Chapter 17
1035 Words
WILL POV
Every beep of the bomb pierced my chest as it flooded the room. 30 seconds. Lucy lay in my arms, lifeless, her head leaking blood, her pulse feeble.
Grey was still, with a cut on his hand, pouring blood, and a pallid face. The timer did not care that Cullen had disappeared through the broken window.
I had to decide between stopping the explosion and saving Lucy. "Help me, Grey!" I yelled, cradling Lucy as I scanned the bomb under the chair. There were tangled red and blue wires that went to a blinking device.
I forced my trembling hands to remain firm. I had previously disarmed traps, but not while Lucy's life was in danger. Beside me, Grey fell to his knees, his hands shaking. His voice cracked as he asked, "What should I do?"
I handed Lucy to him and said, "Hold her." My heart twisted as her head lolled.
‘Will, pay attention.’ I mumbled under my breath, then I reached for my knife and forced the bombs. When the timer struck 00:20, my eyes hurt with sweat.
Every sound, including the beeping, Grey's labored breathing, and the sirens' distant cries, was intensified by the dense air. It is too late to assist. With a racing mind, I traced the wires. If I cut the wrong one, we will all die.
"Will, be fast, we have gone out of time!" With his arms wrapped tightly around Lucy, Grey urged. She let out a low sound as her eyes closed together; my heart skipped a bit. If she dies, then I caused it. I used him for my benefit, and now she is suffering.
Nana appeared at the doorway. She had escaped her shackles, leaving her face wounded and her wrists raw. Her eyes were calculating yet wild, and she carried a little gun. "You have run out of time, Andrea," she murmured, taking a step closer. "Cullen left me to clean up his mess, but I do not really care about him."
With my knife hovering above the wires, I froze. "You are helping him?" My voice was low as I snarled. "After everything?"
Nana gave a sour laugh. "Just as I played you, I played him. But my leverage is Lucy. Left the bomb there to do its work, or I will shoot her.”
Grey's eyes grew wide, fear and rage evoked in his eyes, but he held Lucy tightly, his hand shaking, "You are her mother." He said, stunned, “How could you wish your own death?”
"She is a means to a goal." With her gun steady, Nana remarked, “I have always owned the Jones Group. Cullen and you simply got in the way.”
Her words boil up my blood. How could she be so mean to her daughter, even though she had planned to take over Lucy's marriage, and even the passing of my parents? She was not just Cullen’s sidekick, but the mastermind in the game.
My gaze shifted to the timer; it clicked 00:10. I clutched the knife. Lucy reached for my hand as she stirred. Despite being a whisper, her voice broke through the commotion. "Will…the red wire?"
She was staring at the bomb with hazy yet focused eyes. "I saw... When it was set by Cullen. The trigger is the red wire.”
Was Lucy attempting to save us while half-conscious? I took a quick look at the tangled red and blue wires. She was correct, the red was thicker and linked to the detonator's core. However, Nana still had her gun pointed at her, and one mistake could cause a disaster.
"Believe me," Lucy muttered as she feebly squeezed my hand.
Nana chuckled. She is in a delirious state. Cut the blue wire, Andrea, that is your only opportunity now, or else every one of you will die.”
I paused, my thoughts divided. Even as she faded, Lucy's eyes retained their confidence, despite Nana's assured voice. The time struck 00:05, and there was not much time left. I have to decide fast.
After taking one last breath, I cut the red wire, and immediately the beeping stopped. A deep and unreal silence fell upon us. The bomb had died.
My hands trembled as I let out a relieved breath, but Nana's gun clicked as her finger touched the trigger. "You believe you have won?" She hissed and pointed her gun closer to Lucy. “Without her, you are nothing.”
Grey shifted and shoved Lucy out of his way. "Shoot me instead," he stated in a firm voice. "Let her go, she has business in this."
Nana's finger twitched as her eyes narrowed. I sprang forward, throwing her to the ground. The bullet from her gun grazed my arm, and it burned like fire. I wrenched the gun away from her hand and pinned her to the wall. I was stronger than her, yet she fought like an animal in a corner.
"Get Lucy out, Grey!" I yelled, pinning Nana down, he picked her up, and he staggered towards the door, blood trailing behind them as her head lolled.
Nana's gaze pierced my own. "You can not stop him, Andrea, Cullen has already won.”
I leaned in and spoke icily. "I will track him down, and you are following me.”
Sirens grew louder and lights flashed through the broken window when some Cops arrived. Someone had called them. With my arm hurting and my thoughts focused on Lucy, I pulled Nana to her feet. Was she safe now? Would she survive?
I was pushing Nana to the door when her phone rang. As I took it out of her pocket, the name Cullen lit up on the screen.
My blood froze. I replied immediately, his voice silky and mocking. "Andrea, you never give up. But Lucy is mine now. Look at the news.”
Somehow, the TV in the corner was still on when I looked at it. The headline, *"Jones Group Heiress kidn*pped," Suspect: Will Cannon*
My face was displayed on the television screen with the label "criminal."
Even as I tightened my hold on her, Nana giggled. “Andrea, you’re done.”
- Writer
