Sure enough Sage keeps his word. At 10.50pm he came to let me know he was leaving, with instructions to stay in the bedroom and that he would be back by morning.
And at 11 o'clock I watch them leave in the Jeep from the bedroom balcony. The windows of the Jeep are blacked out, making it impossible to see through but I know from the way my body reacts that Sage could see me.
It had been two hours since they left and I had been in the bedroom the entire time, Ivy hadn't even knocked on my door and I had suspicions that she had also been told to stay in her room by either Serge or Gunner.
It's just past one in the morning and almost everyone in the house is asleep except for the occasional footsteps of guards walking around on the floorboards downstairs.
I lie in bed, Sage's side cold and empty. The balcony doors remain open as the breeze gently fills the room, the moonlight making the white curtains glow in the dark.
I hear what I first think to be leaves on the trees rustling but listening closely it becomes apparent that the noise is the sound of whispering, just below the balcony.
I crawl out of bed and tip toe to the open doors, leaning slightly over as I try to be as quiet as possible.
I can't see anything clearly in the darkness, only the glint of patches on a jacket that the guards wear. My heart rate calms knowing that it's just the guards discussing something as I make my way back to bed.
I close the open balcony doors behind me; the cool night air feeling a little too cold while Sage is gone.
*
The sound of a vehicle driving up the gravel driveway awakens me. The sun is still down as I look at the bedside table that holds the alarm clock, it reads 3.34am. Sage shouldn't be back yet, it's only been just over four hours since they left.
I sit up as the headlights light up my room. I stand up and walk towards the balcony doors. I'm only dressed in a shirt and underwear as I try and peak around the curtains of the window as to not flash anyone but I'm unable to see anything except for the blurry imagine of the car and people gathered around as the fog from the cold fogs up the windows.
I turn around to find pants as I see the silhouettes walk up the steps to the front door.
I pause briefly, one leg in and one out of a pair of Sage's track pants that I managed to find as I faintly hear the sound of a knock on the front door.
I listen quietly; my eyebrows pull together in confusion. If it is Sage or any of the guys he left with, they'd just walk in rather than knocking.
The faint sounds of boots slapping the floor is heard leading to the front door, I hear them clear their throat before the door is pulled open.
A manly shout is heard before it's cut off by a loud bang. My hands automatically fly up to cover my ears as they ring. The walls of the house shake with the vibration. I hurriedly pull my pants on the rest of the way just as I hear footsteps coming to the door of Sage's bedroom.
I dive across the room to the bedside drawer that holds the gun Sage had stored away for me. The door handles jiggle frantically on the other side as I grab a hold of the gun, my hands shaking.
I point the gun at the door and hope that the safety is off.
"Dove!" I hear a whisper-yell through the door; I lower the gun at the female voice and take a steady step closer.
"Dove, it's me!" my body snaps out of the fear once it registers Ivy's voice. I run over to the door and unlock it as she barges into the room.
I catch a glimpse of a man rounding the corner of the stairs looking the opposite direction of Sage's bedroom before Ivy closes the door as quietly as possible. I'd never seen him before and he wasn't dressed in the usual Lawless guard uniform.
"Who is that?" I whisper to her, grabbing her forearm.
"It's High Class!" she hisses to me, grabbing my arm and taking us both to the opposite side of the room, towards the balcony doors. I feel ice set in my veins and freeze up, breathing in a shaky breath.
A commotion starts downstairs, getting louder by the second, things smashing and people yelling.
"Where is everybody?" I ask as she peers out the foggy windows.
"The guys aren't back yet and Serge is with Lydia and the girls. I don't know what to do!" she turns to face me, tears in her eyes and her movements frantic.
Once again the doorhandles start to shake, more violently than Ivy's shaking. We both duck behind the bed, I clutch the gun tightly in my hand.
"Where'd you get that?" Ivy asks me in a soft whisper.
"Sage left it for me" I answer. Doors along the hallway slam open, one after another, every now and then a scream being heard from the shocked occupants inside.
"They're looking for you" Ivy breaths out, looking at me. I zip my mouth shut tightly so the whimper doesn't escape.
"The rat must've told them the boys wouldn't be here" she talks to herself.
Someone kicks the door, making it rattle roughly.
"Boss, the door's locked" a male voice shouts from the other side of the door.
"Move" I choke on a sob at the distinctive voice. Ivy looks at me in question as my hands move up to cover my mouth, a tremor shaking me.
"It's Jace" I mouth to her. I watch as her face turns a pale shade as she mouths out a 'fuck'.
Just then the sound of multiple gunshots echo through the room, I hear them soar over the top of us and into the wall behind us.
Ivy slams a hand over her mouth, cutting off her short scream. The door is kicked open easily once the lock had been shot off.
Ivy grabs the gun from my hand and shoves it under the bed, out of sight.
"They'll kill us if they see it" her voice so low, it's barely heard.
"Search the room" Jace orders from the doorway, I have a clear view of his boots from underneath the bed as he stands in the doorway, his boots tracking mud up to the door.
Two pairs of boots step onto the carpet of the bedroom, their shoes making a mess. They check the bathroom and closet first, ripping apart clothing and smashing the bathroom mirror, making both Ivy and I flinch.
They then begin to make their way towards the side of the bed we're hiding behind, their shoes coming closer with every step, their shadows looming closer.
My mind races at the possible chance I'm putting Ivy in danger and in a split second decision I lift my head so I'm kneeling behind the bed, the top half of my body now visible.
"Jace" I call quietly. His men point their guns at me immediately as Jace redirects his attention from the hallway to me.
His men stop in their steps and look back at Jace, waiting for his next instruction.
"There she is" Jace clasped his hands together with a cynical smile on his face. I feel Ivy pulling at my shirt.
