs her struggles stopped when she saw two men dragging Vlad into the living room.
Mike pulled her closer but kept her from reaching Vlad. The men dropped him onto the floor at their feet. Vlad didn’t even make a sound. His body was so still.
“Hold her,” Mike ordered his men.
His hold dropped from her arm and it was the perfect opportunity for her to run, but she was frozen. The men grabbed hold of both her arms and held her upright as their boss stepped over the man on the floor.
Cora whimpered when Mike kicked Vlad so he rolled onto his back. A small groan fell from his lips. His shirt was soaked in blood. Vlad had a slit lip, his right eye was swollen shut and a few bruises covered the rest of his face.
Her eyes snapped up when Mike pulled a gun from underneath his suit jacket. Cora jerked forward but the sound of the gun firing made her freeze again. Vlad’s body jerked and then stilled. Mike fired the gun three more times before lowering it.
Vlad became blurry as tears filled her eyes. They slowly dripped down her cheeks, and with every teardrop hitting the ground a part of her died. The fight drained out of her body as his blood pooled around his body. There was no reason left for her to fight.
“Don’t look so sad honey,” Mike’s voice broke the tense silence. “Pretty soon you’ll be joining him.”
She hung limply between the two men as they carried her out of the back of the house. They walked along the back wall until they reach an opening, and then they walked through the neighbours’ back yard to an old car waiting by the curb.
Cora was pushed into the back with Mike following closely behind her. She pressed herself against the door as far away from him as she could go. Cora turned her head to stare out the window as they started moving.
Vlad was dead and it was all her fault.