The Blues of Atlantis | ✔

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Silence filled the room as the dust settled. No noise emanated from the hallway either. Whatever the explosion was, it was sure to draw attention even from people on the mainland.

Using his elbow, Wade shoved a rock off his back and groaned, "Did anyone get the license plate of that truck?" He felt like he'd just been run over by the biggest truck available on the market. His body was not going to like him tomorrow.

No one responded to his half-hearted joke and alarm ripped through him. "Malik? Hey, you guys okay?" He saw some fingers moving under a pile of rocks.

"Get me out of here," Malik moaned.

Wade grabbed the hand and pulled as hard as he could, but his friend didn't budge. "Hang on." He started picking up the rocks and tossing them to the side, trying to find his friend under all the debris.

"Ari, Dalis, talk to me," he said, as he continued to help Malik.

Still nothing. Craning his ear towards the door, he paused to listen for a moment. There didn't appear to be any activity from the hallway yet. He let out a breath of relief and then grabbed his friend's hand again and started pulling. This time, Malik was able to make his way from under the rubble.

Climbing over a pile of rocks, they began to dig the rest of the team out. Uncovering Ari's head, Wade checked for a pulse. He shook his head at Malik. Closing the man's eyes, he let out a heavy sigh. Moving to the other guy, they struggled to get Dalis free.

"About time," the guy mumbled.

Wade picked up a gun and poked his head out the door, so far none of the attackers were moving. Quietly, he motioned for the men to follow him. As they stepped into the hall, he could only spot a few bodies. Russ wasn't anywhere to be found, unless he was buried underneath everything.

Slowly, they made their way up to the house as he followed her trail up to the banquet hall. And there she was, sitting in the middle of the room, tied to a chair. Russ had a hand on her shoulder and a large group of his men were gathered behind him. The odds weren't exactly in Wade's favor as only three of his men made it.

"Let her go," he demanded. "You don't want to do this."

"On the contrary, it's exactly what I want to do. That's why I have her and you don't," Russ said, jeering at him. "Now, she gets to watch me kill you. I'm sure she'll take pleasure in that, won't you, darling?" The man leaned in and planted a kiss on her cheek, keeping his eyes on Wade.

"Well, can you at least let me say one last word to my wife?" he said solemnly, trying to sound a little resigned to his supposedly inevitable death. His hands clenched as anger built inside him. He needed to smash one of his fists into the guy's face.

The man motioned him to come forward, but when Wade's men started to walk with him, Russ raised his gun. "Just you."

He approached his wife and stopped in front of the chair, staring at Russ, eye to eye. "Can we have a minute of privacy, please?"

Russ and his men took a few steps back and Wade knelt down in front of her, brushing the hair back from her eyes. She deserved the entire truth and he might not have any other time to tell her. "Babe, I'm so sorry about everything. Yes, I was hired to kidnap you, but when I met you—when I looked in your eyes—I couldn't go through with it. Your smile, your laugh, you as a person, knocked me off my feet."

He cupped her face with his hands. "After we met, I went to the king and told him all about the plan. And yes, he suggested that I marry you to protect you, but I didn't ask you out of a sense of duty, or because he wanted me to."