32

                                    

                                          

I walked through the halls of the manor quietly. Jack was hosting a masquerade party to hide his corruption. I needed to somehow get in and out of here undetected. 
I entered their formal living room to find the space transformed into the perfect ballroom. Where couches and a pool table once laid, there was an empty room with a small bar tucked in the corner. A small stage placed in the center of one wall with a podium in the middle. Waiting for the host to come and make an announcement.
I scanned the room. There were plenty of men in tuxes here. All sporting their own form of mask. A couple women matching their respective partners. All of these people knew just how corrupt this man was, yet no one ever batted an eye.
- - -
"What do you mean by auction?" I asked Jason.
"Just as I said. Jack's planning on hosting an auction. His top offer being his own daughter."
My blood ran cold. "Why would he want to do that?"
Jason gripped the steering wheel tighter. "After Megan's mom left he couldn't stand her. It didn't help when he caught the two of y'all." He looked at me. "It's not your fault. He's just homophobic. Anyway, his little buddies have always enjoyed her. So he decided to ship her off to the highest bidder."
We pulled up in front of his house. "That's why I need you."
- - -
Jason and I came up with the plan. He was going to show up a little after me to be a distraction, since his parents are friends with hers, it wouldn't be an issue. I would sneak in and try to locate Megan in the meantime. So far I haven't had any luck.
After I made a lap around the room the lights dimmed. Jack came out with an evil smirk on his face and started the bidding on some of the items. When he finally got to the end of the catalog, that's when Megan emerged. She was dressed in a long sparkling red ball gown. She had the classic Jessica Rabbit look going on. Any other time I would've taken the opportunity to drool over the sight, but I needed to take action.
Bailey: Now.
I texted Jason as I made my way to the front. A small commotion could be heard in the back of the room before the lights went out. I snuck my way onto the stage and grabbed her hand.
She struggled for a moment before I leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I need you to trust me. I'm getting you out of here."
"Bailey?" She questioned. Fear and hope lying beneath her tone.
"Come." Was all I said as I pulled her through the curtain where she emerged.
We were met with a hallway. A couple of guards scrambled through the door as we made our way out. I darted towards the corridor. If we timed this right they should all be distracted. The cops would be here in a couple of minutes.
I turned the corner just as the power came back on. Fuck! Of course he would have some sort of backup generator. I paused as I was momentarily blinded by the sudden light. When I looked up I could see two guards in a similar fashion. Once their vision came back to them, we made eye contact.
One shouted as he started to run towards me. I grabbed the baton from the holster I had around my calf. This was some spy type shit, but Jason wanted us to be prepared. We were dealing with dangerous people after all. As the first guy came after us, I moved Megan to the other side of me before striking him in the back of the head. I made sure not to make it fatal, just enough to knock the dude out. The other guy wasn't as tough as his buddy; he backed away and ran off to another room. Presumably to get some help.
We made it outside just before anyone else came. "Go. Get in the car." I ushered her. I turned to look back at the manor. 
A tight grip on my hand caused me to look back. "Where are you going? Why aren't you coming with me?" 
I looked into her eyes. Fear, desperation, and worry written all in them. "I'm not leaving without Jason, but I need you to go. I need you to be safe." I looked back at the car. "Jules!" 
My best friend rushed out and grabbed Megan's hand. "We need to go. It'll be okay." 
Megan gave me a sad look before turning to the car with Julia. I didn't want to stay without her, but I needed her to get away from here. Before they could fully get in we heard a shout. I turned to see Jack standing in the doorway. His eyes were filled with rage, a gun by his side. He lifted his arm. 
"Get down!" I yelled to the other two before charging after him. 
The first shot missed, bouncing somewhere against the street. Thankfully I managed to tackle him before he could recover from the recoil. The gun went flying across the patio. I tried to hold him down, but he was stronger than me. Punches were thrown, I don't know how many of mine landed, but I knew he managed to get a couple. 
I managed to hold him down, my elbow dug into his throat. "It was you! You're the one who took her away from me, and you're the one who tried to kill me!" 
I heard a couple of gasps from the bystanders. Judging from the fact that there were no guards, it meant Jason had done the rest of his job. Jack smirked evilly. 
"It obviously didn't work well enough." He coughed up a little blood and struggled against me some more. 
"Why'd you do it?" I shouted at him. My anger from the past couple of years fueled me. "You took everything from me!"
He gathered some strength and shoved me off of him. I stared at the man who ruined mine and the girl I loves life. "You ruined her! She was never supposed to fall in love with someone like you." Without me noticing he had managed to grab the gun again. "And now I'm going to make sure to finish the job." 
He raised the gun to me. His finger moved to the trigger. Suddenly he was tackled, but the pain still struck me. I looked down to see red flowing from my side, before looking up and seeing red on top of the man I was just arguing with. He threw her off of him before she could do anything else to him. Sirens could be heard in the background, but they were too far. 
"You little bitch." He grumbled as he regained his balance. 
He raised his hand with the gun. Before I could stop myself I ran in front of her. His hand came down, the blow he meant to hit Megan with landed on the side of my head. The handle of the gun going straight into my temple. My vision blurred and I stumbled. A man tackled the one that was in front of me. Michael. 
I fell to the ground. My head hitting the hard floor once again. I finally saw red and blue flashes against the side of the house. Strawberry blonde hair came into view. I couldn't make out the emotion in her face, I couldn't hear anything but mumbles. Two other figures came by my side. Strong hands placed pressure on the wound on my side. My body was running cold. 
I was stupid. You make rash decisions when you're trying to protect the ones that mean the most to you. I felt as cold drops touched my face. The strawberry blonde coming closer to my face. Her hand felt warm against my cold cheek. Don't cry, I wanted to tell her. It'll all be okay. I just need to sleep for a while. Then everything will be back to normal, and I'll be able to tell her how I feel.