AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Oh, thank God, Trevor, we need help," I gasped, relief flooding through me.
Trevor knelt beside us, his gun drawn. "Shh," he warned, his eyes scanning the woods. "We have to get out of here before Oliver dies. He needs medical attention."
"There are people on this island. It's not safe," I said urgently.
"Oliver?" I shook him gently, but there was no response. His breathing was shallow, his pulse weak and thready.
"If you won't help him, then I’ll do it," I declared, determination hardening my resolve.
Trevor holstered his firearm and lifted Oliver onto his shoulders. I followed him towards the lagoon, the sounds of gunfire echoing in the distance. We were almost at the house when Trevor stumbled, crashing to the ground with Oliver still on his back. Under the harsh lights of our home, I saw blood pouring from the back of his thigh.
A man stepped out from the shadows, an evil grin spreading across his face. "Ryleigh Stewart, we meet again."
“Who the fuck are you?!” I screamed
“Your father knew me well,” he said, his tone coldly amused. “It’s what got him killed.”
As his face was illuminated by the light, it all made sense. This was the man who killed my father, the man Ty had shown me in the video even though it was grainy. It was also the man who had almost gotten to me as I exited Boudoir Fashions and walked into my building.
“What do you want?”
“You to die. If I had known you were in that car years ago, I would’ve ended you.”
I shuddered. “You would shoot a child?”
“You were a witness. I fucked up then but I’m back to end it now.”
He lifted the gun, and I closed my eyes waiting for the bullet to enter my body. I did hear a shot but felt no pain as something made a thud in front of me. My eyes shot open to see Brenda standing there with her gun aimed at the man’s crumpled form.
“Mrs. Fox, are you all right?”
“Brenda please, Oliver and Trevor.”
She came toward us. “I already radioed it in.”
“Where is everyone else?” I asked, my voice breaking.
“I don’t know.”
She knelt, keeping her gun at the ready and bent down to check on Oliver and Trevor. I sat on the ground and pulled Oliver into my lap. His breathing was shallow, and I felt like the life in him was slipping away. The aftermath of that evening is all a blur. I remembered being transported to the hospital with Oliver and Trevor.
Three men were found on Fox Island who were there to kill me. Raphael Caruso, my father’s killer and two men from his brother, Antonio’s crew. They were all dead. Trevor died from his wound, Raphael shot him and hit a major artery. Raquel’s spinal cord was severed when a shot entered her side, and she would never walk again. Vlad escaped with a flesh wound to his arm. Two of the four other agents escaped injury. Our staff was fine, and Jonah got away somehow. We had no idea where he went.
It turned out that the blond waiter who served us on my birthday was a plant. He was paid by the Carusos to tell them the locations of the security staff so they could get to us. He would be tried as an accomplice in Trevor and two other security staff’s murders plus the attempted murder of Oliver, me, Brenda, Raquel and Vlad.
Oliver was in a coma, and a week later, when I had him transported back to New York with full medical staff, he was still unresponsive. Numbness settled over me as I held vigil by his bedside, staying as long as the ICU staff would allow. On the day we arrived home, Henri called.
"Excuse me?" I said, incredulously.
"Mr. Fox put you in charge. You need to make decisions for the company."
"I thought I was only supposed to handle our personal finances."
"No. Mr. Fox wanted you to have control."
"But I don’t know anything about running Fox," I protested, my mind reeling.
"You do, and I’ll help you," Henri assured me.
