We pulled into a giant, lit up mansion. "Jesse, this place is huge" I said, in awe of the place. Jesse, Luka, and Conner got out of the car, and held the door open for us girls in the back seat. Naturally, there were paparazzi everywhere dogging Jesse. Jesse grabbed my arm and sped up his pace. We got to the doorway, when suddenly I heard Andi whisper to Jesse, "Behave Marinos or you're going to regret it".
As we walked inside, I was mesmerized by the enormity of the house. There were lights everywhere, people serving drinks and food platters, elegant music playing while people danced in the middle of the room. The room was opened up by a giant balcony upstairs. The ceiling opened up, allowing the upstairs to be visible. A giant chandelier was placed in the middle of the room. "I'm going to get a drink," said Claire. "Anyone want to join me?". "I'm there," said Elena. Conner and Becca followed behind them, leaving me, Jesse, Luka, Andi, and Lacy at the door. "Should we try to find-" started Andi. "No" Jesse interrupted. I put my hand on Jesse's back, trying to calm him down.
As I recoiled my hand, I could feel something hard on the side of his waist. "Jesse, tell me you did not bring your gun," I said. "Of course, I did" said Jesse with a childish grin, "I wouldn't want my low life of a brother trying anything stupid". I rolled my eyes and turned to Andi. "You're not packing either, are you?" I asked. "And you're not?" she replied. I shook my head and kept walking.
As we stood in the corner of the room, several women kept eyeballing Jesse. I didn't know how I felt about it. I actually felt kind of angry, not just at them, but at him for allowing it. He stood there and took it all in. I thought to myself for a while then suddenly I grabbed Jesse by the collar of his suit and kissed him. I could hear the girls behind me scoffing. Jesse pulled back and said "J, what was that for?". "Why not?" I said, smirking. "I'm going to get a drink; I'll be right back". Reluctantly, Jesse let go of my hand…
I walked across the floor to the bar. I grabbed a glass of champagne and sat down. I then suddenly felt a cold hand caress my back. My first instinct was that Jesse was playing games. "Jesse, what are you-?" I started. I turned around and saw a man, with thick black hair that swooped over his bright blue eyes. Clearly, he worked out because I could see his muscles bulging through his suit. He was definitely attractive and clearly had money.
"I'm sorry, that was an accident," he said, in a thick, authentic British accent. "It's alright," I said, smiling at him. "I'm afraid I don't know your name," he said. "Jenny… and yours?" I said. "Shane," he said, extending out his hand. "Oh, you're Jes-" I started, being interrupted by Jesse, grabbing my arm, and lifting me out of my chair. I glanced back and saw that Andi stayed at the bar. "What are you-" I started. "Let's dance J" said Jesse, interrupting me.
We made it to the dance floor, when Jesse put one of his hands on my side, and the other one extended with mine. After the tension settled, I finally said calmly, "Jesse, what was that about?". "He was pissing me off," said Jesse. "Jesse, he bumped into me, it's alright" I said. "He did it on purpose" said Jesse, glaring at Shane. I looked over and could see Andi still talking to him. "What are they talking about?" I asked Jesse. "No idea," he said.
"I hate to say it Jesse, but your brother has some good booze" said Claire, walking over with a glass of beer. "Shut up Claire" said Jesse, getting defensive. "Jesse, what's your deal?" said Elena. "He's going to calm down, right Jesse?" said Andi, grabbing him by the ear. "Yes" said Jesse, groaning. Just then, I could see Shane walking towards me. "Hello… brother" he said, pausing between words. "Shane," he said. "Don't you just love the spotlight brother?" said Shane. "What are you playing at?" Jesse asked, clearly getting defensive. "Well, if someone got me smooching on your girlfriend over here on camera, all eyes would be on you, wouldn't they?" said Shane. "Jenny let's get a drink," said Andi. Her and Lacy ushered me towards the bar.
