The lights were turned down low in this part of the library, but I still froze, not even daring to breathe, because if she saw me, I was dead. Mab would realize that every word Sebastian had said about me being an assassin was true, and she’d kill me on the spot—before going after Finn and Fletcher.
But apparently, the Fire elemental had bigger fish to fry, because after a few more heart-stopping seconds, she turned and left the library.
I let out a soft sigh of relief that she hadn’t spotted me—
“Where are your men at?” I heard Sebastian snap. “I want everything wrapped up tonight.”
I waited a minute to make sure that Mab wasn’t coming back, then left my hiding place and eased back over to the fireplace, peering around it once again. Sebastian was still standing in front of his father’s desk, talking to Porter now.
“I spoke to them right before Mab arrived,” Porter replied. “They’re getting ready to leave as we speak. Three of my guys will go over to the son’s place. Three more of my men will head over to the house that the girl lives in with the father. Clever of you to send that car to pick her up so you could get the address. Don’t worry. We’ll take care of them all tonight.”
Sebastian nodded. “Good. And Gin?”
“Still passed out on your bed the last time I looked.” Porter paused. “You sure you want to get rid of her tonight? She might be fun to have around for a few days.”
The way he said “fun” made my skin crawl.
Sebastian snorted. “Not that much fun. Trust me.”
I trembled with fury. I wanted nothing more than to run into the room, raise my knife high, and ram it into Sebastian’s black, deceitful heart over and over again. But my body still felt weak, wobbly, and slow from whatever drug he’d given me—too weak, too wobbly, and too slow to take on Sebastian, not to mention Porter, who could easily beat me to death with his fists.
Besides, I had Finn and Fletcher to think about. I had to warn them that Sebastian was sending his giants after them. So I whirled around, ready to slip out of the library and make my escape, but I moved too fast, making my head spin. I teetered in my heels and stumbled into one of the tables inside the open doors, knocking off a model of a skyscraper. The stone miniature clattered against the floor. I bit back a curse, but the damage was already done.
“What the hell was that?” Sebastian snapped.
Before I could move, before I could react, he and Porter came rushing into my part of the library. Sebastian and I stared at each other for a heartbeat, then I turned toward the open doors and started to run.
23
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Porter managed to yank his gun out from underneath his tuxedo jacket before I made it out of the library. But his aim was lousy, and the bullets thunk-thunk-thunked into the wall beside me instead of punching into my back.
“Get that bitch!” Sebastian screamed.
So much for my sweet, kind, devoted boyfriend. He’d finally shown his true colors, and I was going to kill him for it.
But first, I had to escape.
I ran through the mansion as fast as I could, which wasn’t very fast, given my high heels. But I had no one to blame for this situation but myself. If only I hadn’t been so blind, so naive, so f**king eager to believe all the lame lines that Sebastian had fed me. Finn had said that Sebastian was trying too hard, and he’d been right.
Finn. My heart twisted at the thought of him and Fletcher too, both in danger because of me, because I’d been stupid enough to fall for Sebastian and all his smooth, pretty lies. I had to find a way to warn them, save them.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
More bullets zipped down the hallway, one shattering a mirror as I ran by it. Yes, I had to get to Finn and Fletcher—but first, I had to save myself.
I kept running until I spotted a set of stairs. I veered in that direction, raced down them to the ground floor, and shoved through the first door I came to. I ended up on the south lawn, well away from the driveway and the front gate. Frustration surged through me. Not the way that I’d wanted to come, but I had no choice now but to go forward.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Porter burst through the door. His first spray of bullets went wild, but the giant paused and took aim at me again.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
This time, the bullets kicked up tufts of grass at my feet, much closer to hitting the mark, forcing me to run again.
The tennis courts, the swimming pool, the hot tub. I passed all those and more, keeping away from the outdoor lights as much as I could.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
More bullets, so close that I felt the heat of them zing past my legs this time. I wasn’t going to be able to outrun Porter, not with the drug in my veins still slowing me down, so I started looking for a place to hide. He might have a gun, but I still had my knife. All I had to do was let him run past me, and then I could come up from behind and stab him in the back. Problem solved. Now I just needed to find a place to make it happen.
As if in answer to my need, a building loomed up out of the darkness, lights burning on the outside of the structure.
Cesar Vaughn’s mausoleum.
My steps faltered, my heel caught on a rock, and I almost did a header onto the dewy grass. But there was no going back, only away from Porter, his bullets, and whatever other evil things Sebastian might have in mind for me. Torture, most likely. Charlotte had said that he enjoyed hurting people.
My heart squeezed again at the thought of her, of what she must have suffered at her brother’s hands, and especially how I’d taken her father away from her.
But I could have regrets later—if I lived that long.
So I raced through the open doorway and ducked into the mausoleum, stopping inside the entrance. Then I raised the knife that I was still clutching and waited—just waited for him to come inside. No doubt, Porter thought that I would keep right on running through the building and out the opening on the back side, but that wasn’t who I was. Besides, maybe if I captured him, I could force him to call off the giants he’d sicced on Finn and Fletcher—before I slit his throat.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
More bullets pinged off the doorway as Porter neared the mausoleum. The giant stopped to reload his weapon, so I risked a quick glance around.
A light burned in the center of the ceiling, casting a dim golden glow. The structure was smaller than I thought it would be and shaped like a rotunda. Crystal vases full of those dark blue roses perched on shelves that had been carved into the gray marble walls, and four stone tombs stood in the center of the area. Two of the tombs had words carved into the tops of them, including the one closest to me, which read: Cesar Vaughn, Beloved Father and Husband.