Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 993 : Strength in Faith

*Bianca*

I jumped when Taylor touched my shoulder. “It’s going to be alright,” he murmured to me, offering me a tight smile.

I appreciated his attempt but I was going to start crying if he used the word “fine” or “alright” one more time.

It felt like we had been sitting here in lockdown for days but in reality, it had only been a little over an hour.

The safe room we were in was attached to the main part of the house but was secured by metal walls and locking doors that were apparently bulletproof. Even though we were sitting in here, I didn’t feel much safer. I felt like we were constantly being watched.

Other than some chairs, a few beds and some food rations that were essentially jerky and freeze-dried snacks that were supposed to be rehydrated, there wasn’t much in the large room. That meant that there was nothing to do except sit and worry about Leo.

“I know,” I responded to Taylor, even though I wasn’t at all convinced. I couldn’t explain it but I just had a bad feeling and it went beyond knowing that the warehouse was attacked. I couldn’t help but feel like something terrible was happening out there.

And had an even more sinking feeling that Leo was going to get hurt.

Taylor and I jumped when we heard a bump above us. My friend grabbed my wrist and pulled me to him, holding me against his strong body, his whole form rigid as we listened to the sounds of people outside.

I stiffened and suppressed a whimper that wanted to escape my lips. Taylor shushed me gently, rubbing my back soothingly. “It’s going to be okay,” he murmured. “But if things get bad, you need to listen to what I tell you and follow my instructions, alright?”

I glared at him. “Don’t you dare talk like that,” I hissed in a quiet voice. “You are not going to leave me.”

“I’m not saying I will,” Taylor said calmly. “But if for some reason, I have to, you need to let me do what I need to in order to ensure your safety.”

I set my jaw but nodded reluctantly. I knew I had to agree because it wasn’t just me he was protecting anymore. I needed to do what was best for my child.

Taylor’s grip tightened on me when the doors suddenly burst open and men flooded in. It only took half a second to realize they were our men. I jumped up and waited, ready to tackle Leo when I saw him. My heart sank as each man came in, none of them mine. A couple dozen made it, many of them wounded and beat up but otherwise fine.

Taylor went forward to talk to a few of them, their faces grim as they were undoubtedly recounting the night’s events.

“What’s going on?” I asked as soon as Taylor was within earshot as he made his way back to me.

“I’m not sure,” he said, his mouth turned down and a wrinkle forming between his eyebrows. “It sounds like the Angels are still at the warehouse. They were ordered by Leo to escape through the secret passage so they could get out.”

“But where is Leo?” I asked, my voice rising with panic.

Taylor frowned with worry and then put his arm around me, leading me over to a chair. “They’re not sure what happened to him,” he told me, his voice heavy and apologetic. “I’ll keep asking around. Maybe one of these guys saw what happened to him but they’re saying they split up from him during the attack.”

I nodded and tried to control my breathing while Taylor turned. “I’m going to go pass out some first aid kits and the water bottles from the supply closet. Just stay put for now. I don’t like how pale you look.”

I opened my mouth to protest but Taylor just shot me with a stern look before turning to go. I watched him for a second, intent on getting up to help but I suddenly felt a wave of nausea pass over me and figured that I should probably do what he said just this time.

I rubbed my tummy absentmindedly, trying to think about the baby to calm myself but that just made me think of Leo. I shut my eyes and tried to drown out the noise of the men around me. I looked at my phone to see that it was nearly sunset, two hours after the lockdown was set in place.

Where were Leo and Franky?

My head shot up when the back door suddenly burst open. Several of the guys pulled out their guns, including Taylor but they quickly lowered their weapons when they saw who it was.

Several gasps filled the room, one tearing from my lips when Darion stumbled in with Franky on his back. The whole front of Franky’s shirt was covered in blood and I had a sinking feeling that it all belonged to him.

“We need a doctor!” Darion snapped as two of the guys shut the door behind him.

A couple of the guys who were trained in medicine ran forward, carefully taking Franky off of Darion’s back and laying him on a nearby table. Nausea twisted my gut as they started to cut away his shirt to look at the deep wound.

“He was shot in the shoulder,” Darion explained to one of the guys.

