Page 4 of Fall of Hellfire (Hellfire Society #3)

The top of the desk is also pretty bare.

A few more useless file folders and random estate documents.

A small lamp, stapler, and a laptop that is already open.

This gives me pause. Glancing towards the door, I strain my ears to listen for anyone again but only hear a few low murmurs still further in the house.

If the laptop is open, someone was working and will probably be back soon, so I need to get in and get out now.

Moving the mouse, the computer screen lights up, the screensaver a picture of some perfect beach.

Hitting the spacebar, the password request square pops up, and I quietly curse. Fuck.

Quickly, I look around for anything that could be a password.

Everyone has their password written down somewhere, right?

They do in the movies. Movies, that's it!

If this were a movie, where would the password be?

Taking a move from the spy books, I check under the actual laptop, and bam. There it is.

Maybe I should go buy a lotto ticket after this. I am getting so lucky today.

I almost roll my eyes as I read the actual password written down.

MasterBlack1234. Really?! My father was so full of himself.

Quickly getting back on track, I type in the password, and the screen changes.

Suddenly, dozens of file folders pop up on the home page.

I glance at the door again as the voices seem to grow.

Shit, I’m running out of time. Thinking fast, I pull out one of the flash drives from my back pocket and connect the device to the laptop.

Then I’m moving all the folders to the drive as quickly as I can.

I don't even read what they are labeled as. We can go through each of them at a later time. Once I move every file, a download square pops up telling me it will take four minutes and thirteen seconds to upload everything. Fuck. I don’t have a choice but to wait.

So, I sort of just stand there, looking around the office that I once knew as part of a home.

I try to envision if the rest of the house could be the same or different, but the only thing that comes to mind is the basement.

Or what used to be my room. For a moment I can almost smell the dirt from the floor.

Feel the scratchy blanket and lumpy bed I was given.

Taste the tears that I would cry, hoping and wishing someone would save me each night.

I’m shaken from my trance when the sound of voices grows louder and closer.

My eyes snap down to the download bar, reading two minutes and ten seconds before going to the door.

This time I don't have to strain my ears to hear anything when one of the voices, female and familiar, begins to yell from down the hall.

"Ethan, we should be hunting that little bitch down for what she did to your father.

I should have made her disappear when she came to us as a baby.

Not even her own whore of a mother wanted her.

But I thought having a sibling would be good for you.

Look at what we all did for her when she was younger, and this is how she repays us.

She has been nothing but a thorn in this family's side since the day she was born.

" Miranda is screaming at this point. I can almost picture her in my mind. All done up in the most expensive clothes, hair and makeup done flawlessly, everything about her fake. She probably has tears in her eyes, a hand over her chest as if she might faint at any moment. I almost roll my eyes at the image. It’s the same thing she would do to ensure I got punished when I was young.

"Oh, Richard, Alison is out of control. She raised her voice to me, threatened me, hit me...". Blah, blah, blah. I would get in trouble for even breathing wrong with her. She hated me the moment I started looking like my mother and became the reminder that her husband wasn't a saint of a man.

Another voice responds after a moment, this one just as familiar as the first and sounding more irritated.

"Mom, we have people out looking for her, but I will decide what happens to her.

We have bigger problems than Alison at the moment.

James and Henry have tasked me with finding their sons.

We won't be able to get our revenge if we are the ones six feet under. Now let me work," Ethan says coldly.

The sound of heavy footsteps can be heard, and my heart rate picks up.

Fuck, I need to get out now. The download bar reads thirty more seconds, but I can't risk it.

Yanking out the flash drive, I have a split-second decision to make when I realize I might escape in time.

Taking a deep breath, I place the flash drive in my mouth and swallow.

Almost choking on the device as I rush toward the sliding door.

The moment my hand touches the handle, Miranda lets out a horrible screeching sound before yelling out. "Fine, but I want that bitch's head on a silver platter for what she did to my Richard." But I’m too late.

A cold chill runs down my spine when I hear the click of a gun followed by a deep chuckle.

"Well, well, well. I didn't think it would be this easy to find you.

" My entire body is coiled tight as I hear and feel Ethan's vile voice move closer to me.

"And to think, I figured this would be the last place you would ever want to visit again.

" A second later, the warmth of another body steps closer to me.

With my hand not touching the door, I slowly reach for the hem of my shorts, where a small, thin blade is hidden.

I will only get one shot at my escape, and I need to make my move now, before he can get an upper hand first. Ethan leans forward; the cold metal of a gun sliding up the back of my leg in warning as he places his mouth near my ear.

"I miss you, Alison. Now be a good girl and turn around slowly and show me your hands.

Don't make me have to hurt you." His words ignite a flame of rage as I reach the blade, grip it tight, and make my move.

"Fuck you," I curse as I spin on my heel, lift my arm, and slice my hand down.

He must have been expecting me to rebel because he attempts to jump back out of my reach, but my blade catches him on his arm.

It wasn't deep enough to do serious damage, but he lets out a string of his own curses as red bleeds through his white dress shirt.

I grin at my work before attempting to yank open the door behind me.

But this time it doesn't budge. Ethan lets out a sinister chuckle from behind me as I turn to face him once more, not wanting my back to the bastard.

"After you left, Richard upgraded the security system. Automatic locks with the press of a button." He grins before looking down at his smartwatch flashing red. I narrow my eyes at the bastard before weighing my odds. I can take him easily. I’ve taken men bigger than him down on multiple occasions. I even left the fight with not a scratch on myself, but this is different. Ethan is holding a gun and has a glint in his eye that screams crazy, and not in my husband’s—Riot—kind of way.

Ethan's eyes wander over my body for a long second before he licks his lips and smirks.

"I can't wait to ruin you, sis, but that will have to wait.

I have more pressing business to attend to, so put it down, and this will all move along a lot faster. " I snarl at him and his words.

This time I don't wait; I need out, and he is blocking my only option, so I charge him. But my small frame is no match for his much taller one. I attempt to jump to the side, swiping my blade out as I go, but Ethan raises his arm and brings it down hard. Right on top of my temple. And just like that, I’m out cold.