Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 1034 : Running Out of Time

*Bianca*

I ran as fast as my feet would carry me, which was more like waddling, breath coming in shallow, quick bursts as the pain in my belly intensified.

My water had broken, the contractions were growing closer together, and the adrenaline was pumping through me like wildfire.

But that wasn’t the worst part.

I could hear them behind me, closing in, their boots pounding on the floor.

Who were these people? Why were they after me?

It wasn’t like I could stop and take names or ask questions.

I paused in the hallway near the stairs and listened to their thudding steps.

They were already inside...

“Spread out and find her,” one of the men whispered.

Hurried steps followed his order.

“Keep quiet. The little minx is trying to hide from us.”

I gasped and clutched my belly with both arms.

The safe room was in the bedroom. A hidden door behind a hidden panel where I could lock myself in and these brutes couldn’t get me. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

But could I make it without alerting them to my presence.

The whole house was dark. I knew it like the back of my hand.

A contraction rippled through my abdomen and I leaned against the wall. I bit the inside of my cheek trying to muffle the groan.

“Come on Bianca. Get your ass up those stairs,” I muttered to myself.

I grabbed the banister with both arms and began hauling myself up one step at a time.

My breathing came in labored gasps and my legs shook. I was still soaking wet from my water breaking and the pain felt like this baby could just drop right out of me!

I knew labor could take hours, but right now, it felt like it would happen any second.

Would I even make it up the stairs?

I gritted my teeth and kept going.

My mind swam and my vision blurred slightly.

“Almost there,” I whispered.

I had to keep moving. I had to keep my head together.

Creak.

The top step gave slightly under my weight and the sound echoed throughout the quiet house.

“The stairs!” Someone shouted in a harsh whisper.

“She’s upstairs!”

Clomping bootsteps exploded on the first floor.

I hurried up the last step and slipped into the nearest room. There was a linen closet inside and I went in. I pushed all the way to the back until a few towels fell over me and I held my stomach with one hand and clamped the other over my mouth.

Damn, I hoped another contraction didn’t come right now!

Someone came into the room. I saw their shadow through the crack in the linen closet door.

“Come out, come out wherever you are,” he jeered.

I held my breath.

My legs shook and I felt another contraction coming.

No, not now!

I got down on my knuckle as the pain shot through me.

“Not in here,” the thug muttered. His bootsteps receded into the hallway.

I grabbed a towel and hugged it, breathing hard as the pain started to subside. Tears streamed down my face.

This was a nightmare.

I had to get to the panic room. It wasn’t that far away, now. I pushed on, trying to force my body to cooperate.

The hallway was empty.

I pressed myself against the wall and inched along toward the bedroom. Each step was agony as my muscles trembled and shook from the pain of my contractions.

They were still far apart but it took a toll on my body. I shouldn’t be running and hiding while in labor.

I made it to the bedroom door and listened for a moment. It didn’t sound like anyone was inside, so I went in.

Empty.

“Perfect,” I muttered. I pushed away from the wall and waddled toward the safe room door.

Suddenly, another contraction hit me. It was larger than the last one and my whole body shuddered. My legs shook and the floor went out from under me.

I fell, gasping for air, my hands clutching my swollen belly. My breath came in ragged gasps as the pain swallowed me whole.

"Shit."

I barely heard the words over the sound of my own heartbeat hammering in my ears.

Footsteps echoed from every corner of the house. They were almost on me now. I scrambled to stand, my legs trembling beneath me.

I had to keep moving.

I forced myself to my feet again, but just as I turned, the door burst open, and two figures rounded the corner.

“There she is!” One shouted, pointing at me.

I was terrified. But the fear had to be buried deep inside me, locked away with all the other things I couldn’t afford to deal with right now. I needed to run, get around these guys.

It wasn’t just about my own safety, it was my baby’s too.

Another contraction came and I groaned softly, clutching at my belly as my legs gave out beneath me.

Please, not now, I begged silently, squeezing my eyes shut.

The thugs were just inches away, their heavy breathing mixing with the sound of their footsteps as they bared down on my position.

“Hey, don’t touch her!”

A shout rang out, and the men were knocked off their feet, their bodies crumpling to the floor.

I didn’t move, didn’t even dare to breathe. I stayed perfectly still, my heart pounding in my chest.

A moment later, I heard the familiar voices of Darion and Taylor. "Bianca?"

I almost collapsed with relief. "Over here!" I gasped, my voice weak but desperate.

They were at my side in an instant, holding me up so I didn’t collapse again.

