Page 179 of Beautifully Ruined

“The main area that sees the most action is this floor here.” Enzo says. “But I’m thinking she’ll be on the bottom one. Because that’s the floor that had the locked camera feeds.”

“And if she’s not there?” I ask.

“My men will take the other floors.” Gino says, a note of pleasure in his voice. “They’ll secure any and all people they come across.”

Enzo turns to me and his uncle. “You can press any button now and it’ll take you to each of the four floors. But we’ll go straight to the bottom first.”

Gino pulls one of the biggest motherfucking guns I’ve seen and more men swarm in behind us.

“Don’t worry,” Gino says. “We’ll take care of any other surprises up here.”

The doors shut.

I don’t even breathe as the car drops to the lowest floor.

The two men leap out first, but I push through, my own gun drawn, Enzo hot on my heels.

I need to find Vi. I need to. I’m hot, cold, sweating. My chest is so tight I might just implode. And I fucking run, not even caring or knowing where I’m going. But I know Enzo. He’ll have the blueprints memorized.

There’s a door to my right, and I kick it open, and a girl screams as three of Gino’s men storm in. A guard has a gun raised, but he drops it immediately.

Not one of the girls is Vi.

I turn and run out and kick open door after door.

No fucking Vi.

Where’s my girl?

Then I kick open one more and come face to face with a guard who doesn’t look inclined to drop his weapon.

I know him. I?—

“Don’t shoot him, please!” Macy. Vi’s friend. She was blowing him earlier.

There are four other girls in there, girls who continue not to be the one I need to find.

“Where the fuck is she?” I demand as Enzo comes up, taking the gun from the guard.

“You’re Vi’s friend?”

The girl looks at us both, and the guard says, “I didn’t sign up for any of this bullshit.”

She gives him a sharp look, but he walks off.

I kind of want to shoot him because I need to do something, but I’m pretty fucking sure she knows something.

“Where’s Violet?” I ask.

“You’re her boyfriend, aren’t you?” she asks. “She’s training?—”

“That’s fucking bullshit and you know it. Enzo, take the guard up to talk to your uncle Gino.” My eyes don’t leave the girl. “She’s in trouble. As in tied up in a fucking cell trouble. With what looks like the body of another girl. We hacked the entire system, cameras included. So, where the fuck are the cells?”

“Cells? What are you on about? This is the final training area and we’re… She didn’t come back with the swipe card, so I had to finish the training.” Her eyes practically bug out, and she starts to hyperventilate. “What…are…you…? A body?”

I grab her shoulders. “Calm the fuck down. Vi needs your help right now, not hysterics.”

The guard comes over, and I throw Enzo a disgusted look for letting him go but Enzo just shrugs.