Hadley
For the past couple of hours, I dreaded the moment Tristan would walk through that door and now the time had finally come. My eyes burned, but I refused to let him break me. No matter what happened, I was going to stand strong with my head held high. Could I fight him off? Maybe, but not for long. I knew I didn’t stand a chance in the long run, at least not alone. My father was there somewhere, and I didn’t know if Tristan was going to keep his word. I had no doubt he would kill him if I defied him.
Closing my eyes, I clutched my stomach and took a deep breath. I felt sick and disgusted with myself for what I was about to do. There was no choice as long as my dad’s life was on the line. Maybe I could make myself sick and puke on him when he tried to fuck me. Either way, I had to figure it out. The door opened and closed, his footsteps drawing closer. My heart pounded harder with each passing second. He knew I’d do anything to keep my family and friends safe. How could I lay there and pretend to enjoy him fucking me?
“Please, Tristan,” I begged, “don’t make me do this.” Holding my stomach tighter, I fought the urge to vomit. I might need it later.
“Hadley.” Gasping, I opened my eyes and froze. “Hadley, are you okay?”
Slowly, I turned around, tears falling the moment I saw him. He approached slowly, staring at me as if I would break. Little did he know, he gave me all the strength I needed. “You’re here!” I cried, rushing into his arms.
His arms closed in around me and he held me so tight I could barely breathe, but I didn’t care. He was there. That was all that mattered. “I’m here,” he murmured. I didn’t want to let him go, but he pulled back and clutched my face in his firm grip, his gray eyes dark and dangerous. “What did he do to you?”
“Nothing,” I said, hoping he couldn’t see the lie in my face. His gaze narrowed and I looked away; he could see right through me. “Other than drugging me, he hasn’t had the chance to do much. But my father’s here somewhere and he’s in trouble. So is Connor.”
Grabbing my hand, he pulled me to the door. “Connor’s fine. He’s here with me and Nick.”
“Nick?” I hissed. “Why is he here?”
He stopped in front of the door and sighed. “He cares about you, Hadley. As much as I dislike the guy, he’s actually been quite useful. Now let’s go.” We snuck out into the hall, and he froze, pulling out his phone.
“Who is it?” I whispered.
“It’s Nick. He’s downstairs with your father. He needs help getting him out.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, I followed him down the stairs. My father was still alive. “Where’s Tristan? He has two other guys with him,” I informed him.
Squeezing my hand, he jerked me into a darkened corner, his gaze on a security camera by the ceiling. “There’s only one now.”
“What happened to the other one?” I asked.
He glanced at me quickly and then averted his gaze back to the camera. “He’s dead. There was no other way.” Once the camera turned toward the other side of the room, we took off down the hall. “Nick said it’s the second door on the right.” We got to the door and he guided me out of the way. “Let me go in there first. It might be a trap.” Holding his gun in one hand, he turned the knob with the other. The room was half lit and the only thing I could see over Blake’s shoulder was Nick’s head. Blake glanced back at me. “We’re good, come on.”
We rushed inside to find Nick trying to get my father free from his restraints. His head lolled to the side and he was bound to a chair, clearly drugged.
“Dad,” I gasped, racing over to him. I tried to lift his head, but he was out.
Nick passed Blake the knife, then lifted me up in his arms. “Thank fucking God you’re okay. We thought you were dead.”