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“I don’t think you understand,” I say, putting down my coffee. “The metal is off.”
This grabs Eli’s attention as he suddenly straightens his back, and his eyes become vulture-like. “How? The key wasn’t in his possession.”
“I tore it off,” I say, narrowing my eyes. “Yeah, I know it was there to punish him.”
“It was there to keep the captives and you safe.”
“Why would you want him to hurt like that?” I spit back.
“I didn’t.” He tilts his head. “The ones who sent him to us did.”
I remember Soren telling me something about an island and that he didn’t actually come from the House.
“In any case, he left you a note to find Amelia. Why?”
I frown and look down at the note in my hands. “Probably because … it’s my only way back to the House. Back to him.”
Eli’s nostrils flare when I look up at him. “I have to find him.”
There’s a twitch right next to his eye now. “No.”
“Eli,” Amelia says, ending with a sigh. “C’mon.”
“No, it would put the House in harm's way. I have an agreement with Tobias. We would be left alone in exchange for the absolute safety of the House.”
“So he can continue punishing people who don’t deserve it,” I hiss.
Eli gets up from the couch. “That’s not what we do, and you know it.”
“Guys, calm down,” Amelia intervenes, and she directs her attention toward me. “I know what this feels like. I’ve been there when I almost lost Eli.”
She turns her head to him. “Can’t you see she’s in the same position as I was? Would you deny her the very thing you allowed me to do?”
His jaw tenses up as he flicks his attention back and forth between her and me. The look in his eyes softens over time with the more pressure she applies.
He sucks in a breath through his nose. “You will not talk about the House to anyone. You will not share the address with anyone. And you will not put either of us in danger. Got it?”
I nod. “I promise.”
He tilts his head. “Good.”
Then he walks off to a cabinet, fishing out a piece of paper and a pen, and he scribbles something down then hands it to me.
“Thank you,” I say, looking up at him.
“Don’t thank me. I am not doing this for you.”
I look at Amelia, who smiles gently at me.
“I know,” I reply, thanking her with my eyes.
Because this … this is all I needed. The one missing piece of the puzzle. A way back … to him.
Chapter 40
April
It takes me days to get to the House, but I don’t stop along the way unless necessary. I don’t even care about the speed limit because I know I’m running out of time. All I know is that I need to get there in time.
Before Soren is hurt.
He didn’t complete his mission, and the metal is off … which means Tobias will not be happy. And I don’t want Soren to be punished because of me.
Even if he did all those bad things, he did them because he had no choice.
And when he finally did decide to do something of his own volition, he did it knowing it would cost him everything… just for me.
And it makes my heart swell with a warmth I can’t describe.
This man has changed something about me that I simply can’t ignore, and I have to find him to know the truth.
So I hurry to the gates of the House, not giving a shit about the consequences as I slam the gates. There’s no doorbell or a guard in sight.
Still, somehow, a voice emanates from a box hanging from the fence.
“Who are you?”
I show my face to the camera. “April. One of the girls who was kept here. I need to talk to Soren.”
The voice goes quiet, and the box is turned off. For a second there, I wonder if they’re just going to ignore me and pretend I’m not there. But then the doors to the giant mansion up ahead open, and my heart beats faster and faster.
Why? Because none other than Tobias himself comes walking toward me.
I swallow away the nerves, not wanting to show a single ounce of weakness to this monster of a man. Now that Eli is gone, he rules this place, and he seems like a far more vicious man than Eli was. Or maybe he feels like he has to carry the weight of both their failures.
He approaches the fence with two guards accompanying him, but I don’t back down.
“I’m—”
“I heard you the first time,” he replies. “How did you find this place?”
I think about my answer for a second. “I remembered the way back.”
I can’t tell him the truth and risk exposing Amelia and Eli. He was adamant on that.
Tobias narrows his eyes. “Right … Give me one good reason not to take you back inside and punish you for leaving.”
