Dana

Chapter Eleven

The shot rang out through the hallway and it was followed by a loud curse and a hiss. Jared's whole weight was on me and I groaned, trying to slide out from under him.

His head was beside mine and he grunted as his hand went to his left leg. He lifted his head slowly and his eyes were screwed shut, his jaw clenched. He was breathing hard, his forehead lined with perspiration, and when he opened his eyes, it wasn't hard to see his pain.

Shit. I shot him.

My own breaths came in short pants as I gasped,

"Oh my God, oh God, I'm s-sorry!"

He groaned and then rolled off of me, lying on the ground as Marcus and the others rushed to his aid.

My eyes drifted to the wound on his thigh. It was a bloody mess, his jeans and floor covered in blood as well. He grunted out orders to the men surrounding him, telling them what he needed.

As the men attended to Jared, Lorenzo turned to me with icy eyes. He looked really scary when he was mad, just like Jared.

Without saying a word, he motioned to a couple of burly men who came forward and grabbed both of my arms before I could get up. I looked around frantically for my mom. She was also held by two guards. She was kicking and screaming, the large men not even blinking at her feeble attempts to escape; she was weak and frail.

"Mom! Hey, let her go! It wasn't her fault, it was me. I shot him, leave her alone!"

Lorenzo came forward and said, "you will be punished for this."

I shuddered as I replied, "it was an accident, please let us go, please."

He pulled out a pistol from inside his jacket and raised it so it pointed at my forehead.

I stopped struggling.

Everything around me stood still as I held my breath. There was a conviction in his cold eyes and I didn't doubt for a second that this man wouldn't hesitate to kill me.

He smiled, his finger on the trigger.

"I'm terribly sorry but I have to do this, useful as you may be, I cannot risk you running around my manor, trying to escape and shooting people. You've already wasted too much of my time. Your mother will do fine as hostage."

He didn't sound sorry at all.

"My father, he won't give you what you want if you kill me."

He merely laughed. I hated his laugh.

"Your father doesn't care about you, he only ever loved your mother, he would be only too glad to be rid of you. Trust me, I've known him for years."

"Then why'd you take me at all?" My voice wavered, unsteady.

"I had sent my son to kill you that day he found you. But he spared you and decided to keep you here instead. I never planned to keep you here alive. And ungrateful little bitch that you are, you repayed us by shooting him and trying to escape."

He was growling by the end of his sentence.

A sob escaped my throat. I didn't want to be weak, but I couldn't help it, I felt lost and alone all over again.

"And Hunter?" I barely whispered.

"He was supposed to die as well but Jared spared him too. It doesn't matter, he's not important. And he'll never find you. I'd bet he isn't even looking, coward that he is."

All this time, he had the pistol pointing at my head. He was a few feet away from me, and now he took a step forward.

My heart was lodged somewhere in my throat and my knees shook.