She cried out, her petrified weeps echoing right through me.
Oh God, he’s going to hurt her. I have to do something.
“Scott, please don’t hurt her. I beg you. I’ll do anything. I’ll leave her and we can be together.” Yes, lie to him. Trick him. Make sure she’s safe then have him committed. Shit! He’s worse than any of us realised. Fuck! How could I let this happen? I’ve fucking let her down again.
Scott paused for a second as if he were deliberating what I’d said.
“No. You’re lying. I can see how much you love her,” he answered dryly.
Feeling utter dread pass over me, I whispered to the speaker of my car. “I love you more, Scott.”
“No, you don’t. Goodbye, Bryce.”
Terror hit me with force in that moment. “Scott, don’t be fucking stupid. I swear to God if you hurt any hair on her head, I’ll kill you. I’ll fucking kill you myself.” I yelled, hysterically, now more desperate than ever to get to her.
Scott laughed, painfully, almost masochistically, “You won’t have to.”
What the fuck? I’d lost him. He was going to kill her, kill them both. This didn’t feel like a threat, it felt real—sounded real.
I had to get back to the apartment. “Scott!” I yelled, “Gareth, don’t—.”
The line went dead.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I roared with fear.
I looked out the window of my car, only just barely being able to see the top of City Towers as I pulled into the street of my building’s entrance. Alexis was up there, held hostage by my mentally ill cousin. She was terrified, carrying my baby and wearing a ring on her finger that held a promise I had made to her, a promise I fucking intended to keep.
***
With my heart thudding like fuck, I dialled Dale; my Head of Security, then I did something I thought I would never do in my life, I put my foot down and sped dangerously through the traffic, desperate to get to the apartment to save her.
After a couple of rings, Dale picked up. “Yes, Sir.”
“Dale, get up to the penthouse now!—” I demanded.
“I’ll send Brett, he’s on level 40 doing a—”
“Just fucking do it, Alexis in is danger. Gareth has fucking kidnapped her.”
I sped into my basement garage and screeched to a stop just shy of the elevator doors, and not wasting any time, I leapt out of the car and ran toward the elevator as fast I could, hoping to God Scott hadn’t already hurt in anyway. Fuck!
Just before I reached the button to the elevator, a loud roar echoed up above and the ground shook mildly. “What the fuck was that?” Oh no. Fuck, no.
“I’ll call you back,” Dale said quickly, before hanging up.
My heart increased its painful thump in my chest, adrenalin coursing through my body. I pressed the button in rapid succession, watching the light remain lit on the 42nd floor. “No! Fuck! No!” I yelled, while spinning and heading for the stairs.
The sound of my building’s fire alarm rang continuously, reverberating through the stairwell as I launched myself up the stairs, taking two, three, even four steps at a time.
In no time at all, I reached the exit to the lobby and wrenched open the door to find subdued panic on the faces of staff and guests who were looking up at the ceiling.
“Mr. Clark,” Abigail called out, uncertainty and fear on her face.
I didn’t have time to reassure her. “Put Emergency Plan B into action,” I ordered, as I kept running toward the elevator. I had no idea what I was running to, but I didn’t care. All I cared about was getting up to the penthouse.
My phone started ringing in my pocket, and a glimmer of hope flowed through me at the prospect of seeing Alexis’ name on the screen. I fumbled, my hands trembling as I wrenched it out only to see my head of security’s name instead.
I answered it.
“Dale, talk to me.”
“There’s been an explosion on the penthouse floor. From what I can see on the Emergency System, it’s localised to that floor only.” Geezus fucking Christ! Alexis, please be okay.
“Abigail,” I shouted. “Cancel Plan B action. Order an evacuation and floor search of levels 35 and up. Explosion localised to the penthouse. As far as I know, there’s no other threat.”
She nodded, and with courage and a professionalism I admired, she turned and took control, shouting out commands to staff trained in the appropriate areas.
I put my phone back to my ear. “Dale, where’s Brett?”
“He got so far as the elevator.”
“What’s the status on the elevators? I’m going up.”
“But Sir—”
“Just do it, Dale. Alexis is up there for fuck’s sake.”