Page 68 of Cruel Secrets

The forgery I’m sketching out is forgotten as someone starts rummaging through one of the closets near the door. There’s a muffled curse, but I can’t make out the exact voice, my mind already overwhelmed with the need to run.

Bianca.

I have to get to Bianca.

Time stops around me as my pulse speeds up so much that it feels as if my heart is about to explode. I leap from the couch, my stomach tying itself into knots as I scramble for the baby monitor on the table.

Matt rushes into the room from the kitchen, shoving Bianca into my arms and standing in front of us with his gun raised.

“Shh,” I say, voice soft as I rock Bianca, trying to keep her as quiet as possible.

With her in my arms, I take several steps backward, prepared to run out the door and to the getaway car I know Royce has hidden in the woods. It’s the only option. I can’t wait for Royce to show up and save us. He wouldn’t want me to.

I have to get Bianca to safety. That’s the only thing that matters now.

Just as I’m about to turn and run, Royce walks into the living room hauling the suitcases from the front hall closet with him.

Matt lowers the gun. “What’s going on?”

“We have to get out of here.” Royce brushes past him and comes over to me, taking Bianca from my arms and holding her close. He kisses the top of her head before handing her back to me.

My heart races, stomach tossing and turning like a boat out on an open ocean in the middle of a hurricane. “What’s going on? Why did we have to come home? Royce, you’re scaring me.”

His expression softens, but his skin is still pale as he puts a hand on my shoulder and steers me toward the stairs. “You need to go upstairs and get ready to leave the house now.”

I turn to face him, freezing in place. “You need to tell me what’s going on. I trust you, but how am I supposed to help keep Bianca safe if I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be protecting her from?”

“Noah is in town.”

The ground drops out from beneath me as I stare down the hall, half expecting him to come storming through the door at any minute. The echo of my racing heartbeat pounds in my ears, my hands clammy.

Is today the day we die?

Royce hands me the smallest suitcase. “You need to get upstairs and get this packed with anything Bianca is going to need. I’ll take care of my stuff, and Matt, you’re going to take care of the few things we might need that are down here.”

Matt nods and takes off into the study, ripping an empty box off the floor and setting it on the desk.

Royce grabs the large suitcase and jerks his chin toward the stairs. “You have to hurry. We need to be out of here within the hour.”

“Why would he give us a chance to run?” I ask, heart racing as we surge up the stairs. “Noah isn’t the kind to give people a chance to walk away.”

“He’s not. He’s hoping that I turn against my family and bring you to him. I don’t think he wants to risk you or Bianca getting hurt.” Royce pauses, taking my face in his hands. “I’m not going to do that.”

“You could. It could end all of this.”

His head dips and his lips brush against mine. “I’m not going to lose you or Bianca.”

With a ragged breath, I nod and pull away from him. “He’s not going to stop until he gets us.”

“Then we’ll keep running.” Royce gives me a gentle push toward Bianca’s room. “Go. I don’t know what he knows, but it’s clear we’re not safe here anymore.”

My eyes nearly bulge out of my head as I disappear into Bianca’s room. “Do you think he knows that you’re her father?”

He pops in the doorway long enough to give me a flat look. “I don’t think I would still be standing after that.”

Now isn’t the time for his humor, but I don’t have the time to argue with him. Not when I’m busy trying to distract our daughter while I hurry to pack.

We should’ve had bags ready to bail out.

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