Free Illicit Liaison by Katelyn Skye Page B

out. Jamie was on the verge of hysteria and she had to keep her quiet, had to, or risk all their lives. Blood leaked down her fingers and she bit her lips to keep from making a sound.
    There were screams of pain from the other rooms and doors squealed and shattered. The attackers were systematically going through the rooms. They heard Carmen’s voice and Lolita went stiff as the situation became terrifyingly clear.
    The bullets had ceased, it seemed as if all of the people who had been shooting from outdoors had come inside to finish the job.
    “Stay here,” Darien whispered. Lolita peeked over the tub as he crawled to the ruined windows and looked down. He signaled back to her and she clambered out of the bed, helping a whimpering Jamie out as well. They crawled on the floor. Broken glass cut Lolita’s knees and palms; she could see blood dotting the floor beside her and knew Jamie was suffering too. Guilt smote her, she should have been more careful, should have taken better care of her sister.
    They made it over the windowsill but the balcony was ten feet above the ground. It would have been an easy jump for Lolita and Darien. Jamie was terrified at the prospect however when they decided to try it.
    “I’ll fall and get hurt!” She wailed while Lolita tried to hush her.
    “I’m going to hold onto you,” Darien said in a calm voice that made Lolita’s eyes jerk towards his face. “We are going to play leapfrog and try to land right there on that little hill, the one with the flowers, see it?”
    “The yellow flowers?” Jamie asked.
    “Yes, the yellow ones. Hold onto me now.”
    “She won’t,” Lolita began but Jamie went into Darien’s arms and over the balcony without a murmur.
    The three of them ran for a car parked on the lawn. The keys were not in the ignition but that did not matter, Darien started it up with a quick yank of wiring and they zoomed out of the gates. They had not gotten very far when a loud explosion rocked the ground.
    “They blew the place!” Lolita gasped.
    “Somebody else blew it up.” Darien said
    “What is happening, Darien?”
    “There is only one way to find out.”
    His face was set into hard lines when she glanced at him, “How?”
    “I have to go see Jimmy.”
    “Are you nuts?” Lolita asked. “He is in a federal prison Darien. Prison, which is exactly where you will end up if they catch you.”
    “Lolita, he had to be the person who gave them the codes for your panic room. He set it up—the whole damn thing. All of us: Antony, Carlos, Carmen, you and me. He wanted us all together in one place and he made it happen. He knew Antony wanted the ring back, he sent us both after that necklace knowing you would come after me, or I would come after you. He got us all together and then he had someone blow up the place he thought we would all be in.
    “It was not enough to hope that Carlos and Antony would kill each other and we would get caught in the crossfire, he had to make sure.”
    “He’s planning something big.”
    “He’s planning on making sure there is nobody around who knows who he is.”
    Lolita stared at him, baffled by that conjecture. “Why?”
    “There is only one reason a man like Jimmy would be afraid of people on the outside recognizing him.”
    “He’s going to escape!”
    Jamie stuck her pretty face over the backseat. “I lost Jasper. Can we go back and get him, please?”
    “No honey, we can’t. As soon as we can stop I am going to get you a new friend.”
    Jamie replied, “Can I have a doughnut too?”
    “Yes, you can have a doughnut.”
    She sank back into the seat and started to hum a little tune. Lolita could not look at Darien; sure she would see pity on his face. She hated it when people pitied Jamie.
    “I’m jealous. I never knew what it was like to be that innocent.”
    His words cut Lolita to the core. They were empathetic and genuine. She reached for his hand, twining her fingers into his. “Neither have I.”
    The seconds