Page 30 of Our Darling Isabelle

A sob breaks free from my throat as I lose my brave persona in the presence of one of the few men who makes me feel safe. I miss our home and that thought scares me more than the man holding a gun to my side. Markus casually walks towards the back of the room and everyone keeps their eyes glued to him while he blows smoke rings into the air.

“Your pretty little plaything is gonna be dead on the floor if you don’t watch your fuckin’ mouth.” Steffen spits the words and Markus laughs, pulling his hands out of his pockets and raising them innocently with a shrug. Everyone in the room sucks in an audible breath, some stepping backwards towards the door.

“Should’ve killed you the last time I beat your ass. I won’t make that mistake this time. Her being alive is the only reason you are still breathing, Steffy.” Markus grins, his eyes nearly glittering with malice. The grenades in both of his hands look authentic enough that I don’t think he’s bluffing.

“You’ll kill us all.” Steffen’s voice has gone up an octave and his hand on my hair is shaking, the grip loosening.

“That’s the point.” Alec announces, pressing his gun to Steffen’s head. The gun he has pressed to my ribs shakes and for a moment I’m scared he will pull the trigger.

“You boys can drop your weapons, or we can play hot potato, which sounds more fun?” Markus asks enthusiastically. All three men quickly drop their guns, kicking them away and Steffen wrenches my head to the side, digging the barrel of his gun into my ribs and shakes his head. Before he can speak, I bring my head forward, cursing myself mentally before swinging it back and feeling his nose crush against the back of my skull.

“Bitch!” Steffen screams, clutching his face as I fall towards Markus.

“Catch!” He yells, tossing the grenades at Steffen’s men before throwing me over his shoulder and diving out the door with Alec right beside us.

The explosion makes dust and debris rain down around us, the old building suffering more. I can barely hear somebody screaming in the room over the sound of gunfire above us and the ringing in my ears. Markus pulls another grenade out of his pocket, tossing it to Alec, who yanks the pin and lobs it over his shoulder with a rare smile.

“You guys came for me.” I whimper, my injuries protesting the jerky movements as Markus tries to cradle me against his body.

“How many times do we have to say it? You belong to us. We will always find you, darling.” Alec says, gun drawn again as he slams through a door at the end of the hall. Sunlight warms my skin even as the cool breeze kicks strands of my hair up and my eyes slide closed as I take a shallow breath. A short set of stairs carries us up to the overgrown grassy clearing and we are so close to freedom I can taste it.

“But I’m going to have to increase my stock of explosives if you plan on getting kidnapped this often.” Markus says, pressing a kiss to my head as they rush, picking up speed. Even in the safety of his arms, I still feel the prick of unease. I’m still processing the fact that my mother was part of this.

“Shit.” Markus says under his breath as we jerk to a stop. I pry my eyes open and grip his shirt even tighter in my fists.

“You sure are popular, darling.” Alec whispers, stepping protectively in front of us.

“This is going to suck ass,” Markus sighs. His fingers dig into my thighs and side as he looks around the clearing where dozens of armed men in black suits flood from the trees with their weapons aimed at us.

“Put her down.” A familiar voice says, as a tall blonde man steps forward.

Chapter 23—Isabelle

“Aden?” I croak, wincing at my voice cracking. Aden stares at my shocked face, stepping closer until Alec cocks his gun and levels it at him. The two men stare each other down, both of them emanating violence.

“You know this punk?” Markus asks me, giving me a curious look.

“Put her down, Barone. She’s coming with us,” Aden says, holding a hand up to stop the others from following behind him as he inches closer. “Your father is waiting to meet you.” He says, and a sliver of hope I always felt as a little girl comes to life in my chest. I dreamed of a father that would show up one day to rescue me from my previous life, sweeping me away to protect me from all the horrors of this world. But I wasn’t sure I wanted to be rescued from this life. Not anymore.

“I’ll splatter you all over your men if you get any closer, boy.” Alec snarls the words and fear strikes me. This has to end now. I’ve seen more death today than I have my entire life and I was sick to my stomach that I was the root of it.

“Stop, both of you!” I cry out and Alec’s body goes rigid. Markus adjusts his grip on me and leans his face closer to mine.

“Belle?” he asks softly.

“Aden is my friend, don’t kill him.” I plead. I can see Alec warring with himself until he takes a step back. The way he looks at me makes me feel cold, like the first time we met. He’s looking at me as if I’m a pest.

“Aden, I told you to wait. Do you ever listen, boy?” Another man grumbles, walking up unarmed except his cane and crossing his arms as he frowns at us.

“Vincent,” Markus says, angling his body to turn me away from them.

“I’m sorry, sir. I couldn’t just stand by any longer. They almost got her killed. I had to save her from them before they got away.” Aden snaps. I jerk upwards, ignoring how the world spins to defend my men.

“Aden, they rescued me.” I shout. He scoffs and rolls his eyes as if I’m a child.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. Those two are the ones to blame for this,” He snarls, waving his hand at me.

“You want to blame somebody? Find my mother! She did this, she traded me to pay off her debt. None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for her. She and Steffen had some stupid scheme going, and I just got stuck in the middle of it all!” My anger is making me scream and my tears are burning as they trickle down my face.

---