Page 19 of Beautifully Ruined

There’s a part me that knows I’m being stupid, but there’s no way I could live with myself if I didn’t go and try to help Jean. “There must be another basement. There were at least two cells. Stairs. I know there were stairs. I promised…I promised I’d help.”

It doesn’t matter if the words were silent or said aloud, I’m helping her. I have to.

I look at Cade, pleading. “There’s got to be a way down.”

And Cade crumbles, I see it. “Okay, we’ll look.”

“Are you fucking insane?” Enzo points at me. “She doesn’t remember, dude. And come on, I get it, you weren’t missing all that long, hours, not days.”

I glare at him.

He’s not unkind as he looks back. “But you could have been anywhere here, time does play tricks, and if you were blindfolded, then everything plays tricks. Bad dude’s either going to destroy the whole place or gather troops and destroy anyone in here. Either way, this place is toast, and I’d rather not be the slice of bread waiting to get crisped and burned.”

“We can’t leave a girl here.” I’m not moving, and if Cade’s siding with his friend, fine.

They can go.

I’ll find her, and then I’ll get out of here. I’m small. And while I don’t have money, there’ll be something expensive lying around here.

There’s got to be a way.

I’m female.

Someone outside this mansion, somewhere, will help. I know it.

I start trying to get free.

Cade holds me tighter. “You’re not going alone. We’re coming, too.”

One of the men who came with Enzo comes in, a big gun by his side, and he says something in a low murmur to Enzo.

I look at Cade. “We’re wasting time. If you two don’t want to be part of it, just go, but I’m not leaving without at least looking for her. And it was downstairs, below ground. It had a basement feel, cool and constant temperature, that smell they get…and the floor was cement.”

His mouth quirks a little. “Okay. We?—”

“I think we go, Cade. Look, we don’t know how many more might be on their way or what kind of security measures Ivan has in here. This seems to be his meeting place, lair, whatever the fuck you want to call it. Point is, it’s away from his other residence, and his other life, so this is definitely not a safe place to be?—”

“I know all that.” Cade doesn’t lift his gaze from me. “But if there’s a chance, then?—”

Enzo throws me a dark and annoyed look, “I get it. But we go looking, and we all might end up dead.”

“Then you both go. Maybe I’ll have more of a chance, anyway, I’m not a big lug.”

He rolls his eyes. “Fuck it, fine.”

I try to pull Cade to the door that’s open, the one we came through. Down there, I figure. it’s a good place to start.

Enzo turns to the men in the room. “You lot stay up here and stand guard.”

Then he turns and points at the one closest to us. “You come with us.”

Huffing, he glares at Cade as we head to the door. “And your cock’s going to get us killed.”

Cade just raises a brow. “Much like yours almost did back in Cancun, huh?”

Enzo’s eyes flash fire as we hit the bottom step. I look around, point to another door at the end of the shadowy hall.

Cade laughs at Enzo as we start in that direction.