"If we get arrested, I'm telling them that it was your fault," I whispered as I followed closely behind Eva.

We had broken in through a window at the back of the house. I shouldn't really be surprised by how easily Eva had managed to unlock it, but I guess I should be happy that no alarm had been triggered.

My hold on Eva's shirt tightened as we stepped out of the empty room into a small hall. She paused briefly before she turned left and continued. The hall opened up into the living room where I noticed was where the man was.

Every muscle in my body froze. I waited for him to turn around and notice us. A loud snore filled the air, making my shoulders sag in relief. He was asleep—probably passed out if all those beer bottles were everything to go by.

My stomach twisted as we slowly made out way up the stairs. I wasn't sure whether it was from worry for Lucas or the fear of getting caught.

Like Eva had been bugging me to do, I'd listened to my instincts when they told me that Lucas was in trouble. I had woken from a nightmare only to find that Lucas had not returned and the nagging feeling that he was in trouble.

Eva stopped at the top and glanced from left to right. The upper floor had fewer options to search, and next to no hiding places, I noticed with dismay.

My eyes snapped back to Eva when she sniffed the air. All I could smell was beer.

"Come on."

She led the way to the right and to a door on our left. My fingers twitched when she reached out and gripped the door handle. The door didn't budge but I heard something from inside the room that had me pushing her aside to press my ear to the wood.

"Move you idiot," Eva hissed.

I reluctantly stepped aside and watched as she dropped to the floor, but my eyes didn't stay focused on her for long. Turning slightly, I stared at the stairs. I couldn't help but fear that the man would wake up at any minute and catch us.

"There."

My eyes snapped over to Eva when she pushed the door open. Without waiting to make sure that it was Lucas inside, I rushed passed her and came to a shocked halt.

"Lucas," I whispered as my eyes took in the trembling form on the floor.

Lucas was curled into a ball, dressed in only a pair of grey sweats which left his upper half uncovered. Tears filled my eyes as I stared at the nasty gashes on his arm.

Swallowing, I hesitated a moment before I closed the space between us and dropped to my knees. My hand hovered over him, unsure of where to touch. Up close, I could see the severity of his wounds. Not only was his arm covered but so was his back and parts of his abdomen.

A whimper fell from my lips which made him stir. Lucas slowly lowered the arm that was covering his face and blinked up at me.

There was a nasty gash that ran from the corner of his lips and up over his cheek bone.

"You shouldn't be here," Lucas breathed. "You need to leave before he—" he broke off with a loud gasp.

I shook my head, unable to utter a word. There was no way that I was just going to get up and walk away from him. He was bleeding profusely.

"We need to stop the bleeding," Eva said in a voice that was so unlike her own.

My eyes shot up to her when she walked pass me to kneel behind him. Our eyes locked for a few seconds before she looked away.

"Let's get him up and closer to the light so I can see how bad it is." Eva's hand hovered over him for a few seconds. "Lucas, can you move?"

He didn't answer but he slowly started to turn onto his stomach. For a few seconds he paused like that and then pushed himself up onto his elbows. I moved closer, ready to help him if he needed any. Lucas's breathing sped up as he slowly moved.

"What happened?" Eva asked but her question fell on deaf ears.

I gasped when Lucas climbed to his feet but stumbled forward. He managed to steady himself before he could fall. Stiffly turning, he took the few steps towards the small desk in one corner of the room and carefully leaned back against it to face us.

"You need to leave."

"If we leave you're coming with us," I told him with determination. "Let us help you."

Stopping in front of him, I hesitantly reached up to cup his uninjured cheek. His eyes flickered before they opened to stare down at me. Lucas blinked a few times before his eyes locked on mine.

"Please," he croaked. "Ariana—"

"Not without you."

Lucas reached up and gripped my wrist with sweaty fingers. Turing his head, he pressed a kiss to my palm before he pulled my hand away from his face. For a moment his eyes darted over my shoulder to Eva and then dropped to the floor.

"Do you have a first-aid kit?" Eva stopped behind me and pressed a hand to my shoulder as she stared up at him. "We need to do something about your back because you're bleeding all over the place."

His lips parted but he fell silent when there was a crash downstairs. He jumped into action before either of us could move. Gripping our arms, he pushed us into the direction of the small closet.

"Get inside!" he hissed.

I had no choice but to follow his order since Eva was pushing me ahead of her. The door closed behind us just as the man stormed into the room.

Eva's hand silently slipped into mine and squeezed.

The cracks between the thin wooden planks allowed us to see although it wasn't much. Our view was blocked by the man's back but we could still see Lucas clearly.

His head was bowed, body shaking and hands clutching the desk tightly. For a moment the man stared at him silently, but then he swayed forward and said something I couldn't hear. All I could focus on was Lucas.

He had killed and fought to protect us but he stood frozen in front of a man I knew he could easily have taken on. Lucas was frozen with fear. I knew exactly how he felt since it had happened to me that night when Oliver had kidnapped me.

"You took it, didn't you?" the man yelled as he stepped closer. "Where is it? I want it all back. Do you hear me you fucking piece of shit?"

Lucas flinched when he raised his hand. One hit had Lucas tumbling to the ground but it wasn't enough for the man. He pulled back his leg and kicked him as he continued to scream.

The pained moan that fell from Lucas's lips, made me snap. Without thinking it through, I pushed the closet door open and with a cry, I jumped onto his back.

I clawed at his skin; everywhere I could reach as he tried to throw me off. A meaty hand brushed the side of my head but it was gone in the next second.

The man stumbled backwards and right into the wall. Pain shot through my body, making my hold loosen. With a grunt, he slammed his elbow into my side. The moment he took a step forward, my body drop to the floor.

Eva was at my side in an instant. "Are you fucking crazy?"

My lips parted.

"I told you to leave!"

My head snapped up and my eyes widened when I saw him looming over us. Eva pushed me back as she stood and growled at him. It didn't do much to scare the man. He still moved forward, hand raised and ready.

Movement behind him had my eyes snapping in that direction. Lucas stumbled to his feet and grabbed something from the floor before he turned to face the man. Whatever Lucas had grabbed was wrapped around his stepfather's neck within seconds.

For a moment my hopes soared when it looked like we might get out of it alive but then our luck changed. An arm swiped out, knocking Eva to the side before he reached behind him and grabbed onto Lucas's injured side.

Lucas cried out, and instantly tried to get out of the man's hold. He dropped to the ground a moment later and curled into a ball as he panted.

When he turned towards Lucas, I leaped onto his back again and sunk my teeth into his neck. His scream echoed around the room as he stumbled forward and tripped over Lucas's legs. We both went tumbling to the ground but he wasn't so lucky. He hit his forehead on the sharp edge of the desk before he dropped to the floor.

An arm wrapped around my waist and pulled my shaking body from the man's back. I was briefly aware of the face nuzzling my hair. There was no way I could pull my eyes away from the floor where blood was slowly starting to pool around his head.

Gentle hands cupped my cheeks and turned my face away. I blinked at Eva.

"Are you hurt?" she questioned.

I swallowed, snapping out of my shocked daze. The shake of my head made her blow out her breath, but then her eyes darted over my shoulder when Lucas cupped her injured cheeks.

Her lips curled up into a wobbly smile. "It'll be healed in a few hours."

"I told you to leave," Lucas croaked. "Why won't you ever listen to me?"

It was clear that he didn't expect her to answer because his hand slipped to the back of her neck to pull her closer. I realized with some surprise that I was sitting on his lap with my back pressed to his chest. When I tried to move, Lucas only gripped me tighter.

"Breathe, doll," he whispered against my ear. "I've got you, both of you."