Page 68 of The Damaged Billionaire

“Ugghh,” I hiss as I roll over and try to pry my eyes open even more, digging my forehead into the hard wooden floor and gritting my teeth. I take in the now familiar sight of the barn. From where I am lying, the floor is warped, uneven, with a thin coat of dust. As my eyes skirt across the floor, I see the footprints that run from the door to where I am, along with a long line, which I imagine may be from my body being dragged across the floor since I am now positioned even farther from the door than I was originally. My breathing is shallow and rapid, my lungs struggling with my weakness. I feel like I have done ten rounds in a boxing ring, without the taste of success. The smell of straw and animal shit combine and infiltrate my nostrils to the point that I wonder if I am covered in it.

“Daddy really doesn’t like rejection,” Katerina’s voice says, making my head move to the side as I try to breathe through the pain that is running all over my body. I don’t know what happened to me when I was out, but the throbbing is running over my torso and every limb. My chest and ribs pull with every breath I take.

“What happened?” I ask, needing the details. The sun is still bright, so I can’t have been out of it for too long.

“He tied you back up. He should have just killed you already like I asked him to. But he wanted to wait. Wait to see if you would go to him willingly. Now you have made him feel like a fool, so he has left me in charge while he went inside to cool off. Slapping around a woman who had already passed out on the floor wasn’t much fun for him.” She walks in her red-soled shoes across the wooden floor, her hips swaying to an imaginary beat. Her accent crawls up my throat, almost choking me with the anger it is laced with.

“This must be stressful for the baby?” I ask as I take in her appearance. High heels, tight dress, she looks like she is going to a nightclub, not holding an innocent woman hostage in a barn. She isn’t showing, but at only ten weeks, I’m not sure if she should be. She cackles then. Her laughter booming around the empty space, sounding like a witch around a cauldron.

“Since you will be dead within the hour, I have no problem telling you that I am not pregnant. But as soon as Tennyson is back in my bed, I plan to be,” she says, her red glossy overinflated lips stretching out into a smile, looking exactly like the Joker in a Batman movie. I knew it. I knew something about the situation wasn’t right. I feel sick as I think about these women who circle him. Katerina, his mother. None of them wanting the best for him, both of them eager to sink their poisonous claws into him.

“I know what Tennyson likes. I can seduce him again, and I have been taking hormonal injections to make it easier to fall pregnant. That is why I am so bloated,” she says, rubbing her nonexistent tummy. “So the next time he fucks me, we will do it raw, and I will have his baby, and you will be nothing but a distant memory.” She flicks her hand out like she is swatting a bee, acting like she has it all figured out and without a care in the world.

“Sounds like you have thought about this for a long time, considering you only met Tennyson a couple of months ago?” I ask, wanting to keep her talking as my mind slowly starts working. My hands and feet are tied tight, and the fight starts to leave me a little, knowing that I can't get out of the ropes on either of them. With my foot damaged, there is no escape for me. Unless I roll out the door, but I have a feeling even Katerina in her teetering heels will be able to catch me.

“My father and I planned for me to be with Tennyson for years. I grew up knowing that the only way for my father to have global success was to tumble Rothschild Construction. The only way to bring down their business was to take out their owner. Or make him mine and combine our businesses in one large family holding. We were close too, until you walked into the picture. My dad has his eyes on you, though, for some reason. Maybe because you look a little like my mom when she was younger. Apparently, he wants you to stay here with him. He saw you at that business dinner and has talked of nothing else since. But I don’t think I want to call you ‘Mommy.’ I want you gone.” I watch her walk to a small cupboard on the other side of the room.

“What are you doing?” My adrenaline pumps up as I see her pull out a large jerrycan. The battered tin is in complete contrast to her designer outfit. It must be full to the brim because I see her struggle with the weight of it, and I can hear the slosh of the liquid inside. My panic rises. There is only one liquid that the jerrycan holds, and I know it isn’t water. Heart racing, I get a last-minute spurt of adrenaline coursing through my body and I try to sit up, my head spinning as I move like a mermaid out of water, shuffling toward the door on my butt.

“I’m burning this barn to the ground. With you in it,” she says simply, the look in her eyes now wild. She looks like a totally different person, one who has pure evil in her veins. She flings her arm out, splashing gasoline along one wall, and then around the corner to the next one before the can is empty. The smell is strong, burning my nose hairs, my throat almost choking in the fumes.

