She was just about to sit back down when the elevator dinged an arrival. Tiff was thrilled. He was home already!
She took off in a sprint to greet Lukus and was only a few feet away when Jake Davenport stepped off the elevator and into the foyer of the great room. He was dressed in all black from head to toe, a veritable vision of evil.
It was just like in the movies when the bad guy made his appearance. Tiffany registered shocked fear as he raised the gun he was carrying and pointed it directly at her face. She managed to stop her forward movement, pulling back so fast she lost her balance and fell on her ass to the marble floor of the foyer. She scrambled backwards in a crablike motion, but Jake was moving too fast.
Tiffany vaguely heard Brianna's blood-curdling scream filling the air as Jake grabbed Tiff's ankle and started dragging her towards the elevator. She kicked wildly to free herself just as Markus sailed over her body, tackling Jake to the ground.
Markus was screaming at the women. "Run! Go back to Derek! Now!"
Tiffany tried to move. She really did, but she was only a few feet away from the men who were now wrestling for Jake's gun. It was then that Tiffany saw the handgun tucked in the back of Markus's pants. She lunged forward to grab it but she didn't get the chance.
The sound of a gun firing only feet away deafened her. For one long second time stood still, while she waited to see who had been shot. She couldn't see the gun, she could only see the steely glint in Jake Davenport's eyes—and in that moment she saw a victorious smirk.
Jake had shot Markus.
She should have been terrified in that moment, but the emotion that filled every pore of her body was rage. How dare this asshole come here and hurt her friend? While Markus fell to the ground in a motionless heap, Tiffany pushed herself to her hands and knees, scrambling to her friend's side. She was desperate to get to his gun. It was their only hope of neutralizing Davenport in time to get Markus medical attention. But he'd fallen on his back and she couldn't reach the weapon before Jake yanked her to her feet by her long, blonde ponytail.
"This was too easy," he gloated. Tiff kicked and punched him like a mad woman, but nothing she did would loosen his grip. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Brianna rushing to Markus's side, dropping to her knees. She was hysterical, as she should be, at the sight of the man she loved unconscious and bleeding on the floor.
Tears filled Tiffany's eyes as she realized how much trouble they were all in. This was worse than her recurring Jake nightmares. In those, he only caned her until she was bleeding. Tonight, Jake was going to kill them all. Regret filled her as she realized that Lukus would come home and find them all dead. Her heart broke because she knew he would spend the rest of his life blaming himself for not keeping them safe, even though it wasn't his fault.
She was filled with renewed hope when Derek appeared at the far side of the great room, weapon drawn, pointed directly at Jake. "Put the weapon down, Davenport. It's over."
Determined to break away, Tiffany fought with all her might, but she just couldn't stop Jake from wrapping his arm around her neck, shoving her in front of him as a shield. She felt the hot muzzle of the recently fired weapon touch her temple.
"I don't think so, Parker. My gripe isn't with you. It's with Mitchell and Lambert. Back out and you won't get hurt."
Derek growled, "In your dreams. You think I'm just going to turn my back on them? Let Tiffany go. Now. And no one else needs to get hurt."
Jake's evil voice was loud against her ear as he shouted back. "I have a small problem with that, see, because I'm not going to be happy until Mitchell is dead, and Brianna and Tiffany are mine to dominate for the rest of their lives."
Tiffany glanced down at Brianna, who was pressing on Markus's gunshot wound, trying to stem the bleeding. She was sobbing, telling him how much she loved him, begging him to keep fighting because she couldn't live without him. Tears filled Tiffany's eyes as she locked her gaze with Derek's. She saw the fear in his look and knew Davenport had the upper hand.
Jake ordered, "Brianna, stand up. You're coming with Tiffany and me. Now."
Brianna took her eyes off her husband for the first time to scream back, "You're fucking crazy! I'm not going anywhere. If you killed Markus then you can kill me, too. I'm not leaving him."
Hope filled Tiffany at Jake's response. "He's not dead yet. See? He's still breathing. If you come with me now, I'll let him live. If you delay, I'll shoot Tiffany next."
He jammed the tip of the gun against Tiff's temple hard to make his point. Pain shot through her and she saw stars. She suspected she should be more afraid than she was, yet a strange calm had settled in. She needed to keep her wits about her if she was going to get them all out of this alive.
"Come on, Bri. Do as he says. Give Markus a chance." Tiff met Derek's eyes as she said it, trying to send him a message to let them go just long enough for Tiffany to distract Davenport. They'd have a better chance if she could get him to lower his gun.
Jake was less patient. "Brianna, now—or she dies."
Tiffany watched her best friend look up at her
