Page 50 of Roses are Royal

“Luc? Luc?” I’m trying to yell, but the ringing in my ears is too loud, and my throat is too dry.

“Rose…” Luc’s reply is soft. A cough cuts off his words, but I hear them.

The layers of dust and ash clear enough that I can see where Luc is lying on the once-pristine marble floor of the entryway. He’s on his side and trying to sit up but doesn’t seem to have the strength. There is blood pooling beneath him, and he is clutching his side. Shit, he’s hurt! Like, really hurt! I can see blood dripping down his face from a large gash in his forehead too. I don’t feel my own pain as I rush to his side and drop to my knees. My hands are frantic. I’m not sure if I should touch him, and then Dante is by my side.

“Rose, we need to go now. I need to get you somewhere safe.”

Me? But Luc is the one who is hurt. We can’t leave him. Luc must see the panic and fear in my eyes.

“Rosey, you need to listen to Dante. You need to get out of here.” Every word from his lips seems to take more and more effort than the last. Luc’s breathing is labored, and the blood doesn’t seem to be stopping, regardless of the pressure from his hand.

“No! I’m not leaving you, Luc! You’re hurt! We need to get you help!” Tears stream down my face, and I’m pressing against Luc’s hand to try to help stop or at least slow the bleeding. What the hell just happened? “Dante, call 911! Luc needs an ambulance.”

“Please, Rose.”

The blood rushing in my ears is so loud that I can’t tell if that plea is from Luc or Dante at this point.

“Dante, get her out of here. Save her. For me.” Luc’s hooded gaze meets Dante’s over my shoulder. And Dante must agree in some way because a sense of relief crosses Luc's face as his eyes begin to close.

“Luc, no! You listen to me! You are going to be okay. I am going to get help. I can’t lose you. Not again!” My vision is blurry from the tears and smoke, but I go to stand because I need to take action and get help. Before I can take a step away, I feel Luc’s weak grip on my ankle, halting my progress.

“De…” Luc pauses, wets his lips with his tongue, and tries to speak again. “Decaf.”

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, noooooo! “No, Luc! You can’t use that right now.”

Luc’s eyes blink slowly as they meet mine, his grip slightly tightening around my ankle, and I see a wince of pain like that small movement was too much for him to bear. I feel every emotion on his face, conveyed with that one squeeze. Before I can bend down again to tell him I am going to get help and to hold on, I am lifted by the waist off my feet by two strong arms I would know anywhere.

“Dante, put me down!”

“Luca has made his decision, and I am making ours.”

No matter how much I struggle in his grip, his strength is no match for mine. Dante’s steps are quick and sure even though I can’t see where we are going. I feel him shift my weight to one side as his right arm reaches out, and the moment is followed by a low beep and a blink of a green light, and then we are descending. Red lights light our path with every step, and I can see from where I am slung over Dante’s shoulder that they turn off seconds after we clear them. Where are we? And where is he taking me?

Dante’s strides don’t slow as we make our way through what looks like an office, however bare, with a couch on one side and a wall of monitors on another, with just a single chair in front of them.

We pause briefly as I hear another beep and soft click, and then we pass through a door into a dark and cold room. No, not a room. It feels like we are outside, and I can feel the dampness in the air and the smell of the earth around us, but still no light. As my eyes begin to adjust, I can tell the space is narrow and long, and the area around me is possibly stone, and the ground below us is wet.

As we emerge into the light cast down from the moon, exiting what I figure is some kind of tunnel, I gasp when I turn around and see plumes of dark gray smoke pouring out above the treetops in the direction we just came from. Dante gently bends down and places my feet on the damp soil, covered in pine needles and other vegetation.

“Is the house on fire?” I shout frantically at Dante. “We have to go back for Luc!” The panic in my voice must be written all over my face because Dante grabs me with both hands by the shoulders and waits until my eyes make contact with his deep green ones before he speaks.

“Rose, baby, I have to get you out of here. Luca would want you to be safe. He can take care of himself.”

“No! I can’t leave him, Dante! Please, we have to go back!” I can’t help shouting as tears pour down my face.

“Belladonna, look at me. I promise to go back for him once I get you somewhere safe, but we have to move right now. We are too exposed out here, and it’s only a matter of time before they catch up to us. If they were able to find the location of the house, they might have found the old railroad tunnel too. Either you come with me willingly or over my shoulder, but one way or another, we are leaving.”

“Fuck you, Dante! You need to tell me what the hell is going on right now and who those men are, or I’m not going anywhere. I will go back for Luc myself if I have to.” I take one step toward the entrance of the tunnel we just came out of when Dante’s arms come around my body, pinning both of my arms to my sides, and I am lifted in the air again like I weigh nothing.

I scream out, not in outrage, even though I am completely losing my shit right now, but in pain. The angle Dante had me slung over his shoulder made my left arm hang in a way that confirms my shoulder is definitely dislocated, and now with the added pressure, it feels like I’m on fire from the inside.

I honestly forgot about the pain as we made our escape through what I’m assuming was the basement and into this tunnel, but now that is all I can think about and feel. I am so close to passing out from the sheer agony when I am placed back on my feet and turned to face Dante. His eyes have gone completely black, and the only word he says is, “Who?”

“Who what, Dante? Shit, that hurt!”

“Who hurt you?”

“Are you fucking kidding me right now? Look around, Dante! We are in the middle of the freaking forest after someone tried to blow up your house! How am I supposed to know which one of those guys did this?” I’m gesturing wildly with my right hand, and that is finally when Dante’s eyes take in my full appearance from head to toe.