Tabitha's POV
I covered myself with a blanket, and the thunder outside was driving me nuts.
I pressed my ears shut, desperate to fall asleep as soon as possible. However, the more I tried, the harder it got, and I always felt a chill down my back.
Suddenly, Crystal woke up in my head, constantly reminding me, "Run, Tabitha! Get out of here!"
"What's going on?" I couldn't help but ask her.
But she didn't give me a clear response.
Run? But where could I go? And why should I run?
I had already called Spike, and he told me everything was fine. Besides, there were so many people patrolling around the villa 24/7. If something was off, they'd catch it right away.
Shaking my head, I figured I must have been overthinking, as I even started to hear things that weren't there.
After tossing and turning for a while, I still couldn't fall asleep. So, I reached for the gun that Lucian had left me six months ago.
This thing should keep me safe, right?
The pups in my belly seemed worn out from all the earlier fuss, finally quieting down.
Thunder clapped while waves crashed against the rocks outside like a chaotic symphony.
A cool breeze blew, and only then did I realize that one of the windows was open. The wind made those heavy curtains billow around as gusts of air slipped inside.
When I got up to close the window, however, I heard a scream from next door!
It was Joanna! What happened?
Just then, I saw something that made my heart skip a beat.
There was a fully armed stranger jumping onto my balcony!
What the hell? I couldn't believe that someone risked their life on such a day just to catch me. If they fell into the sea, they would undoubtedly die!
Then I recalled the assassin organization called Black Wolf Guild that Derek had mentioned before. It made more sense now. Looked like someone paid big bucks for my head!
I quickly backed away and slammed the window shut.
Joanna's POV
Thank goodness, my room's window was locked from inside.
While Austin hadn't gotten through yet, I managed to escape into Tabitha's room just in time.
We exchanged glances, and I was so freaked out that I could barely form a complete sentence. All I managed to spit out was, "Austin! Villain!"
Having been through enough storms, Tabitha kept her cool better than I did. "Let's move," she told me.
These people wouldn't dare to enter through the front door. They chose a path with the worst natural conditions, so it wouldn't be easy for them to climb up here, which meant that we still had time to escape.
But with Tabitha's baby bump getting bigger by the day, running wasn't exactly an option for her anymore.
I couldn't carry her on my back even if I wanted to, so I could only hold onto her hand instead.
My palm was sweaty as I rambled on nervously, "How could this happen? Austin! There's something wrong with Austin! It's all my fault! He wouldn't have found out our location if it weren't for me!"
I realized that something was wrong the moment I saw his message.
Right now, I was totally lucid.
Nobody would climb up from the edge of a cliff in the middle of the night unless he had ill intentions.
Obviously, I had been played. But there wasn't time for me to figure out what went wrong now. The most urgent thing to do was run for our lives.
Even now, I had no clue how Austin managed to find his way here. After all, before I came back from the hospital, I had made the car loop around downtown several times before hopping into a private car. I thought there was no way anyone could've followed me!
"It's okay. We've got people in front. We'll be safe soon. I bet they are already on their way here," Tabitha reassured me calmly.
I nodded. Alpha Derek left behind nothing but elite guards. Plus, this place was tough to breech. Those intruders might not get an advantage after all.
"Tabitha, are you okay?" We finally heard the voices of the bodyguards from afar.
"I'm fine," she quickly responded.
But just then, a gunshot rang out!