Chapter 29
Soren
“Doyouhearthat?”I pull away from Maya’s lips, which is next to impossible, and press my ear to the door.
“I don’t hear anything,” Maya says.
Exactly. “That’s what’s worrying me.”
“Bella…” She gasps, reaching for the door.
“Wait.” I position my body in front of hers. “I’ll go first.” I press my hand against the door, pushing it open and peeking down the hall.
It’s too quiet.
Opening the door all the way, I usher Maya out. “Stay behind me.”
I lead her down the hall, stepping over a pile of white foam and wood splinters. “You get Bella and go downstairs. I’ll see if I can get rid of this guy.”
“You haven’t managed so far,” comes Maya’s quick reply.
Ishoot her a sharp look, but it’s about as effective as her prop knife.
She bites back a smile. “Sorry, I know this is serious, but after the closet it feels a little less…” She shrugs.
I know what she means. Even though we are in danger here, I feel more hopeful there’s a way out of it. Because I know what awaits me on the other side. Her.
I press a quick kiss to her lips. “Watch me prove you wrong.”
“If not, I’ll have to show you how it’s done.”
I grin. “Deal.”
She takes off, then comes to an abrupt stop. “What the—?”
Clearly, we missed something. There’s water everywhere, an empty bucket, and I almost slip on… marbles? And what’s with the slime? There’s not a clean surface in sight.
“How long were we in that closet?”
“Oh my gosh… Bella must have left the room. We have to find hernow.”
I hear noise to my left and have a sneaking suspicion the little girl has been found by our unfriendly visitor.
“You go that way.” I nudge Maya in the opposite direction and sprint for the kitchen. But the sound didn’t come from the kitchen.
The pantry.
A door I’ve never seen before is open at the very back behind a false cabinet, and a man is halfway up the end of a slide.
“Come down here,” he yells. “Before I—”
I don’t let him finish his threat. I kick his backside, sending him headfirst into the slide. His body crumples, but he yells and pushes backward. The second he’s upright, I throw a fist at his oddly colored face.
“You won’t touch her. Or anyone else.”
He staggers and sways but refuses to go down. What’s it going to take? “Watch me,” he hisses, spitting blood onto the floor.
He lunges at me, and I skirt out of the pantry just in time to avoid a brutal hit to the stomach.
