50 Shades of Drake 5 and 6

More Life: Chapter 6ixty-6ix

    Destiny subconsciously reached out and grabbed Aubrey's arm. Flashbacks of her own terrifying car accident flooded her mind, which sent her reeling.

    Aubrey quickly checked on his mother before detaching his hand from hers so that he could catch Destiny. "Hey," he said soothingly. "I got you."

    "Are you telling me that two cars we could've been in just blew up out of nowhere?" Dennis demanded.

    "That's what I'm saying, yes," Darius confirmed.

    Mr. Richards slid a protective arm across his wife's shoulders.

    Destiny craned her neck and looked back towards Carlos with tears in her eyes.

    Carlos slowly nodded at her. She didn't have to speak for him to know the horror she was reliving.

    "I know this is a major shock, but I have to make a few calls," Darius told them right before proceeding to do so.

    Destiny turned around in Aubrey's arms and clung to him.

    "We're okay," Aubrey said hesitantly, knowing that the first place her mind would go to, But the agents who endured those explosions weren't.

    "They really must not want you guys to testify at that trial," Mrs. Richards said with a shake of her head. "They're doing whatever they can to silence you. Are we sure the three of you should be testifying at this trial?"

    "If this man goes free, he'll do worse," Destiny said. "He's gotten away with enough for far too long, and he holds too much power. Yes, we have to testify."

    "Oh...okay, then," Mrs. Richards said, but she didn't like she was in agreement with her daughter. She turned and looked up at her husband.

    Mr. Richards gave a shrug. "Hey, now, if I've gotta whoop some ass, I'm still physically fit enough to whoop some ass," he declared loudly. His voice boomed down multiple flights of stairs. "No one's going to touch a hair on my baby's head, if I've got anything to say about it."

    Carlos looked impressed.

    "I'm with you," Dennis joined in, his eyes focused on his son. 

    Aubrey knew what that look meant. Countless times, his father had expressed remorse for not being more present in his life. Once they'd reunited, it had practically been a monthly conversation. These days, it was more of a biannual affair. A few times a year, Dennis would mention the regret in casual conversation. The conversations grew shorter because Aubrey had less and less to say about the topic. 

    Darius pocketed his phone. "We're okay to move," he advised them. "But I do need to check on-"

    The sound of a heavy door opening reverberated off the stairwell walls.

    Darius raised an index finger to his lips, indicating that they needed to be as quiet as possible. Then, he angled his head and gave a nod to the agent in the back. Both men settled their hands at the top of their gun holsters. Then, Darius pointed at the back agent and used that same index finger to point upwards.

    The agent nodded and quietly backed up a step. He did this until he reached the landing. Then, he was silently ascending the next set of stairs. After a few moments, he called down, "We're clear. It's just Polevoy and Torres."

    Releasing a sigh of relief, Darius sagged against the stair railing. No doubt, he was remembering the agents they'd lost tonight. He seemed to shake the grief off, even if temporarily. "We need to move. Now. Who's volunteering to carry Ms. Graham?"