Page 49 of Heist in Paradise

I perked up, instantly alert.

There were no more screams, just a thick, awful silence.

Even Zola froze, her brow scrunching delicately. Then her eyes snapped up to mine, and my stomach sank.

“What is it?” I demanded with a rasp.

Ryle touched his ear, the tiny bud of communication that I wasn’t privy to. Not that I wanted to be. The screams were enough—I definitely didn’t need them in high definition.

“Madoc is finished playing with him,” Zola said, trying and failing to remain nonchalant. “It won’t be long now.”

I sensed there was more to it, especially when Ryle refilled his glass like he was gearing up for a fight.

When he suddenly spluttered into a coughing fit, I knew I’d regret pushing it. “Okay, you need to tell me. What is going on?”

“N-Nothing,” Ryle lied badly while Zola rolled her eyes.

“Madoc broke him.”

“Broke him how?”

Zola smiled, and I cringed at the sight of it. “He blabbed. You won’t like what he said, Nancy Drew.”

A terrible part of me was counting on it.

Zola slipped off the desk. “Come along, then. Let’s dig up those skeletons in the basement.”

At my visibly paling face, Ryle offered me the rest of his drink. I gulped it down without thinking, then coughed until my lungs stopped burning. “I thought you checked the basement,” I forced out.

Ryle scowled. “Turns out, we missed a doozy.”

The trip to the basement was quick and daunting. I kept the guestbook clutched to my chest like a cursed teddy bear. At one point, my sneakers squelched on the stairs, and I glanced down in horror at the trail of fresh blood.

Of course.

Of course, the blood led to the creepy basement.

I lost my nerve right near the bottom, unable to cross the short hallway into the unknown. I could hear voices, notably Jax and his deep rasp, and I wasn’t ready to face him.

“You can stay here,” Ryle said kindly, offering me a way out. Zola huffed impatiently and shouldered past me.

“I just need a second.” And more whisky. Lots more.

“You’re scared,” Ryle observed, cocking his head. “Me too.”

“You are?”

“And hungry. And a little drunk.” He grinned sheepishly. “You just have to push through it. Learn to keep going.” He made a rolling motion with his hand. “The river will twist and turn, but it keeps going forward.”

My brows pinched together. “That’s…inspiring.”

His eyes brightened. “I fucking know. And to think, Jax wants to revoke my cookie privileges. I’m basically Gandhi.”

Unbelievably, I did feel a little better.

The feeling returned to my legs, and I pushed forward, striding into the basement before I could chicken out.

Only to be immediately set upon by Jax, who swooped in front of me and blocked my entrance.