Bound to You

Chapter 60: Sacrifice

Burrell had his phone pressed against his ear, his hands shaking with wrath as one of his men kept reporting to him all of what had happened. He slumped in his luxurious chair, ragingly clutching his hair as he closed his eyes, feeling a headache. 

Detective Kaitlyn Donovan Reyes. The Assassin. The royal guards daringly attacking. Mason Danvers and James Torres escorting his captives outside. Most of his men and creatures incapacitated. But where the hell was the duchess now?! 

It was too late. She might already be gone for all he knew. But he couldn't wait anymore. With or without her, he was going to have that precious treasure. He should have done that a long time back instead of searching for her for long wasteful months. 

He grabbed the remote of the small powerful bomb and retreated to a corner of the compacted room, kneeling safely behind a rotten wooden desk. He'd blow that thing open and proclaim himself king. He didn't give a damn about the consequences. It was probably all a lie to keep him from forcefully breaking that vault open. 

And before he could even press the button, Sierra barged inside, a little breathless as she approached the vault, her eyes searching for him. Leroy instantly stood on his feet, a rush of happiness coursing through him, "Duchess!" 

She stared at the bomb fixed on the vault with horror and angrily exclaimed, "Take that thing down now, you fool." 

Leroy laughed as she stood there in all her splendor. The tiara she was wearing was absolutely striking. He touched his forehead, recalling the scar she had inflicted on him with that thing when months ago he had kidnapped her and forced the duke to comply to his wish of giving him his daughter's hand and the resources of the country. 

He eyed her royal dress, no doubt dirty with traces of blood but still, she looked magnificent. 

"Take it down, now." She commanded, repeating more firmly. 

He chuckled, "If I do so, it'll explode on the moment, triggering off a dozen other bombs my men planted all over the island, including one in your palace." 

She snarled, "Psychopath." 

He ordered, "Now do your job, duchess. I give you two minutes, starting now. And I am serious. If you refuse, you'll kill thousands of innocents. You don't want that, do you?" He showed her the remote.

As she examined the vault, Sierra prayed that they were all safely outside the fortress. Nothing good would happen now. She sucked in her breath, raised her hand to the digital panel and Leroy squealed joyfully, "Yes! Yes! Finally!" 

She snapped, "Silence. I need to focus. It's a 24 figure I need to input." 

Leroy nodded, excitingly waiting. Remembering that number she was forced to learn till it was imprinted in her memory, with a trembling finger, she tapped on the numeric panel, the buttons covered with dust. It was a one trial. A single wrong number and effects worse than Burrell had planned might occur.

After 2 minutes, once she was done, she stepped back and the first door of the vault smoothly split in two. Leroy rushed to her side, looking inside to see nothing but a white interior. "Where is it!? I can't see it!" 

He was about to go in when Sierra panicked, grabbing his shoulder and forcibly pulling him back, before he might trigger some defense security, "Don't. It's not over." 

Leroy grunted as she stepped out of her shoes and walked in. She stood straight, in the middle of the white interior, facing the cruel man. 

His eyes sparkled with delight as he saw white lights flashing all over Sierra as if scanning her. Yes, the full body scan. For a long minute, she helplessly stood there as those beams identified her and then, a click sounded behind her and she sighed heavily, turning around to look at the small sharp needle that spiked off the wall.