“Nope, that’s not it,” Cole says. His jaw’s clenched, and I grit my teeth.
I run to the window. Cole grabs his gun, and I tug the blinds an inch to the left so I can see outside.
Just then, Grace comes tearing into the living room, gun drawn. Her eyes are wide with fear. “Someone’s coming,” she says.
“How many?” Cole asks. He presses himself along the wall next to me. “How far?”
“One car, and not far enough,” Grace says.
“Okay,” Cole says. “You guard the back door. Lexi and I will take the front.”
“Got it,” she says. I watch as she sprints down the hallway, and then I lock eyes with Cole. He presses his body against mine so he can whisper in my ear. “You and me, remember?”
I nod.
My body’s shaking, so I attempt to clamp down on my fear by glancing around the room and thinking up a plan. Nothing. I look out the tiny slit in the window. Time’s up.
Headlights rip through the darkness. I watch as Cole’s posture turns rigid. He slowly steps alongside the front door and holds his gun ready.
I slowly inch forward, but Zeus charges the front door, snarling and growling. “Zeus, halt,” Cole says in a commanding voice. Zeus immediately sits in place, anxious and ready for the next command. My head’s on a swivel between Cole and Zeus sitting at the door, his teeth bared.
The headlights flick off. A door slams. Footsteps come fast. My heart’s racing. The front door vibrates with three forceful knocks. My breath catches as I hear a muffled male voice shouting. I clench my jaw as Cole peeks out the window. I watch as his white knuckles give way to a slight headshake.
“Something’s wrong,” Cole says, rubbing the back of his head with his left hand.
“Who is it?” I tilt my head toward him.
“It’s Bruno … ” His voice trails off. He narrows his eyes and glances around as if looking for answers. “Why did he come back?” He looks at me, and his eyebrows squish together.
“Oh my God, then where’s Sutton?” I ask.
Bruno pounds even harder on the door this time. “Open the door!” He’s screaming and his voice is hoarse.
Suddenly, I run toward the door with Zeus at my heels and reach for the lock. “We have to let him in!” I say.
The door swings open. Cole grabs Bruno by the shirt and pulls him into the house as I close the door and lock it.
“Where is he?” I yell.
Bruno’s harried and wild appearance terrifies me. He doesn’t speak at first. He bends over, places his hands on his knees, and coughs. He’s sweating and trembling and … Is that blood?
“Bruno, where’s Sutton?” Cole asks in a low voice, glancing at me quickly, then turning back to him. Bruno stands up straight and looks directly at me and then at Cole.
“They took him.”
Panic sets in my chest like a bomb about to explode. Bruno’s panicked eyes lock with mine, and everything in the room becomes a blur.
“Who? Who has Sutton?” Cole asks, his voice rising with each word.
“Guards. At least twenty or so,” Bruno pants.
“How?”
Grace comes running into the room, nearly knocking me over, pushing past me, and taking Bruno into her arms.
“It happened so fast,” he says, looking at Cole and hugging Grace. “We were headed toward one of the checkpoints, so I tried finding a way around. Everything was going smoothly, when all of a sudden they came out of nowhere. They forced me off the road, surrounded us.” Bruno pulls away from Grace and wipes sweat from his forehead. Grace leads him over to take a seat on the couch.
“Here, sit down before you pass out,” Grace says as she takes a seat next to him. Cole and I sit on the loveseat facing them, and Zeus remains by the door.
“They yanked Sutton from the car and threw him on the ground. Sutton yelled at me to run. I didn’t want to, but I had no choice. I slammed my foot down on the gas and got the hell out of there.” He lowers his eyes. “I would’ve never made it if I hadn’t.”
“Where are they taking him?” Cole asks.
“Where do you think?”
“No. Please, God, no.” In a rage, I jump from the couch and without thinking, punch a hole in the wall, watching the drywall crumble into pieces just like my heart. But I’m too angry to cry, and my hand hurts like crazy.
“Let’s go, we’re wasting time.” Cole moves quickly toward the door, and I’m a step behind him. Bruno steps in Cole’s way, waking Zeus, who’d fallen asleep in front of the door. “What are you doing? Get out of my way.”
“Man, we don’t have a chance in hell.”
“Screw that, we’re going,” Cole says in a threatening tone.
Grace is suddenly by Bruno’s side, trying to get us to think rationally. “And even if we did find them … which we won’t … then what? Nothing. Because we’d all end up dead.”
“You don’t know that.” Cole starts pacing the room, and I cover my face with my hands because I know what Grace’s saying is true.