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Chapter thirty-two
Curiosity always came with a price, like last night when I listened to Chandler’s grunts and didn’t sleep a wink afterward. I should have waited at the penthouse instead of following him to this place. But after hearing the message he left on that voicemail, I wanted to try—neededto try—to help him. I knew it was risky. I wasn’t naïve enough to think he was going for a walk in the park after a message like that. When I said I wanted to help, I meant it. Now that I was here, my courage seemed in vain.
As soon as the hooded man shoved me through one door, another one hidden behind a life-size painting of the Virgin Mary opened. Two more men grabbed my arms, then dragged me down a staircase, which led me to here. I was standing in a room with cobblestone walls and concrete floors wondering what price I’d have to pay this time—what price we would both pay.
Thick white candles on tall iron stands cast a soft amber glow. Red flames licked the walls, giving the room an ominous feel. Outside it looked like a church, and maybe it was. But nothing about it felt biblical.
“Where is Chandler?” I yelled just as another door slammed in my face. I pounded my fists on the heavy wood, as if that would make a difference. “Open the fucking door.” I never swore, especially not in the underbelly of a holy place, but desperate times and all that.
As if answering my cry, the door opened, and a man wearing a black hooded cloak walked in. Shadows hid his face until he stepped directly in front of me, holding out a white silk robe.Grey.
My stomach roiled. If Grey was here, then I was right. They were here because of the girls.
“Where is Chandler?” I looked around the room as if I expected him to appear. “Why are you wearing that robe? Is my father here?”
He ignored my questions. “You shouldn’t have come here,” he said with a coldness that sent goosebumps skittering over my skin. The red glow danced over his strong features. Grey was the kind of handsome that bordered on angelic, the beautiful kind that fell from grace. He caught my chin in his grasp, forcing me to look him in the eye. “You’re going to see things, maybe even do things, that you don’t understand. No matter what, do whatever they say.”
Get back inside with the other girls.
Other girls.That man thought I was one of the girls that I was here to save.
Oh god. What had I done?
My body felt like lead.
My lungs were walls of ice.
My heart was freight train pounding down the tracks.
“Just imagine you’re playing a game,” Grey continued. He held my face in his hands, forcing me to stop shaking and focus on him. “You do your part and let Chandler and me do ours. Understand?”
Do my part.I took a deep breath. Do my part. Play the role. Yeah. I could do that. After all, that was why I came. I wanted in the thick of it, and here I was.
I snatched the robe, forcing myself to keep it together, at least until I got out of here. I summoned all the courage I had left and looked him in the eye. “Yeah. I understand.”
“Good.” He walked toward the door. “They’ll come for you when they’re ready.”
