Page 131 of Painted Truths

Grabbing one of the many pillows on the daybed, I rip the pillowcase from it before reaching up to staunch the blood flow. It's hard to believe nails could do so much damage as I take in the gouges running from Mila's hairline right to her cheekbone.

Her eyelids flutter open, her beautiful eyes glazed with pain, more green than gold.

"Go!" Her voice is a bare croak before she clears her throat, repeating herself.

"Go, Liv, run. You're the one who he wants; he won't care about me, and if I know my brother at all, he's not far away even as we speak. Just—"

Her words are cut off by a scream, followed by a gunshot.

Mila's eyes open wide and urgent, all signs of pain and shock gone. "Run. Now. Please, Olivia, go!"

She rolls off the side of the daybed, showing me that she plans on hiding underneath, before giving me a small smile. "Do it for Henry, if not for me."

Then she disappears into her hiding place, all but invisible, before I slide the small knife along the floor, knowing I'll feel better if she has at least some way of defending herself when push comes to shove.

Her mention of Henry makes me spring to my feet, desperate to get back to him. Then, checking the hallway for signs of life, I turn right, hoping beyond hope that I've chosen correctly.

Reaching the end of the hallway, I come to a dead-end. Several doors surround me, leaving me with no option but to check inside. Finally, on the fourth door, I find a small staircase. Glad to be barefoot, I make it down to the floor below, which I'm assuming is the ground floor, in no time at all. Glancing around, I realise that I'm in a massive kitchen opening up onto a raised patio at the back of the house. I sprint across the kitchen and out of the French doors onto the patio beyond without another thought.

Pressing my body up against the side of the house, I take a minute to assess my best chance of escape. There are green fields and forest all around, though I don't see a road or hear any cars, and I can't help my heart sinking a little at the thought that this is all for nothing.

Abruptly, I hear a crash in the kitchen behind me. Chancing a peek inside through the nearest window, I can see Samuel enter through the same door I did, the front of his shirt covered in red spatter, and I'm horrified to realise it must be Lauren's blood.

Please, oh please, don’t be Mila’s.

Edging my way along the side of the house, scarcely daring to breathe, I reach the corner and peer around, surprised, to put it mildly, to find Alex pacing intently.

My mouth breaks into the biggest smile, realising that help is just within reach. However, before I can push off from the wall, an arm like a steel band wraps around my waist, lifting me off the ground while a hand clamps down over my mouth unforgivingly before I can make so much as a whimper.

Drawing me up so that my back is to his front, I suck oxygen in through my nostrils as tears flow freely from my eyes.

"Running just makes me want you more, dearest Olivia."

He taunts me as he grinds his pelvis into my rear, tearing a muffled cry of frustrated hopelessness from me when he moves off the way we'd come.

"Nothing will ever come between us again. You'll forget all about him, and we'll be happy together. I promise we'll be happy forever, just you and me."

I've been teetering on the edge of despair this whole time, but his words send me flying into the abyss, and I no longer care about the consequences. I'd rather die than be forced to go with him, especially when help is within arm's reach.

I bring my bare heel backwards against his shinbone, just hard enough that he loosens his grip on my mouth, allowing me to fill the silence around us with a shrill cry before he rapidly regains control.

Snapping me back against him, he snarls into my ear, "Why couldn't you just come easy?"

He takes off around the other side of the house, where I see an oversized garage standing separately just to the side of a huge gravel driveway leading to massive iron gates and a road beyond. And houses. There are a lot of houses, meaning people. Meaning help!

Out of the blue, there's a noise behind us, and Samuel spins around to find Henry barrelling toward us, a man possessed. The anguish and outright vengefulness on his handsome face raze me to the ground as Samuel all but tosses me to one side, preparing to tackle the man I love.

Both men collide with the strength of a nuclear explosion as Henry throws the first punch, but Samuel is faster than I'd have thought, considering his larger size. He moves at the last minute so that Henry's fist barely skims along his jaw.

Samuel gets a solid body shot in, forcing Henry backward as I stifle a cry. Henry rapidly lands one of his own and Samuel stumbles back, holding his gut in apparent pain. Both men go for several minutes, and they're evenly matched until Samuel decides he's had enough.

Reaching into his waistband, he produces the gun from before, levelling it right at Henry, and I can't stop the cry that flies from my lips as I push off the ground to go to him.

"It's okay, Peach. Stay there, baby. Everything's going to be okay."

Henry, my Henry, is in the line of fire. He's in this position because of me and still trying to soothe my fears. It's too much.

"You couldn't just leave well enough alone, could you?" Samuel moves closer to Henry, the gun still firmly trained on his chest. "Oh well, she'll get over this. Eventually."