Page 86 of Deceitful Oath

“Lux?”

“Rafael!” it comes again, this time paired with a hard kick against the door and a jiggle of the handle.

It’s her. I found her.

My head spins as the hard knot of fear evaporates from my belly. A calmness settles over me, and I move as if through water, slow and steady.

“Stand back, Lux,” I call to her. “I’m shooting the lock off.”

I give her a few seconds to move away, aim, and fire. The door flies open from the impact and suddenly, she’s in front of me.

I take in her tear-streaked face, the dried blood crusted on her messy hair, and the welts around her wrists. My desire to destroy Mancini and Vince explodes, and I growl, moving to scoop her up into my arms.

Before I can reach her, pain spreads through my face and neck.

And Lux is gone, replaced by staticky blackness.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Lux

The smell of smoke jolts me awake. I blink rapidly, trying to make my vision come back.

Everything is dark and I’m lying on my side on a hard surface. Slowly, I pull myself up, noting that my wrists and ankles are still bound.

For a moment, I wonder if I’ve gone blind but as my eyes acclimate to the darkness, I realize the lights are out.

My head throbs, and sitting up makes me dizzy, but I force myself to figure out where the hell I am. I trace the outline of a door in front of me. Something that feels like cardboard surrounds me.

Boxes. I’m locked in a closet.

I panic, pulling and twisting my wrists against the rope as the smell of smoke grows stronger around me.I need to get out. They threw me in a closet and set fire to the house. I’m going to die in here.

Thinking on my feet, I lean back against the wall and pull my knees into my chest. Using all the force I can gather, I kick at the door. It doesn’t open, but I hear a crack of wood. Taking that as a good sign, I do it again. This time, something small and metallic hits the floor with a ping.

I repeat my movements, listening as screws loosen and fall to the floor, and the wood splits. I’m exhausted and weak. My back cramps up, and sweat drips down my face, burning my eyes.

I give up on the kicking for a minute to work on my wrists. The memory of Rob tying me up flashes in my mind, and I gasp, realizing he deliberately tied the ropes loosely.

Forcing myself to stay calm and move slowly, I quit twisting and pulling and instead attempt to slip my hand out of the bindings.

The rough ropes burn my skin, but I finally manage to free my hands and throw the rope away. I run my hands along the ropes at my feet but they’re bound tightly.

It doesn’t matter. I’ll fucking crawl out of here.

I lean back against the wall and with one deep breath, smash my feet against the door. It flies open, banging against the wall and startling me. I manage to pull myself up and hop out of the closet. All of a sudden, the sound of gunfire, glass smashing, and people screaming floods my brain.

Rafael. It must be him.

I hop through the dim room on both feet, feeling my way using furniture until I hit a wall. I drop down to the floor and pull myself against it until my fingers hit the brackets of a door. Sitting up, I jiggle the handle, but it’s locked.

This door feels sturdy, unlike the flimsy wooden one I kicked down a few minutes ago.

There’s nothing to brace myself against here, so I divert my attention back to my ankles as I plan how to break out of here. I work on the ropes with shaking fingers, trying to stay calm.

Smoke billows into the room from underneath the door, choking me and making me cough.

“Lux? Luxy!”