By now, Jesse and Shane were making a scene. People stopped and turned their heads to see them exchanging words in the middle of the room. "How about we settle this like men?" said Shane, smirking at Jesse. "There isn't anything to settle Shane, we're done here" said Jesse, turning around. "Not so fast brother…" said Shane, grabbing Jesse's arm. By now, Jesse was infuriated. He spun around, and slapped Shane's hand. "Jenny darling, could you come here please?" shouted Shane through the crowd. "Stay here" whispered Andi to me. "Where is she??" screamed Shane. "Alright time to go" said Lacy to Andi. Lacy and Andi walked me to the door. We were met by an incredibly tall woman, with dark brown hair and sharp blue eyes.
"I'm sorry, but you can't leave. We haven't made a toast yet" she said, refusing to move. I didn't realize that Andi and Lacy had their earpieces in. Andi pressed on hers and said, "They've blocked the doors, Jesse what's our move?". I was close enough to Andi that I could hear what everyone was saying. "Every door is blocked," said Conner. "Jesse, do you copy what is our move!?" shouted Andi. "I don't have eyes on Shane," said Luka, "You guys, we have a problem," said Elena. "Where's Jesse?".
Once I heard Elena say that I started to panic. "What do you mean where's Jesse?" I said to Andi. With all the commotion I had turned around and lost sight of him. Just then, Claire pushed through a sea of people. "Where's Jenny?" she said, exasperated. "What's wrong?" I said. "Have you seen Jesse or Shane?" she asked. "No, we can't find them," I said. "We need to leave," said Claire. "This place is wired".
"Wired?" I asked. "Jenny, the first person to walk out will set off a bomb, making the place go down with all of us in it" Andi explained. "Who would have wired it?" said Lacy. "I may be able to deactivate it as long as we can find the source". "The first thing we need to do is find Jesse" I said. "He'll know what to do". "Jenny, listen to me. Jesse's a big boy he can fend for himself. Right now, I need you to calm down, and help us figure out how to deal with this" said Andi, calmly.
I tried not to cry. I was afraid, truly afraid. I knew Jesse would always come out of nowhere to save the day, but I wasn't so sure this time. Suddenly, I could hear gunshots. "Get down!!" shouted Andi. Glass from the chandelier was scattered across the floor. People were screaming and running everywhere. "I want Claire, Conner and Becca calming down the civilians. Luka and Lacy find that damn bomb and shut it down!" said Andi through the microphone. "Jenny, you're staying with me".
Andi and I were ducked behind the bar. "What are we going to do?" I said. "I don't know J, but I need you to stay next to me and don't move okay?" she said. "This is all my fault. I should have never pushed Jesse to come here" I said, getting ready to cry. "Jenny don't say that. I need you to be brave for me, okay? Calm down, everything is going to be fine. Jesse can hold his own." said Andi. Just then, I could hear more gunshots coming from the stairwell. I could see Shane walking on the balcony, but I couldn't see Jesse.
"Where the hell are you Marinos?" whispered Andi. "I looked across the floor and could see a black dot. "Andi, what is that?" I said. "That's his earpiece" she whispered. The dance floor was completely empty, and his earpiece was in the very middle. "Andi, I can get it" I said, "Jenny don't you dare move" said Andi. I gently stood up and started walking underneath the balcony. "Jenny get back here!!" hissed Andi. I walked directly underneath the chandelier, being visible from every angle. From the corner of my eye, I could see Lacy sprinkling white powder near the door. I looked up and could see a man in each corner of the balcony pointing a gun at me.
"She's being a distraction," said Andi. "You need to hurry up Lacy, she's buying us time". "I'm almost done, I can't find the wire" said Lacy. I stood there, all eyes on me. And I still couldn't see Jesse. "Don't move," said one of the men. I could hear another man cocking back his gun. I stood frozen in the middle of the floor. "Where is Shane?" I asked one of the men. "Oh, I'm right here love," said Shane, walking to the edge of the balcony.
"Where's Jesse?" I asked, frantically. "He's safe…. for now," he said, smirking at me. "What do you want?" I said, getting nervous. "I just want to talk to you," he said. "Then talk" I said angrily. "Oh no, not here... privately" he said, laughing deviously. "Hell no!!" said Andi, now standing up. As she stood up, a shot was fired. "Back off… sister" said Shane, pausing. "If either of you want to get to Jesse then I suggest you listen to me". "Fine" I said, "Andi, trust me". Shane motioned for me to walk upstairs. Everyone was staring at me. The room was dead silent.
