Page 76 of Love Bleeds Red
“No, please,” I cry. “Polly, you don’t have to do this.”
Sir wraps his arms around my middle and hoists me off my feet. “Come, Bailey. This is no place for a lady.”
“No!” I scream. “Polly!”
The last thing I see before Sir hauls me out the door, is King’s hand connecting with Polly’s cheek.
“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you all!” As the words leave my lips, I realize I mean them with my whole being.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
LEON - PRESENT DAY
Over two hourson country roads in the rented SUV and we finally reach our destination. Tall iron gates loom ahead, flanked by two security lights. The moment I lay eyes on the C that sits in the center, memories spring to the surface of my mind.
I’ve been here before. How had I forgotten?
We park off the road, hiding the SUV in between two massive trees, and walk closer to the gate.
“This is it?” Damon asks, walking beside me on the edge of the tree line.
I nod, unable to form words. Each step closer makes my chest clench. I feel like I’ve been transported back in time to a seven-year-old boy clutching his mum’s hand as she led him up this same unpaved road.
“Be sure to stand up straight, Leon. Shoulders back. Your father doesn’t tolerate slouching.”
“But Mum, I don’t want to?—”
“Please, love. Just for today. Be the young gentleman I know you can be.”
Jasper shifts beside me, pulling me back to the present. “Security looks tight. Motion sensors on the perimeter, cameras every fifty feet.” He points to the barely visible devices mounted along the fence line. “Guard shack by the main entrance, but I haven’t seen movement since we pulled up.”
Now Jasper’s more alert than me. I need to pull myself together. One fuck up and we could be in trouble. I gesture for them to stop, and head a few steps away from the road. “Let’s call Falin, see if she’s found any more blueprints of the layout. Maybe there’s another way in.”
I pull out my phone and dial Falin. She answers right away.
“Tell me you’re not in trouble already.”
“Define trouble,” I answer, getting a snort from Jasper.
“Leon, I’m serious. I’ve been digging deeper into your father’s estate, and this place is locked down tighter than Fort Knox. Professional security, rotating guards, the works. You were right… something’s definitely going on there.”
“What about entry points?” I ask, crouching behind a fallen log as headlights sweep past on the main road behind us.
She huffs, and I hear her fingers clacking along the keyboard. “There’s a main entrance, gated. And it looks like there’s some kind of maintenance entrance on the eastern perimeter of the estate.”
I repeat the information to the guys. But Falin cuts in.
“I doubt the second entrance is clear. I’ve been digging… Your father is paying an elite security company, and not just chump change, a lot of fucking money, Lee.”
“It’ll be fine, we’re just checking it out. I promise we won’t go charging in.”
“Right,” she says, her tone cynical. “You three never do that.”
I ignore her sarcasm. “How far is the second entrance?”
“About half a mile east from the main gate. Leads to some outbuildings according to the property records. Otherwise, it’s the middle of nowhere.”
“Thanks,” I say, ending the call. She’ll be pissed at my abruptness but I don’t have time to sit around and chat.
