Chapter 232.
I let go of him. My fingers just... give out and his body drops the last few inches with a dull, heavy thump, his head hitting the floor harder than I expect. I flinch instinctively, my heart jumping straight into my throat, I just freeze there, staring at him, Half-expecting footsteps to come running but nothing happens.
I swallow hard, forcing myself to move and having no pity, not even a little. Whatever he came here to do....whatever they all came here to do.....it wasn’t good. And if I hadn’t fought back...i don’t even let my mind finish that thought as I turn sharply toward Zane’s office door, my hand immediately grabbing the handle again. Please Just open, just this once. I twist it harder this time and shove my shoulder slightly into the door, like maybe force will do what logic won’t. Nothing happens it doesn’t even budge and I’m not even surprised there Zane doesn’t do "easy."
A shaky breath leaves me.
"Okay... okay, think..."
My eyes drop to the keypad again but my brain feels foggy, like it’s struggling to work through the panic still buzzing under my skin.
Password. What would he use? It has to be something important right? That’s what most people use...Something personalk, something he wouldn’t forget.
I squeeze my eyes shut for half a second, forcing myself to think past the noise in my head.
Zane isn’t random. He’s deliberate and eerything he does has meaning. So the code has to mean something, then it hits me.
His sister.
But I don’t know his sisters birthday....or maybe knowinf Zane he would chose the day she died.....so I try to remember .....the day flashes in my mind so vividly it almost feels like I’m back there. Zane’s mood.....dark, unpredictable and distant. I remember asking Margaret what was wrong, the way her face softened with something like pity.
"He’s like this every year," she had said quietly. "Today is the day his sister died."
My chest tightens at the memory. He loved her, that much was obvious, even without him saying it out loud. Still does...So it has to be that.
It has to be.
My fingers move quickly over the keypad, punching in the date as I remember it. Eavh number feeling like a gamble. A risk...and a prayer.
Come on....Please.. I silently pray in my mind as I press the final digit and for one hopeful second.....Nothing happens.
Then...a sharp buzz goes through the air and the keypad flashes red.
Wrong code.
My stomach drops instantly.
"Fuck!"
The word comes out louder than I intend, sharp and frustrated and laced with panic.
I stare at the keypad like maybe it’ll change its mind, like maybe I somehow imagined the rejection.
But the red light stays unmoving and just like that.....Hope slips through my fingers again.
I think for a second and I don’t even know why I do it. Maybe it’s panic or it’s desperation.
Maybe my brain is just throwing out anything at this point. But my fingers move anywa, bfr I can overthink it and stop myself.
I punch in my birthday.
The numbers blur slightly because my hands are still shaking so badly. It feels stupid the second I finish typing. Why would he use my birthday?That doesn’t even make sense.
Zane isn’t sentimental like that, he’s calculated and Cold. Not.....this. Still, my finger hovers over the final button for a split second, then I press it. There’s a tiny pause barely even a second but it stretches for me, long enough for doubt to creep in, long enough for me to almost pull my hand away and try something else.....Then...a soft mechanical buzz sounds and the keypad flashes green.
Green!.
My eyes widen so fast it actually hurts.For a second, I just stare at it, like I’m not understanding what I’m seeing. Cause No way, no actual way.
I test the handle slowly, Half-expecting it to still be locked, half-expecting this to be some kind of glitch. But the second I twist....it gives and the door unlocks smoothly beneath my hand as my breath catches.
"What the hell..."
The words slip out under my breath, barely audible. Of all things, of all possible codes.
My birthday? Why? Why would he.....No.
No, I don’t have time for that.Not now, not with armed men somewhere in this house and with Zane out there, with my heart still racing like I might pass out any second.
The Questions and confusion can wait.
Right now....I need that gun so I push the door open just enough to slip inside, immediately turning back to glance down the hallway which is thankfully still empty.
I quickly drag the unconscious man the rest of the way inside just enough so he’s out of sight from the corridor, my muscles screaming in protest.
"Stay down," I mutter under my breath, breathless and irritated, like he can hear me.
Then I shut the door behind me as quietly as possible....i know i probably shouldn’t leave this man in Zane’s office where there’s lots of important documents and shit inside knowing he can wake up at anytime but at this point I’m out of any options.
I’m inside the office and for the first time since this started....i have something close to cover.
Now I just have to find that gun and I don’t waste a second, I move straight to his desk.
My heart is still pounding so hard it makes everything feel slightly off, like the room is tilting under my feet. My ears are ringing, my breath uneven, but I force myself down onto my knees anyway.
"Please be there... please be there..."
My voice is barely a whisper as my fingers fumble under the desk,Smooth edges.
Nothing...Then....My hand brushes against metal and relief hits me so hard I almost laugh.
"Oh, thank God..."
My fingers close around it instantly, pulling it out into the light.
A gun....heavy and cold as fuck!. I’m glad it’s heavy though means it’s loaded to its full. And very, very real in my shaking hands. I stare at it for half a second, my chest rising and falling too fast, before I remembe.....There was another one so I reach back under again, my movements quicker now, more frantic but more focused too.
And there it is, a second one, tucked further in and I drag it out, my grip tightening around both weapons like they might disappear if I hesitate.
Two. I didn’t even know whether I’d find one.
My chest tightens with something dangerously close to relief as I check them instinctively, hands still trembling but more controlled now..
Both of them are filly loaded.
"Okay... okay..."
I breathe out shakily, trying to steady myself.
This helps changes things, I’m not defenseless anymore. I’m not just running and hiding. My eyes scan the inside of the desk quickly, and I spot a small box pushed toward the back.
Ammo. Of course Zane wouldn’t keep guns without backup. I grab it, popping it open with slightly clumsy fingers, there’s bullets plenty of it. I don’t even think twice.....i take as much as I can carry, stuffing some into my pockets, gripping the rest in my hand for a second before placing them down on the desk to reload properly.
My movements are rushed but deliberate, i don’t fully know what I’m doing. But I know enough, enough to try, to survive.
The weight of the guns in my hands feels almost srangw and comforting. But also.....Reassurin, like I finally have something between me and whatever is out there.l
My breathing starts to slow just a little as I straighten slowly, both guns in my hands, my fingers tightening around them as I glance toward the door. The silence outside pressing in again.
I swallow hard.
"Okay, Elaine..." I whisper to myself, voice steadier than I feel. "Now what?"
I grip both guns tighter than I should, my fingers feel stiff around the metal, like if I loosen even a little, everything will fall apart.
I swallow hard and turn back to the man on the floor. I don’t trust it, not for a second so I step closer, my movements slow, and cautious, one of the guns still trained loosely in his direction.
He hasn’t moved, not even a twitch Still....
I nudge his leg lightly with my foot.
"Yeah... not taking chances," I mutter under my breath. Before I can overthink it, I lift my foot and bring it down....hard....against the side of his head. He groans faintly this time, his body reacting just slightly, but he doesn’t wake. Good he’s Still out.
I step back, exhaling slowly.
"Stay down," I whisper again, more to myself than to him. Then I turn toward the door, my heart starts picking up again immediately
I reach for the handle, pause for half a second, listening one last time.....Nothing.Then I pull it open just enough to slip out. I know Zane will definitely prefer I stay locked up and safe inside his office but I can’t not when he’s probably in danger out there.