When he reached the landing, there was only a few feet of space between him and the heavy metal door across from him. The locks on the outside of the door gave him pause. Opal had spent a lot of money securing some of her locations, but then, she’d also made a lot of money off them.
She wouldn’t want anyone coming back here after the party was over and snooping around or vandalizing things. He didn’t like the sight of those locks, but they made sense, and there was no turning back now.
Dante half turned toward Preston as he stepped off the stairs and onto the small landing. Sweat beaded his forehead, his eyes were wide, and his skin paler than usual. If he had murderous intentions running through his head, he was covering them well.
When Dante tried the knob, he wasn’t surprised it turned beneath his hand. He clutched his stake tighter as he pushed open the door. It creaked as it swung inward, and after a couple of feet, its rusty hinges stopped its inward swing. Adrenaline pulsed through his veins as he stepped back in preparation of something rushing out at him.
The flames of dozens of white candles danced within the half of the room he could see. A chill ran down his spine when he spotted the hundreds of black roses scattered between the candles.
That can’t be a good sign.
Pushing the door further open, he discovered more white candles and black roses scattered across the floor. And then his heart leapt into his throat when he spotted Julie, kneeling at the far end of the room. Her eyes bulged over the gag muffling her strangled cries. She jerked toward them, but the rope binding her arms behind her back and to her ankles kept her from moving far.
She’d lost weight since her picture, and her stringy hair hung limply around her dirt-streaked face, but he didn’t see any bite marks or bruises on her.
Dante scanned the rest of the room to make sure Julie was alone; she was. Preston went to step around him, but Dante seized his arm to keep him in place. He turned to survey the lengthening shadows creeping across the stairs like insidious wraiths looking to hide whatever evil lurked below.
Julie was the bait to draw them here, but where was the trap?
And then, from somewhere below, a board creaked. This time, a rat didn’t cause it—or at least it wasn’t caused by any of the four-legged rodents. Another creak told him that whoever was behind them, wasn’t alone.
* * *
“Would you please sit still?”Kyle asked as Cassidy practically danced beside him in the back of the Uber.
“I can’t,” she muttered. “Something’s wrong; I can feel it.”
“Why don’t you connect with him?”
“I can’t; he’s shut me out.”
Kyle grasped her wrist when her fingers tapped impatiently against her knee. “Calm down; we’ll be there soon. Should I call Julian?”
She didn’t want her brothers involved, but her anxiety was turning into a living, breathing monster seeking to tear out of her like a deranged alien. It took everything she had not to claw at her chest like a crazed animal so she could set it free.
Pulling out her phone, she checked the time and reassured herself that Aida was still at the gallery. She didn’t want Julian here, and shereallydidn’t want Aida involved.
“Yes,” Cassidy whispered before realizing she could be signing her brother’s, and therefore Aida’s, death certificate. “No! No, don’t. If something happens to him, it will destroy Aida too, and I can’t lose both of them.”
“Julian can take care of himself.”
“I know that, but if you weren’t at work, you wouldn’t be here. I won’t have either of you getting killed because of me.”
The driver cleared her throat and shifted uncomfortably in the front seat. “It’s okay,” Kyle assured her in the soothing tone of a vampire using his ability on another. “You’re safe.”
The woman’s shoulders slumped as she flashed Kyle a smile. He settled back against the seat as Cassidy returned to tapping her fingers on her knee. Staring out the window, she willed the traffic to get out of their way. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.
She was certain they were going to be too late to stop whatever was unfolding.
Chapter Forty-Two
Dante tuggedPreston through the doorway and released his arm. He scanned the room again to make sure no one was hiding inside it before closing the door behind them. He reached for the locks, but his fingers fell on twisted metal. The locks, having been beaten off with something, were gone.
“Fuck,” he muttered as Preston ran away from him. Opal wouldnothave broken off the interior locks. That was done to keep someone locked in here.
Dante turned to find Preston kneeling at Julie’s side. He searched the room for something to barricade the door, but other than the candles, roses, and Julie, the room was empty. As he strode toward Julie and Preston, he eyed the candles.
After the fire in the club, he hated the idea of letting them burn, but with the windows covered, it would be utterly dark up here. In the end, he left them burning. A fire in this place might help them escape or kill them. He preferred to leave his options open.
