I Fell In Love With The Devil

Chapter 7

I fled up the stairs away from the grunting, scuffling and crashing that indicated the boys had begun to fight. Shitshitshitshitshit. I slammed the door loud enough for it to possibly be heard downstairs then sprinted into the library. A wave of dizziness crashed down and I crumpled to the ground, unable to stand. It just had to come now, right when I needed to be able to move quickly. Thudding footsteps ran up the stairs and panic took hold of me; my breath came out in short gasps, a cool sweat slicked my forehead, my heart went into overdrive. I almost kissed the ground when the footsteps went to my bedroom door instead. The dizziness evaporated like it had never been there and I sprung to my feet. I clambered out onto the concrete shelf that ran along the length of the house then I jumped. I landed with a loud splash in the pool, slightly disoriented and with my heart in my mouth. I floundered for the edge and hauled myself out, rolling across the concrete to my feet then running out of the pool yard attempting not to slip over. I really hoped that the grass was prickle free because my bare feet were needed for running away, not hopping on one foot while I tried to get the prickle out of the other. I cleared the lawn and edged down the side of the house in the shadows. When I neared the corner to the front lawn I lay flat and commando crawled the rest of the way. A black SUV was parked out front with a man in an all-black uniform standing guard, one hand on his hip, likely for quick access to the bulge there, i.e. gun. Don't go that way Piper, he'll shoot you dead before you can say mummy. I commando crawled back the way I came and crouch-ran into the garden bed with tall, thick bushes and small dense trees. A door banged open around the back of the house and I froze. Fuck! Thinking quickly, I dropped to the ground and pulled myself under a wide, dense tree and pressed my back against the fence. Now, all I had to do was stay quiet and still. Faint footsteps and a click. Not good, not good at all. I held my breath and watched Theo limp around the corner with his handgun ready to shoot anything that moved. Even with his limp, he moved with the fluid ease of someone who'd done this many times before. Where was Levi? If he was hurt... or worse... I'd kill that son-of-a-bitch. Theo signalled to his partner who returned with a different signal. Theo nodded, slipped his gun under the folds of his coat, hurried around the front of the house, turned off all the lights then exited in the black Jeep I had been driving. They disappeared into the night. I made myself wait a minute before shimming out of my hiding place and scampering around the back to enter the darkened halls of Levi's mansion. 'Levi,' I whisper shouted. The dark had never been a favourite of mine and quite frankly, I was shitting myself. 'Levi.'

'Piper?' a pained groan came from the living room.

'Yes it's me,' I hissed as I ran around the corner and my heart stopped. Levi was in a crumpled heap on the ground; a dark pool glistened in the moonlight that shone through the open curtains. The room was a mess: furniture everywhere, glass shards littering the floor, splintered wood. 'You okay?' I dropped to my knees and started searching for the entry wound.

'I'm fine,' he replied sarcastically. 'Do I look fucking okay?'

'Sorry, bad question. Did he shoot you?'

'I didn't know the bastard had a gun.' Levi groaned again and the muscles of his neck strained, I had found the wound: upper thigh, thank the lords that it wasn't his chest. Although he was losing blood fast. 'Whadoido, whadoido, whadoido...' I repeated quickly under my breath. I had read a book only a while ago and someone had gotten shot in that. 'Okay, I need you to apply pressure to the wound. Did the bullet go through or is it still in there?'

'Still in.'

'Where's the Glad wrap?'

'Kitchen.'

'Keep pressure on, I'll be back.' I shot to my feet and sprinted for the kitchen leaving a bloody trail of footprints behind. I sorted through every cupboard until I found the Glad wrap then I began my mad sprint back to Levi but halfway through the tiled entrance I became dizzy and tripped. I puked on the ground while trying to remain on my knees. When the nausea subsided I half-crawled half-slipped the rest of the way to Levi's side. Even in the dark, I could tell Levi's skin had gone a ghostly pale shade and life was slowly leaving his eyes. The blood was still oozing out at a steady pace. 'We're going to hospital,' I stated.