Chapter Twenty-Nine
Romy
T hey’re taking too long.
Something happened.
I shoot another text to Theo since Caius isn’t responding.
Me: What’s going on? Caius won’t reply.
Theo: I don’t know. I’m almost done here and then I’ll go check.
His answer unnerves me. The whole plan Caius came up with was stressful to me. I can’t do anything but worry. I push my phone toward Koyn and start mashing puzzle pieces into place. He picks it up and reads the texts.
“Hmm.”
“Dude,” Nees says from beside me. “You’re like a prodigy or some shit. It’s like you’re in a zone. I don’t even think you’re looking at the pieces.”
We’ve been sitting here for two hours at Caius’s house, in his game room, waiting to be called for backup if necessary. Caius and Theo seemed to think the two of them could handle Orion alone without us. I’m seriously doubting that right now.
“It’s a mindless activity that passes the time,” I mumble as I snap the last few pieces together.
“I couldn’t even figure out that kid puzzle Kaitlyn has,” Nees says. “It was only a hundred pieces, not a thousand. Seriously, how the fuck can you do this?”
“Something’s up,” Koyn says, voicing my concerns. “We’ll go check it out.”
I burst to my feet. “I’m going with you.”
“Nah, little girl, I don’t think your man would like me putting you in unnecessary danger.”
“I don’t care what he thinks. I’m going with you. I’ve been inside that hell and know how to navigate it. I don’t call it the lunatic lodge for nothing.”
My breasts ache and I know I need to pump, but making sure Caius is okay comes first. I’m a little sad I left Nova back at the hotel with Eva and Kaitlyn. They probably could have come along, but we weren’t sure if Orion was up to something. With Halo and Gibson with them, they’ll be safe.
I just need to get Caius so we can get back to them.
“Fine,” Koyn mutters. “Let’s go then. Nees, Filter, strap up.”
I lead the men out of the game room and down the stairs. We all climb into the SUV and Koyn drives to the lodge. I point the way to the garage that’s standing ajar. Theo and Caius must’ve left it open for a quick getaway.
Nees marvels over the many expensive sports cars while I show Koyn where to park. Once we’re there, we jump out and head for the door that’s been closed. I think back to the times I’ve seen it opened, making the pattern over the keyboard, granting us access.
“She’s some kind of alien,” Nees tells Filter. “I can’t even remember half the names of the chicks I date.”
“That’s because you’re a fucking stoner,” Filter explains.
“I was going to say a dumbass,” Koyn chimes in. “Now where do we go?”
We head for the elevator and, again, I’m able to grant us access. I start with the top floor—the penthouse. But after a quick search, we find it empty. I’m not eager to go to the floor where I was held captive, but my gut tells me it’s where we need to go next.
“There are a lot of rooms here,” I explain as we exit. “It’s easy to get lost. Just don’t let any of the doors shut behind you. You might get yourself trapped.”
“This place is fucked up,” Nees murmurs.
“You have no idea.”
I know they explicitly remember my recount of my time here. The constantly changing bed sizes, robes, decor, and even the windowless rooms. It was the opposite of a carnival funhouse. It was a house of horrors.
And I’m willingly going back.
I have to find Caius.
The men go before me, searching the first few rooms. It’s too slow of a process for me, knowing there are countless more with many other hallways. I take off running, calling for Caius.
“Where are you?”
I stop, listen, and then continue to run. I’m about to turn down another corner when I hear a male voice.
Oh my God.
Pounding on the door.
With tears in my eyes, I fumble with the bolt lock on the outside and push against the door. The person on the other side falls to their ass in front of me. I’m stunned still for a second as I recognize it as one of the rooms I was first held captive in.
The person on the floor is not Caius, though.
“Who are you?” the teenage boy asks. “Please help me.”
I gape at him as he rises to his feet. He’s a boy not unlike the one I remember from my past. Just some kid who got himself roped into the Crownes’ orbit.
“I’m Romy. I can help you. How did you get here?”
He scowls. “The old dude adopted me. I was just happy to get out of that group home I was in. I didn’t know he was going to lock me away.” He jabs a finger at the window. “There’s no escape. It’s so fucked up, lady.”
“Trust me, I know. Come on.”
Filter’s eyes are wide when I exit the room with the teenager in tow. “Who the hell is this?”
“Evan,” the kid says. “Who the hell are you?”
“Apparently your savior,” Filter grunts. “We’ll get you out of here, but we’re looking for some people first.”
I leave the kid in Filter’s capable hands to continue my search. To my dismay, we find two more boys of varying ages. One looks to be about thirteen and the other ten or eleven.
Was Orion simply going to replace his sons with newly trained ones?
I’m disgusted by this man. He’s a monster and now he has my future husband in his grasp. Will he kill Caius?
When I turn down yet another hallway, I hear it. Faint yelling. A man’s voice.
Caius.
With tears in my eyes, I race toward his room. His voice is clearer when I arrive and I’m grateful to have found him. I unlock the bolts and before I can open the door, he flings it open.
“Romy.”
His eyes are hooded and he’s swaying. I choke on a sob, flinging myself into his arms. “Oh my God, you’re okay. What did he do to you?”
“It doesn’t matter,” he hisses, hugging me so tight I’m afraid my ribs will crack. “He has LuLu.”
I freeze in his arms, jerking away to stare at him. “What? How? We just spoke to her the other day. Everything was fine.”
“I don’t know,” Caius admits, defeat in his voice. “She keeps calling—”
On cue, the phone rings again. This time, I rush over and answer it.
