Page 15 of Freed

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~Twelve~

ROMAN

Every minute that Stuart was in the back seat with Lanie was a minute too long. It made my skin crawl when I looked in the rearview mirror and saw him sitting close to her so that he could fondle her. Lanie was pale, and with the gun pointed at me, I knew she was taking his advances because of me. “Get your hands off her, asshole, or I swear…”

“Haha… you really don’t have any room to give orders, Michaels. Besides, I think Alannah enjoys being touched by a real man.”

His lips grazed her cheek, and there was nothing that I could do. Running the car off the road crossed my mind, but I couldn’t take the chance of killing Lanie. I didn’t give a shit about myself or Stuart, but Lanie was another story.

Arriving at the mansion didn’t come soon enough. Once again, Stuart was barking orders. “Out of the car, Michaels.”

I turned around to make sure Lanie was okay. If Stuart hadn’t had his claws on her as they exited the back seat, I would have taken my chances and punched him in the face. He lifted the gun and waved it toward the house. I turned around, only to get pushed from behind. Stuart’s need to be in control was beginning to piss me off, and when the time was right, he would be eating that gun instead of holding it against my back.

I could hear Lanie being dragged behind me as we crossed the gravel driveway. The house was dark except for the dim light coming from the front of the mansion where Winston’s study was. The front door was unlocked as I turned the knob and pushed the door open. There was a familiar musty smell draped with the scent of blood that lingered in the air. I could only imagine whose body was rotting away. Hopefully, it was Winston’s. Jabbing me in the back, Stuart pointed in the direction of the lit room. The scent of blood became stronger, and when I crossed the doorway, Winston’s body was face down on the floor with a pool of blood surrounding his head. His wasn’t the only body on the floor. Neal was lying next to him. This was a sick display, one that Lanie didn’t deserve to see. “Jesus Christ, Stuart.”

“Father, we’re home.” Stuart cackled behind me like some crazy man.

“I think I’m going to be sick.” Lanie choked behind me. As happy as I was to see Winston dead, she didn’t need to see his limp body soaked in blood. I wished to hell it was Stuart’s body instead of Neal’s lying next to Winston.

“Sorry you have to miss this, Father, but my dreams are finally coming true. Claire and I can finally have everything we ever wanted.”

Stuart had gone completely insane. He was talking to his father like he was still alive. Dragging Lanie across the room, he walked over to the desk and pulled something from the top drawer. I wasn’t close enough to see what it was but knew by the way he had been talking that it was a contract for the sale ofRapture.

Stepping closer to the desk where Stuart had Lanie pulled against his body, all I could see was fire. Her tears were all I needed to end this once and for all. “You are never going to get away with this, Stuart. Even if I do hand overRaptureto you, who's to say I won’t kill you before you take ownership?”

“You must think I’m really stupid.” Stuart let out a sarcastic laugh. Looking past me at his father’s body, he continued with his crazy talk. “Did you hear that, Dad? Mr. Michaels thinks we are stupid. Little does he know that his little princess is our assurance that he will need to follow through with our agreement, and if anything happens to me, she’s dead.”

Stuart was unstable, and if I didn’t do something fast, Lanie or myself could end up dead. Somehow, I needed to get the gun and her away from him. But how? I was going crazy myself, just listening to his bullshit. “Why not just kill me after I sign?”

“Think about it, Michaels. Why would I risk the police making me their number one suspect, especially since I would be the new owner ofRapture?It would be a matter of time before they put two and two together and know that I did the dirty deed. ObtainingRapturewould be a pretty good motive.”

My hand was shaking as I picked up the pen. I couldn’t bring myself to sign knowing that Lanie would never be free of him. Staring down at the letter opener lying on the desk, I only had a split second to decide what do to. Losing my mind at what could happen to Lanie, I heard a voice behind me yell, “Kneel!”

In slow motion, I fell to my knees. I felt the bullet pass next to my ear, clipping the top as I descended to the floor. My eyes were on Lanie, and all I could hear was her scream with terror as she slowly disappeared behind the desk. I was yelling for her, but my word didn’t seem to reach her, “Lanie, kneel.”

Crawling on my hands and knees, I made my way to her as quickly as I could. When I rounded the desk. Lanie was curled up into a ball with her hands covering her ears. A few feet away, I could see Stuart in a standing position, bent over the desk. “Lanie,” I whispered as she moved her hands away from her ears. Her eyes were soaked with tears as she looked up at me.

When I pulled her close, she was shaking, but she was alive. Stuart never moved, and when I saw the blood dripping from the desk and land on his shoes, I knew that he was dead. I wasn’t sure who saved us, but I would be forever thanking him.

Lanie wrapped her arms around my shoulder. Her crying became more intense, and I knew she had to let it go. I held her as tight as I could without crushing her to death. “It’s over, Lanie. You’re safe.”

“Martin.”

I gritted my teeth, angered that her thoughts were on Martin. He might have been knocked out back atRapture, but at least he was safe. Or so I thought, until Lanie pulled away from me and pointed over toward the door. Turning my head to see what she was pointing at, I saw Martin lay motionless on the floor near the doorway. Placing my hands on her cheeks, I kissed her forehead and said, “Stay here.”

Leaving her side. I got to my feet and walked over to where Martin was. I lowered myself to his level, and that was when I realized he had been shot. “Martin, can you hear me?”

His eyes fluttered open, and for a moment, I thought that he would be okay. There was so much blood on his person, and I wasn’t sure where it was coming from. “Where were you shot?”

I moved his jacket and began searching for the wound. His hand grabbed my hand. In a faint, barely auditable voice, he whispered, “Take care of Lanie.”