“No. No. You need to let me go. I will walk away. I will move from DC. I will move far, far away. Please. Please don’t leave me here,” I beg her, not able to stop the tears now as they fall down my cheeks. I move my hands and feet like I am already on fire, the rush in my limbs to push myself free of these restraints now frantic. This is not it. This is not how this ends. It can’t be!

“You look like a frightened rabbit caught in a snare,” she says before cackling again. And then I hear it. The noise is faint, but familiar.

“He’s here,” I say, in shock and awe. My body stills, and I try to listen again, ensuring I am not hearing things. The familiar sounds of helicopter blades. A feeling of relief sweeps across me briefly. I know it is Tennyson. His helicopter is one of his favorite toys. I hear the noise get louder and louder the closer it comes.

“Well, he is too late,” she says as she flicks open a lighter.

“But if you light this barn, he will hold you responsible. You will never get him then,” I say quickly, trying anything to stall her. To stop her.

“Maybe not. But if I don’t get to have him, then neither do you.” Looking at me wickedly over the small lighter flame, she throws it across the room and runs out of the barn.

My body jolts as large orange flames ignite immediately, running up the wall quicker than I can prepare for and straight across the ceiling, almost covering me instantly. The roar of fire is deafening, blocking out any helicopter noise I thought I heard, and smoke billows around the walls, blocking the window, plunging me into darkness. I shimmy closer to the door, no longer able to see a foot in front of me, guiding myself from memory rather than sight.

Smoke fills my lungs, my throat dry, and I cough, not able to cover my face, my hands still tied. My eyes burn, water coating my cheeks, and I try to hold my breath as I shimmy along the floor on my butt. It takes all my energy to move even an inch, so I lie down instead and try to roll. The movement’s faster, but as the flames get hotter and the smoke gets thicker, I realize it is futile. For the first time in my life, I have no idea how to get myself out of a bad situation.

CHAPTER FORTY TWO - TENNYSON

As I fly over the forest below, I see a small trail of police cars racing down the road. Looks like the governor got a hold of the right people, because it isn’t just one car. There are many. Even from where I am in the sky, I see their blue and red lights flashing. The few cars driving on these quiet roads pull over to the side immediately, probably never having seen a motorcade like it before in their life.

“Two minutes out,” Eddie says from beside me as he looks at both his map and GPS. I have been flying at top speed the entire journey. My eyes have been focused on where we need to get to, and I have concentrated on getting us here as quickly as possible. I have given little thought to what I will actually combat when I get onto the ground. We don’t even have weapons with us.

“Look!” Ben says, pointing to the side, and we see a clearing ahead. In it lies a large house, with a huge barn not too far from it. Various other smaller outhouses are scattered around. There are a few horses and not much else, aside from a helipad that is wide open for me.

“Heading in,” I say as I fly the chopper down, seeing the landing right in front of me. I feel antsy, on edge. I need to get Willow and get the fuck out of here. I turn sharply, pushing the helicopter harder than I ever have, my brothers gripping the handles next to them to keep them steady. My grip on the controls is tight, my heart pumping hard in my chest.

“Shit. Look!” Eddie says in a rush, pointing out the front window, and my eyes snap quickly to the barn, where I spot big, bright flames flickering from the roof. I know without a doubt Willow is in there.

“Hang on,” I say as I fly the chopper and land quicker and harder than I ever have before.

“Go. I got this,” Eddie says and I don’t wait. I duck out of the door and leave Eddie to power it down. The noise from the blades is almost deafening as I run faster than I thought possible toward the fire, without any consideration for myself or anyone else.

“No! No! No!” I hear screaming to the side, and I see Katerina stumble out of the barn, looking at me in shock. She is waving her hands to get me to stop, but I don’t. In a tight red dress and sky-high heels, she looks at me like a spoiled toddler, upset that I have taken her toy away, her face a little lopsided. I pay her no attention, my feet continuing the thump on the grass underneath.

“What the hell is going on!” I hear Geoffery yell, and I turn my head to the other side of the property and see him running out from the large house. But my legs move at a speed not known to man as I continue to make my way to the barn.

“Right behind you!” Ben yells, and I know he and Eddie are on my tail. I push through the door and see nothing but black smoke and instantly feel heat on my face. The smoke is thick, my hand automatically coming to cover my face. My eyes burn as I squint and try to see in front of me, but I can’t. Sirens scream louder, letting me know the police are here.

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