Page 103 of Lord of Ruin

“He doesn’t know anything, Stavros. A man came in and paid cash to have it delivered. It wasn’t Madden but some young guy.”

I stared at Uncle Dimitrios, hissing under my breath as the young man gave me the finger, cursing me out in Greek before jumping into his car and speeding away.

“It’s an invitation,” Sabatino said quietly as he walked down the steps, the paper that had slipped out from the envelope in his hand.

I took a deep breath before taking long strides toward him, my hand shaking when I grabbed it. I read it twice before lifting my head.

And all I could see was blood in front of my eyes.

Jenna

Darkness.

It was all around me. I lifted my head, fighting the horrible ache behind my eyes, trying to focus. I couldn’t see anything. There was a distinct chill wherever I’d been brought to, the ache continuing throughout my entire body. I was shaking, unable to move and the terror was only increasing.

Moaning, I blinked several times as I fought to get my arms and legs to work. That’s when I realized I was in a cage of some kind. What the hell? The moment I’d lifted my head, I’d hit something. As soon as I reached up, I’d realized there were bars surrounding me.

Another whimper left my parched throat as I felt forward and backward. The cage was tiny, preventing me from moving almost completely. The anxiety and fear only increased as my memory started to kick in. Oh, God. The house. Atlas. The gunshot.

Christos!

I remembered seeing blood, so much blood. And… Where was I? Who had taken me? Madden?

I beat my hands against the bars, ridiculously screaming for help. There was no one coming to save me. No one knew where I was.

My heart was aching as much as my hands, but I continued to try to beat my way out, slipping my fingers through the bars as the tears continued to fall. Think. Think. I took a deep breath, sitting back on my butt and wrapping my arms around my folded knees. There was a gate. Maybe I could do something with the lock.

Yeah, right.

I had to do something. I took several gasping breaths, chilled to the bone but the fog started to lift enough that I slipped my hands through the bars until I found the latch and the lock. I knew within seconds there was no chance of unlocking it. None.

“Stavros. Stavros. Please…” I hung my head, allowing myself to weep. I was weak and thirsty, my throat threatening to close.

When I was cried out, I huddled against the back of the cage, doing what I could to keep warm. I was still in my clothes, my feet bare the way I’d been in the house. My thoughts drifted to Stavros, hating the fact we’d argued for our last few moments together. I hoped he wouldn’t remember me that way.

A horrible laugh bubbled to the surface. I’d already been offed, and they’d stuck my dead body into the ground. Or maybe the ocean. As soon as the thought slipped into my mind, I realized I’d come to at least once. I’d been on a boat. I could remember the feel of being rocked like a baby. Was I imagining it?

Another crazy laugh bubbled to the surface. “Stavros,” I screamed at the top of my lungs. My burst of energy and exclamation was met with the heavy sound of footsteps drawing closer.

Bristling, I remained as far away from the sound as possible, sucking in my breath when the door was opened. The light behind the unwanted visitor barely illuminated anything but his large body and the fact he was male.

He stood where he was, his chest rising and falling. When he started to laugh, the sound maniacal, I shrank back even more until the bars were shoved into my back.

“Hello, cousin.” His accent was heavily Irish, the tone far too melodic for a madman.

Cousin. What the hell was he talking about?

When he walked inside, flipping on the light, the recognition wasn’t avoidable. “Madden,” I hissed.

“Very good. I guess my first cousin didn’t drop me from her life completely.” He moved forward, still standing three feet away, cocking his head as he stared down at me. In his hand was a water bottle and I involuntarily licked my lips, which of course he noticed.

He crouched inches in front of the cage and I whimpered, jerking back with enough force my head hit the bars once again.

“Don’t hurt yourself, lovely Jenna. That’s for me to do later. Sadly, it seems as if you’ve been abandoned. Stavros isn’t coming to save you.”

“Yes, he is!” I spat out. “He’ll burn down the world to find me.”

“Don’t be a fool. I sent a personal invitation and still, he didn’t show up.”