Page 94 of Deceitful Oath

Enzo’s voice almost makes me jump out of my skin.

“Fuck, forgot I was calling you,” I mutter. “You’re not at my apartment, are you?”

“No, I’m at home. Why?”

“Fuck, fuck, this is bad,” I start to panic, pressing the emergency call button to no avail.

“Talk to me, what’s going on?”

“Someone’s up there. Lux is alone. I’m trapped in the elevator in the parking garage. The power is out,” I say in one breath, trying to pry open the doors.

My phone dings, and I pull it away from my face to check the screen.

Security Alert. Forceful entry.

I put Enzo on speaker and click the alert.

“Are you seeing this?” I ask him, my eyes glued to the security footage of Vince in my elevator. He’s banging on the doors, trying to get them to open.

“I am,” he confirms. I watch Vince pull out his phone and make a call. As Vince hangs up, the power switches back on and the elevator jerks, sending me flying to the floor.

My phone skitters across the tiles, smashing into the doors. I pull myself up, quickly pressing the highest floor possible.

I’ll run the rest of the way up the security stairs to kill that fucker.

I grab my phone, but it’s destroyed. I hurl it into the wall in anger, willing this elevator to move faster. As soon as the doors slide open, I sprint out and toward the staircase.

I smash the doors open, setting off the security alarms, and fly up the stairs.

My chest burns from the exertion, but I ignore the pain, pushing myself to go faster.Lux, Lux, Lux.Her name echoes in my mind, spurring me on, giving me the drive to scale the stairs faster than I could have imagined was possible.

I smash into the penthouse floor door, expecting it to swing open, but my body bounces off. I almost topple down the stairs, but I catch myself on the railing.

My heart is hammering like thunder and I’m gasping for air, so I give myself a second to calm down. I try the door again but it doesn’t budge.

“Vince!” I scream, my voice raw and irritated with rage. “Open the fucking door! It’s me you want!”

I throw myself against the door, putting all my weight into it. When it doesn’t open, I pound and hammer on it, cursing Vince’s name. The only way this door wouldn’t open is if it’s locked from the inside, which Vince would know how to do.

Vivid images of Lux being cruelly tortured by that bastard swirl in front of my eyes. I imagine her screaming, tear-streaked face, pleading for mercy.I have to get inside this fucking apartment.

I throw my body at the door again and fly into the alcove by my elevator, smashing into the wall. Some priceless piece of art my decorator decided to display there crashes down, scattering glass under my feet.

Blood drips down the wall, and I touch my forehead, realizing it came from me. Dizziness threatens to take me down, but I fight it with all my strength and stride into the entryway.

I come face-to-face with Lux.

And Vince.

And a gun pointed at my face.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Lux

My hands shake like leaves caught in a relentless wind.

The weight of the gun causes my stomach to plummet. I’ve never held a weapon before, and the smooth cool metal makes my skin break out in goosebumps.