Page 33 of Ruining Him

“No fucking way,” I snap. “You’re joking, right? You just want me to run? You want me to go? You and I both know that the Richardsons will never give up. They’ve already gotten rid of the rest of them, there’s no way I can just run and hope they never find me.”

“I’m not suggesting you do, A. But you need to get out of here while you can. You can go to the university like we planned for in this type of situation and build a plan from there. But you need to hurry.”

I gnaw on my lower lip, listening to what he’s saying but not wanting it to be real.

The Richardson family has been after mine since before Iwas born, though I’m still unclear on the reason why. They already took the rest of them out and left me as the sole heir; there’s no way in hell I’ll let them kill me, too. Not after everything Dad did to take me in once my birth parents were killed.

I’ll get revenge for what they did, but in order to do that, I need to stay alive.

“Okay,” I whisper, tears springing to my eyes as I stare at the man who’s loved me when no one else was left to do it. “I’ll go.”

He sighs in relief, his shoulders dropping with the weight he’s been carrying. “Listen to me, A. This is not the end, okay?”

I nod, trying to fight back the tears that have no right to try and fall right now.

“Go, I’ll hold them back.”

I swallow and nod, giving him one last look of gratitude before running. I pump my legs as fast they can go, using all the training I’ve had over the years in full force. It’s a long corridor, and by the time I reach the end of it, the men who were sent here to infiltrate the company before killing me are at the start of it. Dad stands in the middle, his gun poised towards the attackers, firing off shots as they run towards him.

They have the advantage, though. They had planned for this. We hadn’t.

They’re dressed in full tactical gear with bulletproof vests while my dad stands in jeans and a T-shirt.

I see it the moment it happens. The way the bullet hits him in the chest and is immediately followed by one to his forehead. Blood soaks his white shirt as he drops to the floor, his head turned in my direction, his dead eyes staring into my soul.

A scream pulls from my throat, and the noise snaps me back to reality.

My dad is dead, and he died for me.

I’m not going to let his sacrifice be for nothing.

I leave him behind, running as fast as I can through the compound and out of a side entrance. I run through the woods, where we have a truck stashed for this exact situation.

Dad always keeps it stocked up with supplies, should we ever need it.

Kept.

Past tense, because he’s gone.

And now I’m alone.

I reach the truck, hauling myself up into the driver’s seat and hauling ass out of the woods through the dirt track.

I need to call Dare and tell him what happened.

I need to prepare him for what’s to come.

And more importantly, I need to prepare myself.

Iwake slowly, though I don’t open my eyes.

The last thing I remember is being in the gym and then… nothing but that damn dream.

Fuck.

Have I been taken by a mercenary that was paid to come and collect me?

No… I’m pretty sure those guys are being paid to kill me, not hold me hostage.