The Grand Pact (The Grand Men #1)(123)

Alec always knew I wasn’t who I said I was, or he at least suspected it recently. He fell harder than he was supposed to. I did my job too well in the beginning, and I plan to reap every second of what I’ve sown. “I have a team waiting for you outside, front and back. They’re ready to stop Felix under my orders.”

I see Alec’s brows flinch.

“You have a choice. You can walk down those stairs in handcuffs, or I can make a call and have them stand down, let Felix up here with his minions.” I tip my chin at his gun when I see his jaw flex. He knows I have him, the little rat. I step towards him, knowing he won’t shoot me. “You don’t steal from the boss, baby. You got greedy. I saw it happening. Closer and closer.” I walk to him, just a foot away. “You brought them to me.”

“You little bitch!” Maxwell seethes, throwing his fist into my cheek. It’s so unexpected, I lose my footing and fall to the floor. My gun flies from my grasp. “FUCK!” I hear Maxwell roar, losing control as he kicks his foot through a box.

I try to clear my vision.

“Alec, let’s go,” Maxwell urges.

I attempt to get up, but my body isn’t working at the same speed as my brain. I can’t move.

Shit, he got me good.

A split second, and I slipped.

I lost focus.

I see Alec coming closer, and he bends so that he’s face to face with me. “You tipped Felix off?”

My lip curls, and I shake my head. “No,” I say, rubbing my fingers over my cheek. “That would be against police policy.”

“You’re laughing at me, Pol, yet you’re the one on the floor.”

I blink twice, trying in vain to clear my vision fully. As I find my focus, I feel a sharp tug at the back of my head. A loud groan leaves me as I’m pulled upright, and I scramble with unsteady feet as I try to find my balance. I look over my shoulder and spot Alec backing us out of the room and then down the stairs.

My cheek throbs, and I can tell it’s swelling by the way my eye seems to close in on itself.

“What’s your plan? Do you even have one?” I taunt, mentally figuring out my next move.

Alec aims the gun at me as he dashes down the last few steps. I flinch internally but keep putting one foot in front of the other.

They’ll be waiting for us outside.

They said six minutes.

As he reaches the bottom step, he starts to say something but quickly cuts himself off. The door to Lucy’s room is slightly ajar, and it snaps shut the second Alec pauses.

Before I can stop him, he kicks his foot through the wood.



Lucy





The sound of Polly’s struggle has me up on my feet and at the door before I can think twice about it. The dispatcher is still on the phone, but her words seem to fade out as I flick the lock on the wardrobe door.

“Can you hear me?”

I step from the wardrobe and scan my bedroom. Everything is how it should be, and I quickly make my way to the door, twisting the handle gentle enough to not make a sound. I have no idea what or who could be on the other side of the door, and the fact Polly offered me a gun tells me it’s not anything good.

I can hear shuffling outside the room, and I tentatively pull it open.

A slither of light streams in, lining my face. I blink at the intrusion, open my eyes again, then I see Maxwell.

He’s jogging down the stairs from the top floor, and I instinctively take a step back.

That’s my gut reaction, and it terrifies me.

Why would he run in the other direction while Polly is clearly struggling upstairs?

He passes me in a rush, and I watch as he pulls out a key for the small door that leads to the basements staircase.

He’s skittish, on edge, as he glances around the landing with wide eyes.

I go to pull the door open further, ready to call him out for scaring us, but then I hear boots thumping down the stairs.

“What’s your plan? Do you even have one?”

My blood turns cold. I watch in horror as Alec shoves a gun in Polly’s face. My heart becomes out of control, and I grasp my chest with a hand still locked tight on the door.

What’s going on?

This isn’t real.

This is Ralph’s home. Tears fill my eyes. Who have I let into his home?

My chest seems to get tighter and tighter, and I know I’m panicking.

A soft voice echoes through the phone. “Ma’am, is it safe for you to speak?”

The next intake of breath I gather isn’t a full one.

No. No. Breathe.

I push the door shut in a rush and step back.

“I can’t breathe,” I panic.

“Lucy, are you safe?”

I can’t breathe—

The bedroom door flies open, smashing into the chest of drawers at its back. I take three steps away as my palm rubs at my breastbone.

“Why the fuck are you here?”

My eyes dart between Alec and Polly’s, her face full of remorse. Maxwell appears at the door, and his shoulders drop.

“Luce? What are you doing home?”

He takes a step towards me, and I flinch, my breathing getting worse. “No,” I heave.

Realisation seems to filter over his face, and his own panic sets in. He looks over his shoulder then back at Alec. “We have to go. Now.”