“Save me,” LuLu begs. “Please.”
Something clatters and she cries out, her voice echoing. Then a man’s voice comes on the line.
“I knew I could eventually draw you out, my dear Romy. All I wanted to do was make my son happy—to give him the girl he always wanted. And this is the thanks I get? You two team up together and try to destroy my entire life’s work?” He pauses to yell at LuLu to quit her crying. “My son was killed because of you. Now I’m going to have to end the other two.”
“Let her go,” I say calmly. “We can discuss this. Me, you, Theo, and Caius. You don’t need to involve LuLu. I can send the bikers away.”
“You won’t find me,” Orion says. “And you won’t be leaving this place alive. Neither will your friends. Nice try, though.”
“What do you want?” I demand. “To kill us? How do you plan to do that? Are you going to look your sons in their eyes when you pull the trigger? Do they mean nothing to you?”
“Goodbye, Romy. I’ll make sure my men deal with you soon. They’ll make you suffer a little first. It’s the least I can do for everything you’ve done to ruin my life.”
He hangs up without another word.
I whip my head toward Caius and grin. “I know where he is.”
“How? Did he tell you?”
Turning on my heel, I bolt from the room and head down the hallway to a place I’ve been before. When I reach the trash chute that once claimed a child’s life, and almost my own, I fling open the door.
“Romy, no!” Caius bellows.
There’s no time to think it through. Like the time Theo was chasing me, I hurry into the chute and launch myself inside it. Caius grabs for me, but I don’t bite him.
“Meet me down there,” I hiss. “Let go now.”
To my surprise, he curses but then releases me.
The descent is more painful than I remember. Each time my elbow hits the sides of the metal chute, skin is rubbed raw. I’ll have bruises galore. It’ll be for nothing if I don’t nail the landing.
I smell the chlorine and know I’m close. As I’m shot from the hole, I tuck my legs in and suck in a breath of air.
The plunge into the warm water sends adrenaline spiking through me. My butt hits the bottom of the pool, but I don’t injure myself like the first time. Since I know what to expect, I push up from the bottom and swim toward the surface.
Like before, the water glows red like blood from the lights they’ve installed. Sitting in a chair by the shallow end is LuLu, body pinned by a rope.
When she sees me, she bursts into tears with a mixture of shock and joy. Orion comes into view, holding a handgun at his side. His grin is wolfish.
“Ahh,” Orion says, voice echoing in the cavernous indoor pool room. “Look who came to visit, Calista.”
I swim over to the ladder and quickly pull myself out of the water, keeping my eye on Orion the entire time.
How can I distract him long enough for Caius to get down here with the guys?
“Her name is LuLu,” I tell him. “Why do you have her?”
He points his gun at her and then at me. “It’s called tying up loose ends. This ends tonight.”
“For you,” I tell him boldly. “Our lives are just beginning.”
Orion starts for me and I freeze. He might be old, but he’s still a man. There’s no way I can take him in a one-on-one fight. Still, I square my shoulders, preparing to defend myself.
Then there’s the creak of a door.
“Dad!”
Orion whips around as Theo enters the room. Both his hands are up as he approaches us. I’m forgotten as Orion starts for him instead.
“You just had to go chasing after your brother,” Orion bites out, pain in his voice. “I really thought I had you broken from those reckless emotions. You disappoint me, Son.”
Theo deflates. “Just let the girls go, Dad. It’s over. All of this is over.”
Orion chuckles, the dark, evil sound echoing in the air. “For her it is.”
I watch in horror as he shoves LuLu’s chair into the water. Since she’s strapped to it, she’ll drown.
Theo charges his father. A gunshot goes off, piercing my ears from the sound of it. All sound is muffled when I dive into the water after LuLu. She’s already at the bottom, struggling in her chair, bubbles flying around her. Her panicked eyes meet mine.
I quickly try to untie her, but the knots are too complicated. She’s light, but I don’t know that I can get her and the chair to the surface. I’m exhausted from all the running and my adrenaline is fading.
Hang in there, LuLu.
Grabbing onto the chair, I try to swim to the top with it. It’s a bulky, cumbersome poolside lounger, so it’s not exactly easy to move when someone is tied to it. She slips from my hold, dropping back to the bottom. I resurface, suck in air, and dive back down.
Something splashes beside me. Orion and Theo are struggling in the water. Crimson blurs the water in front of me. It’s not the lights. It’s blood.
A bullet whizzes past me in the water.
Oh my God.
Someone’s been shot.
LuLu is going to drown, though. I can’t worry about them right now. I start tugging her back to the surface, keenly aware she’s no longer struggling. I’m unable to get her to the surface, but then suddenly, she’s jerked out of the water, chair and all.
I, however, am dragged back under, an iron grip on my ankle.
Screaming and losing what little air in my lungs I have left, I turn to face my attacker. Theo floats beside me, blood curling out of a wound in his abdomen. Orion, having lost his gun, grabs my throat.
My struggle is only for a second because I’m out of air and everything is turning black.
Another shot cracks underwater, and I open my eyes one last time. Orion stares at me with a wide, unfocused stare as blood oozes out of his temple. Someone jerks me from behind.
I wake on the side of the pool, someone pumping my chest. Water gushes out of my throat and I’m turned on my side. Then I’m dragged into Caius’s familiar arms.
“Thank God you’re still alive,” he hisses, voice hoarse. “Fuck, love, you scared the shit out of me.”
“LuLu,” I whimper.
“DeLuLu’s gonna be fine,” Nees calls out.
“Theo?”
Caius starts to sob.
No.