Blurred Lines 1: CHASE
Chapter 126

-Sofia-

Chase mentioned Jose was from the military; it was my only security that, somehow; he knew what he was doing. But that didn't calm the drumming of my heart in my ribcage or the fear that slithered through my entire body. Jose drew out a gun from his waistband.

"Ever held a gun before?" His voice was so calm, you wouldn't imagine we were outnumbered one to five.

My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth, shaking my head.

"This is the trigger and the barrel. You aim the barrel at your enemy, at the head or the torso if you can, then squeeze the trigger." He twirled the grip towards me. "Once you squeeze the trigger, the gun will recoil. Make sure you don't drop it, then aim and squeeze again."

By the time he was done explaining, Hunter was already standing on four paws, his ears perked up.

"I... I don't know if I could shoot anyone, Jose," my voice was throaty.

He drew out another gun, cocking it.

"It's either them or us. Them or your daughter." When he put it that way, the choice was simple.

Determination to protect my daughter overpowered my fear, and Jose saw that. "Wake Elise up. We have to move fast." He went back to the window, calmly watching the scene down below. I went to Elise's bed and caressed her face, kissing her forehead before shaking her shoulder until her eyes fluttered open.

"Elise..." I patted Elise's cheeks. "Honey, wake up."

Her sleep-laced eyes locked with mine. "Mommy?"

"We need to get out of the house." I searched my brain for an easy way to break the reality to her that we have to run for our lives.

"Why?" she rubbed her eyes, looking side to side. "What's going on?"

"We need to leave. There are bad guys here that want to hurt us."

She tipped her head to the side. "But why? I was a good girl."

My heart ached. She didn't have to go through this. She was too young to experience running for her life. I let a sliver of fear shine in my eyes as I cupped her cheek.

"These bad guys, it doesn't matter to them if we've been good or bad. They want to take us and hurt Daddy. So we have to get out of here, okay?"

Elise quickly got up from her bed, clutching Jessie close to her chest. "Is Daddy okay?"

I couldn't lie to her. Despite our situation, I still worry about Chase's safety. "We will call him once we get out of the mansion."

"Sofia, we have to go," Jose pressed.

"We have to be very quiet, okay?" I said, holding her hand, trailing behind Jose as he slipped out of the room. Hunter ran to our side. "Also, you, Hunter. Be quiet."

I knew Hunter was trained to follow instructions. Chase made sure that Hunter would be an added security to our daughter.

"Stay close," Jose calmly instructed. I trailed behind him, goose flesh coating my skin as we walked down the hallway toward one of the guest rooms. He locked the door once we were inside. Jose moved around the room with only the outdoor lights as his guide. They clearly made an escape plan in case something like this happened.

"Where are we going?" I whispered.

"To the Dawsons," he murmured, opening the sliding window. He must've stashed the duffle bag somewhere inside this room ahead of time. It was packed and he pulled out a ladder made of ropes and metal, throwing it out the window and securing the ends on the window pane.

"You have to go first, Sofia," he said. "Drop your gun over the window. Elise, sweetheart, you have to hold tight on the ladder, okay? I will take Jessie for now. I will give her back later."

Elise nodded, handing Jessie to Jose as I dropped my gun, along with my slippers, over the window as instructed. Elise did the same, throwing her unicorn slippers haphazardly over the open window.

"What about Hunter?" Elise eyed Hunter, who was calmly watching the three of us.

Jose pulled out a backpack from the duffle bag. He opened the bag, and Hunter hopped inside.

Smart dog.

"Go," Jose nodded at me. "We'll be right behind you."

I didn't pay any mind to how high we'd be climbing down. Five steps in, and I heard Elise's shaky voice. "Mommy, I'm scared."

I looked up to meet her eyes. "Me too, honey. But we have to do this for Daddy, okay?"

She swallowed hard, nodding and focusing on her grip on the ladder.

The grass was cold against my feet as I landed on the ground. I gripped Elise's waist and helped her down the remaining steps on the ladder. I searched for our slippers and my gun. Jose set down the bag where Hunter was, securing the backpack on his back. He motioned for us to be quiet and stay low. I held Elise's hand as we planked behind Jose through the back lawn. We trailed along the bushes until we reached the fence. Jose plucked three of the wood planks, then a searing pain carved through my shoulder. I hissed, gripping my left shoulder.

With speed I didn't know he possessed, Jose covered me with his huge body, firing his gun on the mansion's second floor.

"Go!" Jose roared.

"Mommy!" Elise screamed. Panic made her voice rise. Hunter seconded her reaction by barking.

The only gunfire was coming from Jose, but the whooshing sound slicing through the air came raining down from every angle. "Sofia, move!" Jose bellowed.

I bit down the stinging pain in my shoulder, grabbed Elise's hand, and slipped through the fence gap.

I might not know how to fire a gun, but I knew I had to do something to help Jose. Some sentences are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on FindNovel.net. Visit FindNovel.net to read the complete chapters for free. I gripped my gun and kneeled on the ground, repeating his instruction from before in my head like a mantra. Aim, squeeze, recoil, repeat. The pain in my shoulder thickened with each recoil, biting through my will. "Jose, I'll cover you!" I said between squeezing the trigger.

Jose cursed under his breath, ducked his head, and ran through the gap.

"Let's go," he said and lifted Elise, running towards the Dawson mansion.

I pushed aside the pain in my shoulder and followed Jose through the darkness. The Dawsons were on vacation in Croatia, and technically, this was trespassing on their property.

This escape plan was well laid out. Jose easily opened the double doors and went through the large hallway. I'd been here once on old Dawson's birthday and didn't know where this hallway would lead. The house was twice as big as ours, but the way Jose moved, he'd already familiarized himself with the layout.

We passed through a series of doors. It was dark, and if I wasn't running close behind Jose, I would've lost my way. Hunter was running beside me, his paws skidding with each corner we took.

We reached a massive kitchen, and Jose went inside the last door on the left. It led to a garage with five cars lined inside. Jose turned a flashlight on, guiding us between a Ford Ranger and Everest. He kneeled and pulled a plank of wood from the floor. The sound of running water and the pungent smell of sewer permeated the air.

"You have to go through this sewer on your own, Sofia. Take Elise and Hunter. The tunnel will lead you directly toward the shipyard. Take the left turn, then right, right, left. Chuck will be there waiting for you at the end of the tunnel."

"What about you?" I asked, grabbing the flashlight he offered to me and aimed it down the sewer. I couldn't see how deep the water was. It was almost pitch black down there.

Fuck. This was really happening.

"I will take this car and be the diversion."

"Why don't we just stick together, Jose?" I bit my lip, unable to shake the nagging feeling in my gut. My shoulder was bleeding pretty badly. From what I could tell, the wound was through and through, but I'd be losing blood in a few minutes, and I might not be able to take Elise to safety. "Your safety is my priority, Sofia. This was my job."

I glanced down at Elise. She was holding it together pretty well, but her glossy eyes told me she was about to break any moment.

"Take Elise. I will be the diversion," I stated, flinching when the unmistakable sound of a gun firing at the lock of the garage from the outside echoed.

"That's not the plan-"

"Me being shot wasn't on the plan, Jose," I insisted. "I am losing so much blood. Chuck will be able to trace me. We need to put an end to Nikos once and for all."

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Chase, Derek, and Carlota are out there risking their lives right now. Let me do this for my family."