Mandy's hand clamped over my mouth and she held a finger to her lips. I obeyed her command, too shocked to not. The thundering hits to the door stopped, and her hand dropped. Mandy went to look at the peep hole in the door. The dark room added to the eerie sense of danger prevalent in the air. As she neared it the pounding returned, but this time it was louder.

"DAWN!" I heard a voice that I never wanted to hear again, and I felt gravity dragging my body down as it became too weak to stand up on its own. "I know you're in there! The minute I get my hands on you, you're dead!"

Mandy ran over to my kneeling form, "Honey..." she whispered. "You need to mind link your mate." I shook my head at her words.

"He won't care," I whispered back as I looked at her with tear-hung lashes. "There isn't much time either. My father is only a mere few seconds away from us, Lucas is seven hours away."

She bit her lip in contemplation. "We can't stay here," she stated the obvious. She got up and held her open palm in front of my face. "We have to go."

I placed my clammy hand into hers and lifted myself up. I looked back to the door which was still being pounded on upon. She pushed past the mess in her apartment and guided me towards her bedroom, but my attention was fixed solely on the door that looked about ready to fly off its hinges. She quickly shoved me in and turned to look at her bedroom door. She rested against it, trying to collect herself as I watched her panicked form. She glanced at me before gulping slightly and pushing her self off the wood and walking slowly to her window. Glancing down at it.

"Fuck..." She muttered and rubbed the crinkles on her forehead that most probably accumulated from stress.

"What is it?"

She closed her eyes, "Fire escape is in the living room. Not in here."

"Then let's go to the living room," I said, not seeing what exactly the issue was here.

"Dawn." She started. "The front door is about to fly off. I don't think we'd have enough time."

I shook my head at her words. "No, I'm not going to wait for him to come in when we have a chance to get out using the fire escape."

"That's too risky Dawn!" She tried reasoning with me.

Deep quiet sank in the room, I heard the quiet ticks coming from Mandy's clock. The pounding ceased. After a moment we both had seemed to realize two different scenarios.

"Is he gone?" I spoke out, cutting the silence with the sharp tone in my whisper.

She shook her head, strands of her hair fell out from her bun. "I wouldn't trust him to have." She said.

I was forming a plan in my head, no doubt a severely idiotic one. But a plan nonetheless. "Here's what we're going to do." I started and she stared at me. "He's here for me, not you. I can't guarantee it, but his attention is going to be on me." The words ached my heart as I said with them. "You are going to stay in here and call the police. I'll make my way towards the fire escape-"

"No." She shook her head. "I am not letting you anywhere near your father."

"Mandy!" I pleaded. "What else can we do!?" And she remained silent, she couldn't figure out a plan either.

I took her silence as an answer, my hand found the knob and I turned the lock. I breathed heavily as I stepped out of the room, Mandy's phone screen illuminated light on her face as she dialed 911. I turned and moved away from the door. Inching closer to the living room, as my heart beat in my throat. I was aware of every sound in the room, even the slightest creak that would result from my steps on the wooden floor.

I made it into the living room, but heavily contemplated my next two choices. I felt an inkling to walk over to the front door and check the peephole. But the smarter option also made itself present in mind to continue the walk towards the fire escape. I mulled my choices in the quiet room before I decided on checking the peephole.

I tiptoe ran towards the door, wanting to get it over with to even see if he was there. It was unusually quiet. As I neared the door I took into account the damage done to it. The door was slightly slanted and I could see wood start to splinter off on the sides. I swallowed harshly and I lifted the balls of my feet to look in the small hole. It took a second to realize what I was looking at before cold sweat poured down my back. I was eye to eye with a barrel of a gun, an involuntary gasp escaped my mouth and I saw the gun move out of view and the distorted image of my father face appeared. I ducked down immediately, and I felt the door jolt as he kicked it.

"I heard you!" He sang out, and then I heard the click of the gun before a shot rang through the air. I covered my mouth as the bullet flew from the peephole where my eye was only a mere few seconds ago. I stumbled forward, into the living room as another shot fired through. I heard the sound of the bullet hitting metal as he kicked the door down, and he entered the threshold.

It didn't take him any time to locate my shaking form, and he chuckled dryly to himself. He lifted the gun and pointed it towards me, and I took a step back.

"Don't you dare fucking move." He snapped. "You take another step back and I'll blow your brain straight out of your head! Understood?"

I didn't dare move.

"I said 'Understood'!" And he moved closer, and I nodded frantically as though the action would keep him at bay. But it didn't, he only moved closer, and closer until I felt the cool metal tap my forehead.

I could see the anger exploding in his beady eyes as he glared at me. "How could you?" He asked, "You really left your own father?"

I tried hiding my shock, now he was my father? Not when I needed him to be? I felt the gun slip, and his body loosened. "Did you really think I wouldn't find you? How dumb can you be!" And he re-positioned the gun on my head, and I flinched back.

I didn't respond, and he lowered his gun. "I've been dreaming of the day I found you again. The ways I've planned to torture you! You can't even fathom!"

A lone tear fell from my eyes. "Why?" I whispered. "Why do you hate me?" I yelled.