“We’ve got you. Where is the button to the panic room?” Darion asked.

I looked at the men on the floor. They were unconscious, for the time being. But I doubted they were alone.

I pointed to the bedside table.

Darion retrieved a remote from the top drawer. He pushed a button and the wall next to the bed opened to the panic room.

The three of us went inside.

I leaned heavily on Taylor as Darion closed up the panic room with the remote.

“Is it locked?” I asked breathlessly as Taylor slammed the door shut behind us.

“Yeah, it’s secure.” Darion’s voice was tight with urgency.

I tried to steady myself, but another contraction hit, and I cried out in pain, clutching the counter near the sink. “What the hell’s going on? What happened?”

Taylor’s face was grim, his eyes darting around as if he expected someone to burst through the door at any moment.

He looked between me and Darion before speaking. “Everything went to hell, Bianca. The Angels attacked the prison. They freed Andre and took us all by surprise.”

I blinked, my brain struggling to process the words. “Andre? Where’s Leo? Is he—"

Darion cut me off, his jaw clenched. “Maria’s got him. We... still don’t know what her plans are but we couldn’t get to him.”

I froze, my body going cold. “What?” The word came out barely louder than a whisper.

“He made it clear that our priority had to be getting to you and the baby.”

“You left him!?” I cried hysterically.

“We don’t know what happened, Bianca,” Taylor said, running a hand over his face in frustration. “We got Leo on the phone for a moment and he told us to get to you. The call was cut short, but we heard him screaming your name.”

The room seemed to spin. My vision blurred, and I reached for the counter to steady myself. “No,” I whispered again, the word a breathless denial. “Leo can’t—”

But the truth was sinking in like a heavy stone in my chest. He wasn’t here. He wasn’t answering.

And Maria had him.

I blinked, fighting the tears that threatened to spill. I wasn’t going to cry. Not yet. But the fear... the uncertainty clawed at my insides.

Taylor stepped closer, his hand gently touching my arm. “Bianca—"

“We need... to inventory what we have in the panic room,” I said.

“Um... don’t you want to sit down?” Darion asked, frowning.

“Look, I heard what you said, but I’m not going to believe for a second that Leo is gone. We’ve survived worse than this. So right now, the three of us have to plan how we’ll survive, which means we need to know how long we can last here.” I stamped my foot.

There was a cot in the corner. Taylor took my arm and led me to it.

“Sit here. Darion and I will look around.”

Leo kept the safe room well stocked. There was a cot and a few bedrolls, a little bathroom with running water, and even a refrigerator and shelves with food.

It wasn’t much but we could survive there for a while if we needed to.

How long until the thugs outside would give up looking for us?

Leo had an interior security system installed in the panic room, so we could watch them inside and around the property on monitors from there.

“I hope we don’t have to be here long, but we’ve got resources if it comes down to it,” Taylor reported.

I nodded and rubbed my belly. “Did you find a medical kit?”

“Uh... why?” He arched an eyebrow.

And then, as if everything else hadn’t been bad enough, another contraction hit. This one was worse. My knees buckled, and I fell back against the wall, gasping for air.

“Shit,” Darion muttered, his eyes wide with panic. “Taylor, what the hell are we supposed to do?”

I could barely hear him through the pounding in my head. I was sweating, trembling, fighting against the agony ripping through my body.

“Bianca, you need to calm down, okay?” Taylor’s voice was sharp, and his hand gripped my shoulder. “We’ve got to get you through this. We’ll do whatever we can, but we need you to breathe.”

“I—” I gasped, but another contraction stole my words.

“I don’t know what to do!” Darion’s voice cracked as he stepped back, his panic growing.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. “I... can’t... I can’t... do this alone,” I muttered, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Don’t worry,” Taylor said firmly. “We’ll figure it out. Just stay with me, Bianca.”

Darion glanced between us, his face pale. “We can’t... we can’t do this. We’re not prepared.”

“You have to,” I said, my voice thick with desperation. “Please. I need you.”

The seconds seemed to stretch forever. I fought the next wave of pain, forcing myself to focus on anything other than the contractions. But it didn’t work. The pain was relentless, and I could feel myself losing control.

The room was spinning, but Taylor’s steady presence helped anchor me. He moved around quickly, checking the supplies in the safe room. He muttered to himself, looking for anything that could help.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” Darion said quietly, standing back as he wrung his hands.

“I don’t either,” Taylor replied, his voice grim. “But we’ve got no choice. Find that med kit!”