“We’ll do what we can,” one said. “We can’t afford to try and take him to the doctor now but I think we can patch him up here. Thankfully, Boss thought to have this place fully equipped with medical supplies.”

I jumped up to go and get the medical supplies from the closet. The guys nodded in thanks to me. Darion waited until the guys started cleaning Franky’s wound before he plopped down in a nearby chair, clearly exhausted. He looked ready to fall over any moment.

I looked at the back door that Darion and Franky had burst through, waiting for Leo to push it open next but it didn’t happen. I sucked in a sharp breath before making my way over to where Darion sat.

He didn’t even look up when I approached but I could tell that he heard me. He had his head bowed, his arms resting on his knees, looking utterly defeated.

I was afraid to ask but I forced the question through my lips. “Darion, where is Leo?”

Darion stiffened but then raised his head to look at me. He looked more than defeated, he looked absolutely devastated which put fear through me. “We were completely surrounded by Angel members,” he said. “There was a standoff. Leo just wanted to get Franky to safety and knew the only way to do that was to surrender to them and let them take him into their custody.”

Something between a gasp and a sob tore from my throat and I started to shake. Taylor was at my side in a flash, putting an arm around me as if he could shield me from these horrific words.

I felt as if the room was starting to spin. My knees felt weak and I was grateful that Taylor was there to steady me or I would have been flat on my face by now.

Everyone was looking at Darion, their expressions a mix of horror and sympathy for their leader.

It was so quiet that Darion’s quick breathing could be heard. He let out an angry grunt and put his fist into the side of the chair he was sitting on.

“I shouldn’t have let him do that,” he yelled with rage. “Now they are going to kill him and I couldn’t do anything about it. None of us can.”

I was breathing harder now, dangerously close to hyperventilating. Taylor pulled me more tightly into his side, shushing me. He glared over at Darion. “I would guess Leo ordered you to escape with Franky. It was the only logical decision he could have made. You had no choice but to obey him.” His voice was so harsh that it was clear he wasn’t saying this to comfort Darion.

Darion just stared at him, clearly unconvinced.

Taylor looked at the other men as well, who all looked equally as somber. “If they simply wanted Leo dead, they would have killed him during the standoff,” he pointed out rationally. He lowered his voice to a grave one. “They are clearly after something else.”

Everyone fell silent after that. One of the medics looked over at Taylor and me. “We could use some help over here,” they said.

I straightened. I was terrified for Leo but I had to be strong. With their leader absent, these men needed all the help and guidance they could get. I was going to do what I could until Leo came back. When he came back.

I stayed by the medic’s side, aiding him in cleaning out Franky’s wound. We had some basic supplies but we were able to get him to a stable position and patch him up but it wasn’t going to hold up forever. He was going to need more thorough medical attention before too long.

I kept busy even after we were done patching up Franky. I went from man to man, handing out food rations and giving basic medical aid. Thankfully, most of them had minor cuts to tend to.

“Thank you, Miss Bianca,” one of the guys said after I finished cleaning a long cut on his arm. He grinned at me. “Boss chose good.”

I smiled tightly back, not quite able to make it reach my eyes before I packed up the first aid kit and stood to find someone else who needed medical attention.

Before I could find someone else to aid, Taylor suddenly grabbed my wrist and pulled me aside. “Why don’t you rest for a little while?” he suggested. “You’ve been nonstop for hours now. You can afford to take a little break.”

I shook my head quickly. If I sat down, I would be alone with my feelings and I didn’t want to start crying right now.

He studied my face for a long moment before he said quietly, “It’s okay to fall apart,” he told me gently. He set a warm hand on my shoulder. “No one will judge you for it. You don’t always have to be strong.”

I shook my head again, more firmly this time. “I can’t afford to fall apart now,” I said with a tight voice. I looked down. “Besides, there’s no reason to. I trust Leo. I believe in him and his decisions. He knows what he’s doing.” But even as I was saying this, to my horror, a few tears leaked from my eyes. I swallowed hard, refusing to break down now.

I didn’t need to cry because I was going to get my fiance back. We would be together soon. For now, I just needed to be strong for Leo.