Part 14:

After all that, I had to put you under the shower to bring you around. He said it like it bored him. You were freezing in a soaked dress, so I warmed you up. A faint smile touched his eyes. You threw the towel off in your sleep, not me. He stretched in no hurry at all. I don’t need to do anything to a sleeping woman, Anita.

His mouth tipped at the corner. And trust me, if something had happened, you’d remember it. She spotted her dress, then folded neatly over the chair. She grabbed it and started for the bathroom. What happened? You turn into a saint all of a sudden. Stay away from me. Women, OS muttered, pulling on his pants. save their lives and somehow you’re still the villain.

They took the tunnel back, Isabella ahead of him. Has it been 12 hours yet? She threw it back over her shoulder, not slowing down. OS’s voice came easy behind her. You slept long enough? I’d say we’re clear. Her jaw tightened. I hope you didn’t watch me while I slept. There was nothing better to look at in that room. The smile came through in his voice like he meant her to hear it.

She kept three steps ahead of him, not because the tunnel was narrow because every time he came closer, soap and tobacco found her again. She rolled her eyes at the dark and pulled in a slow breath. She hated that she knew the scent of his skin now. Behind her, Aeros walked with the torch in one hand. His other hand stayed in his pocket, thumb rubbing once over the edge of the photograph.

The corner of his mouth was tipped up just barely. They reached the door at the end of the tunnel. Hold on. He stepped up to the keypad. I’ll do this one. I’ve learned to expect just about anything from you. His fingers hovered over the keys and didn’t move. One second, then another. Something about the weight crawled up her spine. He knew the code, so why was he stopping? Isabella was close enough to feel the warmth coming off him when he spoke again.

Before we go up, his eyes came to her. What do these numbers mean, Anita? She swallowed. Her answer came out low. They’re just numbers. He looked at her slow and careful. Just numbers. Something moved under the words quiet and not quite kind. Funny thing is, today is the 21st of June. The floor seemed to drop an inch under her.

He knew and he was letting her watch him know it. She made herself breathe, made herself meet him. Her chin came up. She put her pale eyes straight into his dark ones. Strange coincidence. Os nodded like he agreed. The smile stayed at his mouth. It really is. He pressed the keys one at a time, saying each number out loud as he went.

2 1 0 6 0 1 Every digit settled on her like a hand at the back of her neck. The lock released with a heavy sound, and the door swung open. OS pushed through, and the daylight came at them all at once. He lifted her hand against it. Isabella climbed out after him into the garden beside the pool. the sun roar on her face and for half a second the open air felt less like freedom than like standing somewhere with nowhere left to hide.

He glanced back at her over his shoulder. So hocus pocus. He started toward the main doors of the house and she followed every step landing harder than the last. Tony was waiting at the main doors and the second he saw them he came at a half run then stopped short. His eyes went to Aeros’s bare chest, then to the dried blood down the front of Isabella’s yellow dress and back again. None of it adding up.

His mouth opened, closed, opened again. “Boss, you weren’t in the library. You weren’t in your room last night. We tore this place apart looking for you. The grounds, the whole coast.” He scrubbed both hands back through his hair, lost. “Where were you?” Oos lifted a hand and stopped him cold. I need fresh clothes, Tony.

Did you find us another house? Yes, boss. Something pulled tight in his face. But we’ve got a problem. Two of his men came through the garden gate at a run, breathing hard. Nothing, Tony. We checked everywhere. OS turned a look on Tony, one that asked the question for him. Tony couldn’t quite hold it. It’s Miss Ky, boss.

She ran sometime before dawn, slipped out while we were sleeping. For a moment, OS only looked at them, at Tony, at the two still catching their breath by the gate. When he spoke, his voice dropped into something quiet and cold. Six men, one woman, one door. He let it sit. Explain to me how you lost her.

Tony’s words came fast, almost pleading. Boss, we searched the east wing, the terrace, the staff rooms. Gone is not a place. Aos didn’t raise his voice, and that was what shut Tony’s mouth. It’s a failure. Yours. Isabella’s head was already turning, her pulse climbing. Anita, where did you go? The rocks, the cove.

Then a second thought hit harder than the first, and the floor of her stomach dropped out from under it. You left me here. You actually left me here. Tony dragged a hand down his face. We let you down. Our leverage is gone. What do we do now? We’ve got nothing to hold over Ki. He looked back at the house like it had betrayed him.

How does everyone in this place just disappear? OS’s gaze moved off him and landed on Isabella. He ran his tongue slowly along the inside of his cheek. Their eyes met and held, and a smile touched the corner of his mouth with no warmth anywhere in it. There’s a magician in the house, Tony. He said it to his man, but he kept his eyes on her.

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