"I'm glad you decided to do it my way" said Shane, extending out his arm. "I didn't have much of a choice" I said, glaring. "Why are you doing this?". "It's quite simple really, my brother's girl is hot. He is ill tempered and hates me. So why not mess around with him?" said Shane, eyeing me. "That's moronic" I said, "he'll kill you". "He doesn't have the guts" said Shane, stopping in the middle of the hallway. "Don't flatter yourself Jenny dear, he isn't all he's cracked up to be". We walked into a dark room, Shane turned the light on, revealing a well-kept office room.
"Have a seat" said Shane. He stood over a cocktail credenza for quite some time without saying a word. He suddenly walked over to me and handed me a glass. "What is it?" I asked. "A margarita of course," said Shane. "Lighten up Jenny, I'm not going to kill you". I looked down at my drink, and when Shane turned around, I nonchalantly put the tip of my finger in it. My nail instantly turned black. "I'll pass on the drink, thank you" I said, setting it aside. "Are you sure?" said Shane. "I'm known for my cocktails". "I'm very grateful, but I've had too much to drink tonight anyway" I lied.
Shane sat down on the other side of the desk. "How were you able to convince my brother to come here?" asked Shane. "I asked nicely," I said sarcastically. "What's the big deal? Why am I so important?" I said, getting angry. "I'm trying to light a fire under my brother, he's gotten soft," said Shane. "How would you know?" I said. "Because I have eyes everywhere love" said Shane. "Who do you think sent a suicide driver to crash his car?". By then I was infuriated. Without hesitation, I stood up and drew my hand back, slapping him across the face. Two of the men standing outside the door rushed in and started towards me. Shane put his hand up halting them and motioning for them to exit the room. "I'm going to pretend that didn't happen-" started Shane.
Just then, a girl walked in. She was the same girl who had stopped Andi and I at the front door. "Hey, I talked to- is this a bad time?" she said. "No Mya, you're fine" said Shane. "Jenny, this is my daughter, Mya" he said to me. "It's nice to meet you," I said, extending my hand. "Oh Jenny, I've heard so much about-" she started. Before she could finish, I grabbed her hand, turned her around, and wrapped my arm around her neck. I reached down to my shoe, and grabbed Jesse's gun out of it and put it to Mya's temple. When we first arrived at the party, Jesse didn't realize I grabbed his gun from his waist. I figured I would need it before he would do something irrational.
"Tell me where Jesse is or I will shoot her" I said, getting angry. "Dad what's going on?" said Mya, frantic. "Jenny, put the gun down. Let's talk about this," said Shane. I cocked back the hammer on the gun. "Dad!" shouted Mya. Shane whipped out his gun from the holster on his waist and pointed it at me. "Jenny," said Shane. I whispered to Mya, "tell him to tell me where Jesse is". "Dad where is Jesse?" said Mya, now starting to cry. "He's in the basement" said Shane, screaming at me. I pressed on the earpiece and whispered, "Andi, basement, now!". As I let go of Mya, Shane ran up to me and grabbed her.
I ran out of the room not looking back. I could hear Shane's gun cocking back. I turned my head around quickly to see he was pointing it at me. I quickly turned around, aimed, and fired at Shane's arm, disabling him. "Damn it!!" he shouted in pain, stopping in his tracks. I kept running until I bumped into someone. "Hey!" she shouted, falling to the ground. I looked up and saw it was Andi. "Sorry Andi," I said. "Jenny thank God!" she said, wrapping her arms around me. "C'mon, we have to find Jesse". "This way" I said, pointing to a flight of stairs. We ran down the stairs, bewildered by the number of doors. There was a giant hallway full of doors in front of us. Along with hallways on both sides of us. "Damn it Marinos" whispered Andi.
By now, all of us were downstairs. "Split up, I want Becca and Luka to check the west wing of the house. Claire and Conner check the east. Lacy and Elena follow us" said Andi.