"What are you doing?" I hear her hiss from next to me. I put a hand down and grab her wrist giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"Put your hands up" Jace says almost immediately, his men moving a step closer with their guns drawn on me. I do as he says "good, come here" he demands.
I stand and move around the bed, one of his men grabbing my hands and holding them behind my back. It's only when I get closer to Jace that I see the other mans face.
It's my brother, Max.
"Max?" I call; he pays me no mind and continues looking towards Jace for instruction. I get walked to Jace, his body a foot from mine.
He grabs my chin between his fingers roughly, my cheeks being squished "I've missed you" he says sarcastically. I shake my head roughly and he lets go, his face becoming angry.
"Boss" I had been so distracted with Jace that I hadn't noticed Max walking towards Ivy.
"What" Jace spits, his temper getting the best of him.
"Gunner's missus" Max grunts, throwing his chin in Ivy's direction. The blood in my veins freezes as I look from my peripheral and see Max pointing his gun at Ivy.
"Shoot her" Jace instructs. I struggle to get my hands out of the mans grip as I see Max take a step closer to Ivy.
"No!" I scream as the gun goes off. The silence after the shot is deafening before I start screaming. Max steps back, his gun by his side now.
I kick and scream, doing my best to get out of the mans grip. He grabs me tighter and I feel him tie something around my wrists, keeping them bound behind my back.
"Let's go" Jace's voice is heard over the top of my screaming as he bends and throws me over his shoulder. I choke on my breath as his shoulder knocks the wind out of me. He rests his hand on the back of my thigh, too close to my ass.
Tears run into my hairline as I'm upside down, my legs kick, hoping to hit him where it hurts. Jace doesn't seem phased by it and holds my legs tighter so that it's impossible for me to move them at all.
I wheeze as I choke on sobs and struggle to breathe when his shoulder crushes my lungs.
"Ivy!" I scream down the hallway, as we walk further from the bedroom. Max and the other guy walk slightly behind Jace, flanking him.
"Shut up" Jace says between clenched teeth, his hand on my thigh squeezing hard enough to leave bruises.
I do my best to make eye contact with Max as he walks to the right of Jace and me but he just continues facing forwards.
I'm jerked up and down as Jace walks down the stairs, my sobs spluttering out.
We reach the bottom of the stairs and turn to go into the lounge room. Hunter stands guard at the entrance, his back straight like a soldier. I lift my head with my core and see that everybody in the house had been herded into the lounge room.
Five of Jace's men stand around pointing guns at anyone that dare move. I fail to see my father among them.
"This everyone?" Jace asks Hunter.
"Yes boss" Hunter confirms. My mouth drops open, Hunter had been the rat the whole time.
"You bastard!" I lash out, my legs kicking around again, barely missing Hunter before Jace has a hold of them again. I release a short scream when he grabs them harshly.
I face the floor again when my core can't hold my weight anymore. I watch as bare feet, dirty and cut up, pad closer to me before my hair is being twirled between someones fingers.
I look up and catch the sight of Tom, his face black and blue and his clothes torn to shreds. I gasp and do my best to wriggle around in Jace's grip. My eyes are locked on Tom's, his dull and dead before suddenly they light up with a fire.
I scream as he lunges at me, his fingers grabbing at my face, doing their best to damage my skin.
"Bitch!" he screams in my face. Jace tries to pull my face out of his grip but it only makes Tom hold on tighter. I watch as he opens his mouth, half of his teeth missing as he tries his best to bite my face.
"Shoot him!" Jace orders in the background. One shot goes off as Tom's eyes return back to the dull, dead look before he drops to the ground, a hole in his forehead. Max puts the gun back by his side, the action not having an effect on him.
My throat closes up as the dead eyes of Tom look up at me from the floor, my head begins to spin and I can't breathe. In the background Jace can be heard shouting orders over the screams of the Lawless people as they witness the murder of someone they once saw as family.
"Stay the fuck where you are, got it?" Jace shouts over the top of the screaming, demanding attention. They nod, tears pouring down most of their faces, some of the maids pass out on the floor.
"Time to go" Jace says, turning towards the front door. Jace allows some of his men to walk out the door first while the rest stay behind him. They open the door of the vehicle and hold it as Jace and I descend the steps.
I'm exhausted but do my best to make it as hard as possible for him to get me in the car by kicking and wriggling around.
"Be fucking still" he hisses between his teeth, his grip on me leaving marks.
Shots ring out behind us, Jace pushes us both into the car as the bullets hit the car and ding off. I hit my head on the door on the opposite side of the car, my hands still bound and making it hard for me to move around. I look towards the doorway of the house and see the last person I thought I'd see trying to defend me.
Stephan stands in the doorway. I hadn't seen him in the lounge room so he must've been hiding somewhere but his one man army is no match for Jace's men and he's shot down in the doorway within seconds. His blood runs down the front steps and onto the gravel.
The only injury within High Class being one of Jace's men that had been shot in the arm.
"Fucking hell!" Jace roars as he takes a seat beside me in the car. I sit against the opposite door and do my best to open it with my hands behind my back but fail when I find it's locked.
I kick my legs at Jace, hitting him in the ribs and the side of his thigh before he once again pins them down. He crawls over my body, his face centimetres from mine.
"Behave or I'll go back in there and shoot them all dead" he threatens in a whisper. I say nothing; holding firm eye contact with him, not backing down.
My defiance is not liked by him as his hand whips out so quickly I don't have time to react before it's hitting my cheek, the sound heard before the pain is felt.
He challenges me to continue looking at him but I bow my head. He sits back on his side of the car again.
"Go" he orders and the car starts down the driveway, the lights of the house fade as we travel deeper into the surrounding forest.