Page 59 of The Billionaire and the Nanny

“The water is sealed, see? Let her have some. She looks exhausted,” he insisted.

I stared at him suspiciously.

“Why the sudden concern, Rico?”

He shrugged and kept his eyes on the door.

“I’m sorry I tricked you, Miss Tia. All this has nothing to do with Miss Maddie, and I feel bad that she’s caught up in this mess.”

I didn’t know whether he was telling the truth, but at this point, I had nothing to lose.

“Then, help us,” I begged.

He shook his head.

“I can’t get you out. I need to take you to Sabri soon,” he said, looking tormented.

“Not me. I don’t care what happens to me. Please, Rico, just get Maddie out of here,” I pleaded.

“I don’t want to leave you,” exclaimed Maddie, beginning to cry.

“Shh,” hissed Rico. “Don’t make any noise, Miss Maddie, or the bad man will get upset.”

Was this a trick? Another of my brother’s fucking mind games?

Why was the man who betrayed us in the first place acting like he wanted to help us? I couldn’t understand what was happening.

Maddie wiped her tears and tried to be brave.

Rico stared at us as if he was trying to make up his mind. Then, he sighed. He shut the door partially, and with one hand pointed toward the small window near the ceiling. It was a tiny opening, but enough for Maddie to squeeze through.

“When I call you from outside, pass Miss Maddie to me through that window. I’ll get her to safety as soon as possible,” he whispered. “Can you reach that high?”

“I’ll stand on the bucket if I have to,” I swore. “But how can I trust you? Once a backstabbing bastard, always a backstabbing bastard. Isn’t that how the saying goes?”

“Do you have a choice?” he asked bleakly. “I’m your only hope of getting Miss Maddie to safety before the shit hits the fan.”

He left without giving me a chance to respond.

I turned to Maddie and held her firmly by the shoulders.

“Honey, I need you to listen to me. If I tell you to run, you have to drop everything and run, okay?”

“But I’m scared. How can I go without you?”

“I won’t be far behind,” I lied. “But it will be easier for me to escape if I can get you out first. Can you just trust me on this?”

Maddie buried her face in my waist and hugged me tightly as she nodded.

“I love you, Tia.”

I held her tightly and kissed the top of her head.

“I love you too, Maddie. Now, stop crying, and let’s wait for your Daddy to come for us.”

I upturned the bucket and stood on it, trying to see if I could reach the window. But I couldn’t. Maddie stood on the bed and tried to look out of the window, which gave me an idea.

I tugged at the bed, and it moved smoothly because it had wheels on the bottom. I rolled it closer to the window and climbed on up. This time, I could reach the window easily. Maddie and I high-fived each other in delight. But our delight was short-lived.

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