Lacy, Elena, Andi and I went straight, Lacy and Elena stayed on the left side of doors, while Andi and I stayed on the other. "Andi," I whispered. "I shot Shane". "You did what?" she whispered loudly. "Where did you get a gun?". "I took Jesses," I said, looking down. "Why in the hell would you do that?" she said, angrily. "Because I thought that if- '' I started. Suddenly there was a bang coming from inside a door.
~
Shane knew exactly how to piss me off. "I told you Shane, I don't want to talk," I said. "I don't care what you want" said Shane, "How did you manage to get the Avery girl?". "I don't know what you're talking about," I said. "Don't play dumb with me Jesse, I can see right through you" said Shane getting angry. I knew as long as I could get Shane to believe I didn't know anything, eventually he would back off. "What do you want with her?" I said. "How did you get Henry Avery to give up his daughter to you?" Shane said. "At least Henry can trust me," I said, smirking at him. I decided to go for the low blow, not sure if he was really the culprit, but I said it anyway. "Well at least I don't go around throwing bombs in people's houses". "That I swear wasn't me" said Shane. "Why should I believe you?" I said, getting angrier. "Cause I'm not a psychopath!" shouted Shane. "Really? The last time I checked you were the same psychopath who killed our parents!!" I screamed.
Next thing I knew, I was in a pitch-black room. My head was pounding. That son of a bitch knocked me out! I was infuriated, I couldn't see the door handle, let alone where I was going. I stumbled over chairs, or at least that's what they felt like. Suddenly, I could see a small dot of light. I walked towards it, still stumbling over my steps. I could feel a warm liquid running down my face. "Great, I'm bleeding" I muttered to myself. I looked closer to the light, and noticed it came from a doorknob keyhole. I looked through it, and saw another door, directly across from the room I was in. "Where the hell am I?" I whispered. I suddenly heard footsteps coming towards the door. I stood to the side of the door, wondering if the person was going to enter the room I was in. I heard the door click, then the room was immediately illuminated by the light coming from the hallway. A man walked in and scanned the room. Clearly, he did not see me behind him. Using all of my strength, I hit him from behind in the head.
I ran out of the room, not knowing which direction to go. There were doors everywhere, I was trapped in a maze. "Where are the stairs?" I wondered. Frantically, I ran down the hallways. A man was standing in the middle of the hallway, I ran up to him, and punched him. I slammed him against the wall and said, "Where the hell is Shane?". "He's with the Avery girl, chill man!" he said, choking. "How do I get out of here?" I shouted. "Take a left, a right, then a left again then up the stairs" he said, gasping for air. I dropped him and ran.
Suddenly, I heard a gunshot. I felt a sharp pain in the back of my leg. "Damn it!" I shouted. I turned around and saw the man on the ground pointing a gun at me. My leg was throbbing. I could feel the blood running down my pant leg. I tried to run down the hallway, having to stop and limp every so often. The only thing on my mind was, where was Jenny?
~
"Andi, what was that?" I said, startled by the noise. "A gun, it sounded close" said Andi. By now, we started to run. "Lacy, Elena, c'mon!" she shouted. The four of us sprinted down the hallway. I could see Conner, Luka, Claire, and Becca running behind us. As I turned the corner, I felt a strong force knock me to the ground. Stunned, I looked up. There was Jesse, landing on top of me, covered in sweat… and blood. "Jesse?" I said, gasping. "Oh thank God you're okay" he said. Jesse helped me up then winced as he stood. "Jesse, what's wrong?" I said, concerned. "Don't worry about it we need to leave," he said. "Follow me".
We all took off down the hallway, Jesse and Andi led us. I stayed close behind Jesse, not knowing if we would be separated again. "Up the stairs" said Jesse, pointing ahead. "Lacy, were you able to disable the bomb?" shouted Andi behind her. "I think so!" shouted Lacy. Out of nowhere, I heard a giant boom. Pieces of the ceiling started to fall, lights were flickering, people were screaming, and there was smoke coming from every angle. Suddenly, everything went black.
~