Page 90 of Fatal Scheme

It wasn’t a fool-proof system, just a few extra locks and heavier doors for more time to get to safety, but when you’re in the middle of an attack, every second feels heightened.

Jasper leads the way around another corner, his back tattoos on display as he only slipped out of bed in sweats, while I keep my hand on Tyson’s shoulder, his boxers the one article of clothing covering his body.

I’m nowhere near ready for battle either, lacy panties and Jasper’s t-shirt the closest things I could throw on, but even so, my aim has nothing to do with what I’m wearing.

Finally the safe room comes into view, and Jasper checks the opposite corner, waving us along after he’s ensured it’s clear.

He presses his thumb on the keypad, but it lights up bright red, denying his entry to the room.

“What the fuck? Ty did you change this thing?” He grunts, trying a few more times before stepping back, letting Tyson unlock the door.

“No, I don’t have access,” he says, a defeated look on his face as his thumbprint is also denied.

We’re fucking locked out, staring at a metal door dumbfoundedly, like three sitting ducks.

“We need to move. Obviously, looking at it isn’t going to magically fix our problems!” I yell, frustrated with their lack of urgency, and major stupidity.

Just as we turn back toward the bedrooms, another crash rings out, and whoever is after us has broken down the barriers, letting themselves onto the third floor.

“Fuck! We don’t have any weapons,” Jasper whispers, pulling me back by the shirt while Tyson takes the lead, his arm wrapped around my shoulder as we stick to the wall, moving slowly.

“This has to be our fathers. They’re the only ones who have access to the safe room,” Tyson adds, which causes Jasper’s body to tense in response, proving that this wasn’t exactly the perfect moment to drop that tidbit of information.

“We need to hide,” I offer, keeping my voice low as the footsteps come closer, random shouting and orders cascading off the walls.

“We need to fucking fight,” Jasper hisses, pushing us both into his room and locking the door behind him.

“With what guns, Massi? Everything was either stolen, or packed,” Tyson attempts to argue, but Jasper just waves him off, digging in his closet until he finally finds whatever it is he’s searching for, showing off his findings with a darkened look in his icy eyes.

“It isn’t much, but it’ll give us time to run once they’re down,” he says ominously, and I lock eyes with Tyson from across the room, willing him to trust Jasper to get us out of this.

“We don’t have another choice,” I bargain, adding my own two cents into the conversation, earning a nod of approval from Jasper, while Tyson stares at us blankly, the concern painted on his face.

Whether this attack is courtesy of my family, the Ricci’s, or a sick and twisted mission sanctioned by Mr. Masseria himself, the only thing that matters is our survival.

It’s us, or the men on the other side of that door, and I damn sure don’t plan on dying tonight, not when we’re so fucking close to everything we’ve wanted.

FORTY-ONE

TYSON

We’re trapped.

With our access to the safe room cut off, and the weapons stock seriously diminished, we’re nothing but target practice for whoever is leading this ambush.

If they’re here to kill us, we’ve made it easy as pie.

If they’re here to capture us, we might as well wave the white flag.

My head is spinning, thinking about how close we were to our happily ever after, as well as who could possibly be after us, and the reason why our fathers took away our safe room.

They created it for this exact reason, and to not let us know that we can’t use it anymore truly has me baffled, afraid that this is another elaborate ruse for them to get one over on us, just like when they tried to take Carter.

Massi is scrambling, his head so far in his closet that I’m worried he dug a tunnel in there, but finally he emerges, his hands full, and his mind alive with ideas.

Both him and Carter stare at me as I’m trying to process everything that happened in the last ten minutes, but they’re waiting for my answer, pleading with their eyes to agree with their plan.

Carter is right, we don’t have another option that isn’t capture or death, so I weakly nod, allowing them both to spring into action.