He stared at me in shock before a smile broke out on his wrinkled face, exposing his stained yellow teeth. His smile led to him laughing as he held the gun in his hands, opening it up and removing a couple bullets from it and watching them as they dropped to the ground. He clicked the gun back into place. "I just do."

"Dad... ple-"

"Tch tch tch. I'm not your dad," He said, doing a 180 from before when he claimed he was. "I'm just the idiot who brought you into this world." He lifted the gun to my head. "Let's see if I can take you out as easily as I brought you in." He shifted the gun to his left hand, while he gripped a handful of my hair. "How about..... Russian roulette." He teased and I shook my head in fear, and he nodded back smiling. "Yeah, let us play that!"

He turned the safety off and then re-positioned it right in between my eyes. "1...2...3!" He pulled the trigger and no bullet came flying out. I sobbed out as I realized that there was no bullet. "First time is always lucky. I can't say the same about the second." He sneered.

"1...2-" He was interrupted by an enraged Mandy hitting his head with a lamp from behind. "WHAT THE FUCK!" He exclaimed and turned his attention towards her. She clearly hadn't prepared what she was to do after attacking him with a lamp and tried to kick him in between the legs, but he already had caught on what she planned to do. He let go of my hair and pushed her knee away before it came to close and hit her head with the butt of the gun. She immediately fell back, knocked out from the hit.

"Mandy!" I screamed as I tried to reach her, but my father turned and lifted the gun at me and my hands flew up on instinct.

"Stay the fuck back!" He yelled.

I looked down at her limp body, getting flashbacks to when Lucas had knocked her out.

Lucas! I can't believe I hadn't even exhausted the possibility to mind link him.

'LUCAS!' I yelled into the mind link.

I felt my hair being tugged back, and I snapped out of the haze. "Listen when I'm talking to you!"

I nodded, not wanting to anger him anymore.

'Dawn?' I heard him answer back, and I almost cried. He said he would always keep me safe. Now it was time to prove it.

'67 Wellington Avenue Bronx, NY 10466. Help me.'

"We haven't finished our game yet." I looked up helplessly at him, Lucas would never reach here in time. He re-positioned the gun back in the center of my forehead. He tightened his grip on it. "I have a good feeling about this one." He laughed, his putrid breath fanned my face. I held my breath as he began his countdown once more"1...2...3." He pulled the trigger again, and nothing came out. I gasped and he threw his gun to the side. "Stupid fucking gun. Looks like we'll have to do this the long way." He stalked towards me and I crawled backward as he inched closer. He pounced forward and entrapped my throat in his clutches.

"Please!" I choked out. "Stop!" His grip only tightened. I felt my eyes bulge as his grip got inhumanely stronger as he lifted me off my feet and held me in the air. "Let me go, you asshole!" I tried to say as I clawed his hands in an attempt to get him off.

"What the hell did you just call me?" He said and anger flourished through his expression, he walked forward and pushed me against the wall. Banging my head in the process, My face scrunched as he kept pounding my head into the wall.

Just as I felt I was going to pass out from lack of oxygen, a figure came into my view. I couldn't see who with my blurred vision. I saw the figure run towards my father and rip him off of me. I fell with a gasp and I brought my own hands to my neck, wincing as my hands analyzed the damage.

I glanced up to see Lucas, and my breath was stolen.

He came.

I saw my father get to his feet before he scurried towards the door, tripping over Mandy's body. I watched as Lucas stalked his way over to my father figure beating him mercilessly. My eyes landed toward the gun that lay near me. I crawled towards it and stretched until my fingers finally got a hold of the heavy metal, I opened the cylinder of the revolver and saw each individual chamber. There was a bullet in the next chamber, meaning if my father hadn't thrown the gun away I would've died right then and there. I snapped my head towards the shuffling and saw him get up and dash out of the small apartment building. Lucas was about to follow him in tow but stopped when he heard the whimpers leave my mouth. He glanced from me to towards the door, he had two choices.

1. Leave me alone and chase down my father.

2. Stay with me, and let my father get away.

I saw the gears shift in his head, he bounced on his feet before he ran towards me. He dropped to his knees at the last minute and glided towards me. He held my shaking body in his arms, and I couldn't bring it in myself to pull away. So I welcomed his embrace and threw my arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

"You came!" I whispered. "You really came."

"Did you really think I would let you go like that?"

First of all, I would just like to say THANK YOU! You all fill me with such love every time i post and I just, can't tell you all how much it means when I see all the delightful comments and messages you all send me. They truly make my day, I literally jump around and squeal when I read the thoughtful messages you guys send me!

That being said, my story got a lot of publicity today. and Unfortunately, not all of it was good. I've had people message me and very aggressively point out flaws in my book, I apologize for letting the errors slip, but I am only human. I'm not perfect and I wont be able to fix every problem i make. it really de-motivates me when I'm writing. I appreciate constructive criticism. But please don't let my mistakes be the focus of this story! Enjoy it for what it is and when it's completed I will go back and fix it for you all.

Anywho, rant done lol. Thank you all again. I love you my queennnsss. ♥