Page 80 of Ruthless Moon

Once he’s in, he carefully guides the window back into place, ensuring our entry remains secret. All we have is the element of surprise. If we lose that, we lose everything. The cold reality is that my father has us out-gunned and out-wolfed.

Bast and I soft-step down the hardwood hallway, passing right by my bedroom door. I turn a corner, veering toward the back stairs. No way is it safe to come down the center stairs into the living room.

I reach out for the barely there connection between Liam and me. It’s still there, pulsing with a quiet strength. He’s still alive. I’m sure. Relief seeps into my chest, melting away an anxiety I hadn’t even named.

We follow the long hallway to a dimly lit stairwell. Bast’s hand, a brief but firm touch on my shoulder, stops me.Me first,he mouths.

I relent, stepping back to allow him ahead of me. My heart pounds, fueling my body with a frenetic burst of adrenaline, but my feet tread at a snail’s pace. I’m counting each second, listening for any disturbance in the strangely silent house. We reach the bottom of the stairs and edge out into another long hallway.

“Where are we?” Bast whispers over his shoulder.

I move next to him and point at the door straight ahead. “That’s the entrance to Finn’s suite,” I murmur, angling my face so he can read my lips in the faint light.

Bast’s gun is held tight to his chest, finger off the trigger. He nods and we both advance.

The door ahead of us yawns open, filling the dark hallway with light and revealing my brother Finn.

My heart drops straight out of my chest.

Finn’s imposing silhouette is outlined with a bright glow from the light behind him. His sharp blue eyes flash gold, projecting an almost tangible fury. Clasped in his hand is a large leather duffel, and beside him, like a ghost, Emma materializes through the light.

Finn’s mouth parts as if to utter a sound at our unexpected appearance, but no words escape. The world around us seems to stand still.

In the blurry edges of my vision, I see Bast’s gun pointed straight at Finn’s chest.

One word. One shout. One shot.

Neither of them moves.

Neither of them says anything.

Frantically, I shake my head, mouthing a silentno. My arm shoots out, pushing down Bast’s gun. Then I look at him and mouthnoagain. A subtle tilt of my head signals a change in course. I take a step closer to Finn and Emma, crossing the tension-filled airspace between us.

Each step toward my brother is like wading through thick tar. His gaze locks with mine, a blue storm brewing in his eyes.

He doesn’t budge. Neither does Emma, but I only see worry in her gaze.

Bast and I turn the corner, backing away now. I’m headed for the basement stairs behind the kitchen.

Finn has to know why I’m here. There has to be some sliver of sympathy in his cold, ice-covered heart. He has a mate. He knows what Liam means to me. If ever there was a single time in my whole life when I needed my brother to be on my side, it’s now.

“Hurry.” Finn grabs Emma’s arm and guides her down the shadow-drenched hallway in the opposite direction.

Bast’s voice is the urgent tug that yanks my gaze away from my retreating sibling. “Let’s go. You heard him.”

With a new sense of purpose, Bast and I move together, the rhythm of our footsteps padding in quiet harmony with each other. The scent of freshly baked bread and cleaning detergent fills my nostrils as we pass the kitchen level and come upon the back entrance to the basement.

My heart pounds out a staccato beat. I wipe clammy hands on my thighs and inhale, trying to slow my internal rhythm.You can do this. You can go there for Liam.I feel the chains on my ankles like they’re there. Feel the blood and sweat running down my neck like it’s happening right now.

But I swallow the bile in my throat and follow Bast anyway. I follow him down the narrow, circular staircase into the dark and slightly oak-flavored air. This side of the basement is a massive wine cellar, but I still smell urine and sweat and blood and evil.

We move stealthily along the last shelf and I point to the door that leads into the unfinished portion of the basement with the furnace. We lock eyes for a second. Bast hesitates, waiting for me to be okay.

I nod and he swings the last door open.

Two guards on the far side directly ahead. Meredith hunched over a figure on the ground. My throat constricts at the sight of the familiar head of unruly dark hair, the profile of the man I love.

No. No. No.“No—” The word barely escapes my lips.