Page 105 of Saving the Last Heir
I was worried about Jackson. There’d been a lot of those drake assholes back there, and I had no way of knowing how many of them might have been killed in the blast. Plus, that whole mansion could have been crawling with other drakes ready to pounce. Jackson was an alpha, and from what I’d learned, that meant he was strong as hell, but even lions could get overwhelmed by enough hyenas.
I couldn’t worry about that right now. My task was getting Bryn to safety. Once she was back with her family, then I could contemplate coming back to help. Though, what help I’d be fighting goddamndragons, I didn’t know. All Ididknow was that I couldn’t leave Jackson there alone.
The car roared down the road, taking each turn like a dream. Even though I’d been hard pressed for time, I was proud of the job I’d done on this thing. Nervous sweat trickled down my sides, and I slammed the control knob to turn the AC on high. A blast of cold air washed across me as I turned onto a small side street that led to the location we’d agreed on for the handoff.
A few moments later, my headlights swept around a curve and came to rest on a group of people who were huddled together and looking terrified. Christian stood in front. Behind him, his younger brother clung to his mother, and their father, Tanner Bauer, stood to the left, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. The abject terror in his face was almost too much for me to handle. This had all been a ruse to save his daughter, but we’d had to make it look as real as possible. For the last hour, he’d believed his child was either on the verge of being killed or was perhaps already dead. I couldn’t imagine the terror he and his wife had gone through in the time we’d been gone.
After parking the car, I got out.
“We did it,” I said. “Jackson?—”
“Where’s my daughter, you bitch?” Tanner stalked toward me, fists clenched and eyes burning with rage.
“Jesus, Dad!” Christian hissed. “I told you, she’s a friend. This was all?—”
“Hush,” Tanner said, rounding on his son and leveling a finger at him. “Youknewthis was going to happen, and didn’t say anything? How could you?” His voice cracked, and tears shone in his eyes.
“Honey, stop,” Christian’s mother said quietly. “If they didn’t do this, Bryn might be dead. They saved her.”
“No!” Tanner shouted, pointing at Christian. “He and Jackson seem to think our household has been infiltrated. Bullshit. None of our people wouldeverturn on us. He could have?—”
“Jaden was the spy,” I said, cutting the man off.
Tanner looked at me like I’d lost my mind, tears still staining his cheeks.
“What did you say?” he asked dumbly.
“Jaden. She was a maid. Joseph Anitoli paid her off or threatened her or something. She was the one watching to see if Jackson spilled the beans. It’s why Jackson and Christian had to fight and make it look real.”
Tanner looked like he’d been slugged in the gut. While he worked through the revelation that his home hadn’t been as ironclad as he’d thought, his wife stepped forward looking tense.
“Bryn? Where is she?” she asked, her voice straining with emotion.
“Back here,” I said, waving at Christian.
Sprinting forward, he joined me at the trunk as I lifted the lid. The carpeted trunk looked completely empty, but I tucked my fingers beneath the lip of the hidden trunk and lifted, revealing the young girl. She looked up at us with sweat-matted hair.
“It’s hot in here. Can I get out now?” she asked.
“You can,” Christian said, almost sobbing as he reached for her.
Bryn lurched up to wrap her arms around his neck. Christian straightened, and Broderick and his mother ran forward and threw their arms around her.
“You guys are so dramatic,” Bryn said.
“I’m sorry,” Tanner said quietly from beside me.
Turning, I saw the deep lines in his face. He looked like he’d aged a hundred years in a few minutes.
“I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. I’m sorry.” His face pinched, and he sucked in a shuddering breath. “Thank you for saving my daughter.”
The sheer emotion he was showing—the sorrow, the sadness, and the relief—was so palpable I couldn’t respond. If this had happened to me, my father would’ve been beside himself with grief. Even now, knowing it had all been a trick, Tanner looked like he was on the verge of an emotional breakdown.
“No problem,” I finally managed to say.
He nodded, then went to hug Bryn with the rest of them. The girl craned her neck above Broderick’s arm and looked at me, her smile wide and eyes bright.
“How was my acting?”
