Page 59 of Sacrificing Zoriah

Chapter Sixteen

Zoriah

I wake up tobanging, and a hand covers my mouth right as I try to scream. I panic immediately and start thrashing but Ben’s voice cuts through the anxiety. “Shhh. Relax. I’ve got you,” he says quietly. “I need for you to be very quiet, okay?”

“What’s wrong?” I ask tearfully.

“I don’t know. The silent alarm tripped, and they went to check it out,” he whispers before pulling me up from the bed. Banging sounds through the house again, and Ben pulls me to his chest.

“Someone’s in the house, aren’t they?” I ask.

“I think so. They wouldn’t be making that noise without telling me things were clear,” he says. “We need to get you down to the safe room, okay?”

“O-Okay,” I stammer. We slowly and quietly leave the room, but I gasp when I run straight into a body. Arms wrap around me, and Corbin nearly crushes me to his chest to keep me from screaming. Apparently, I am predictable.

“Woah. Hey. It’s me,” Corbin whispers.

“Is someone in the house?” Ben asks quietly.

“Uh. Yeah,” he says slowly. “It’s not the cult.”

“Who is it? Where is Roman?” I ask.

“Uh, so… Remember how his parents ran from the cartel?” he asks softly, making my eyes go wide. “The news conference caught their attention. They don’t know that we are here. They are with Roman and Dad right now. Huxley is watching the cameras and trying to get ahold of Roman’s parents. I came up here to check on you.”

“What in the fuck are we sitting here for?” I snap. “Why are you so goddamn calm?”

“Will you hush, woman?” Corbin says.

“Fuck that,” I say, pushing past him.

“Stop it. Zoriah, no. They’ll—” Corbin starts to say in a hushed tone.

“Either help me or shut the fuck up,” I seethe. “How fucking dare you abandon them down there with the goddamn cartel? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Riah, they will rape you in front of all of us if they see you. That is why his parents ran. A cartel leader is his biological father because his mom was raped as a teen. His dad was dating her at the time and helped her run,” Corbin says firmly.

“At least it’s not giving pleasure to God,” I seethe. “Help or hide, I don’t give a fuck.”

“I’m following her lead,” Ben says. “Come on.”

“Roman is going to kick my ass,” he sighs.

“Hux is watching the camera. We are fine,” I say confidently.

I turn and walk down the hall to the gun cabinet hiding in the closet. I quietly pull out a pistol, and Ben smiles widely at me. “You tiny little psycho,” Corbin sighs and grabs a shotgun. I smile at him before turning and going to the staircase. As we descend, we start hearing voices.

“Money, Roman. Where is it?” A man says firmly.

“Do I look like I just have a stack of money laying around?” Roman deadpans. “It’s in the fucking bank.”

“I don’t believe you,” he says calmly.

I don’t understand his demeanor until I get to the bottom of the stairs and see one of the men with a gun to the back of Roman and Dad’s head. Anger hits me faster than Ben and Corbin can stop me. I raise the pistol and fire two rounds. I am confident in my shot, and rightfully so, because both men drop to the ground. I spent my entire childhood at the gun range with Corbin and Huxley. The man that was speaking simply looks at the dead men and looks at me. “Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Tolson. Care to join us?”

“No,” Roman shouts. “Leave her out of this.”

I take two steps forward, and we are taken down so fast that I forget I’m supposed to be scared. I don’t think I am. Who in the fuck are these fools? Don’t they check a house before they start making demands? I definitely didn’t count on there being so many of them, though. That’s my bad. I am pulled up with my hands behind my back and see Corbin and Ben have a gun on them. They aren’t moving because the man who has me has a gun pressed to my temple.

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