Keeping Me (Spy Chronicles Book 2)(5)

“Want to watch a movie or something?” I ask.

I still don’t like movies that much, but I want to hang out with my dad some more.

“I can’t. I have to work,” he says. “Sebastian is going to stay here with you.”

“Sebastian?” I ask, then groan. “Why him?”

After spending the day with Jasmine, I’ve grown rather fond of her. I’ve never had a girl-friend before.

“Should I be offended?” I hear Sebastian ask, as he walks up behind me.

I hate when he does that whole sneaky thing. They’re way too good at it in this school.

I ignore Sebastian. “Dad, come on. We never get to hang out.”

“I know,” Dad says. “But this is important. You are my number one priority and right now you are not safe. Once I get everything back to somewhat normal, then I promise I will hang out with you more.”

“And teach me how to drive?” I ask. Because I’m dying to know.

“I’ll teach you,” Sebastian says.

I look at him with my mouth open. “You really think I want a seventeen-year-old teaching me how to drive? You’ve probably just learned yourself.”

“I’ve been driving since I was old enough to reach the pedals on a car,” he says.

“Sebastian is probably a better driver than I am,” Dad says. “The kid has been training his whole life.”

I look at Sebastian, then at my dad. I trust my dad’s judgment and he’s probably right about Sebastian. I don’t think there is anything that Bass is not good at. Except, maybe, making friends. “Okay.”

I hear a loud sound that echoes outside. It sounds like a gun going off. It echoes through the woods surrounding the house.

“What wa—”

Before I can get the words out of my mouth, I hear another loud noise at the back door. I realize it’s somebody busting down the door. There are more gun shots.

Dad grabs my hand and pulls me towards the staircase. We run up the stairs, and I look back to make sure Sebastian is still there. He is. We go into my dad’s office. He shuts and locks the door.

“This won’t keep them out long,” Dad says, walking around his desk. He grabs a gun that he has strapped at his ankle and hands it to me.

“Just pull this back and pull the trigger if you need it,” he tells me. “This gun doesn’t have a safety, so only cock it if you need it.”

I nod, taking the weapon from him. I am not great with guns, but I have been taught how to handle them. It’s only been a couple of classes, but I think I can handle using it if I need to.

“What are we going to do?” I ask.

Dad looks at Sebastian. “You know what to do.”

“I do,” Sebastian says.

There is a loud crack at the door. A gun goes off and the door swings open. We all duck behind my dad’s desk.

The sound of bullets wiz through the air, the room smells like gun powder and smoke. I see the fire from the guns, and I lean closer to my dad, hoping he can keep me safe. I’m not ready to die.

“Sebastian, take my daughter!” my dad yells. “Now!

“Sir, I can’t leave you here like this,” Sebastian says.

“You have to. Protect her. Do whatever it takes,” Dad says.

I look over at Sebastian. I see the struggle in his eyes. But I see the exact moment that he makes up his mind. Within an instant, I am on my feet and I am swung behind him. He’s shielding me with his own body. I can’t even process what is happening as Sebastian pulls me behind him. I don’t have time to even think about the fact that I’m leaving my father behind.

I tremble as something explodes from behind me. Sebastian twists around, his eyes meeting mine.

“Do you trust me?”

I nod without hesitating. “I trust you with my life.”

“Good,” he says. “We’re going to jump.” He takes his gun and busts out the window of the second story window. Before I can react, or tell him that he’s crazy, he grabs me and pulls me with him as he jumps out the window. I am falling for half a second before we hit the ground with a jolt, and I’m surprised that there is no pain. Sebastian has me on his back, and he pushes me off.

I look at him, my mouth open wide.

“You’re crazy,” I say.

“Duck!” he yells.

I listen, crouching to the ground.

A gun shot goes off over my head, and I quickly cover my head with my arms.

Sebastian stretches an arm down, pulling me up.

“We’ve got to run. Now!”

He grabs my hand and pulls me before I am even fully on my feet. He starts to run and I run, trying to keep up. He’s a lot faster than I am, but I give it everything I’ve got. It’s crazy how fast you can run when you’re scared for your life.

I hear a gunshot kind of close, so I duck my head down as we run on instinct. Sebastian stops running and pulls me against a large tree. He puts a hand over my mouth so I know not to talk.

“You can’t hide from me,” I hear a familiar voice say.

Nolan.

I swear my heart stops beating for a few seconds.

“Come on, Serenity. You know me,” he says. “I won’t hurt you.”

If it weren’t for Sebastian’s hand over my mouth, I might have yelled out, “Like you didn’t hurt Gage.” I’d lost every ounce of trust I had for him when he shot Gage. How could he do that to us?