knee. Staring out the window, she willed the traffic to get out of their way. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.
She was certain they were going to be too late to stop whatever was unfolding.
Chapter Forty-Two
Dante tugged Preston through the doorway and released his arm. He scanned the room again to make sure no one was hiding inside it before closing the door behind them. He reached for the locks, but his fingers fell on twisted metal. The locks, having been beaten off with something, were gone.
“Fuck,” he muttered as Preston ran away from him. Opal would not have broken off the interior locks. That was done to keep someone locked in here.
Dante turned to find Preston kneeling at Julie’s side. He searched the room for something to barricade the door, but other than the candles, roses, and Julie, the room was empty. As he strode toward Julie and Preston, he eyed the candles.
After the fire in the club, he hated the idea of letting them burn, but with the windows covered, it would be utterly dark up here. In the end, he left them burning. A fire in this place might help them escape or kill them. He preferred to leave his options open.
He arrived at the side of the siblings as Preston removed Julie’s gag and tossed it aside. She licked her lips as tears streamed down her face. Blood shone on her cracked and swollen lips.
“You’re here,” she whispered.
“We’re going to get you out of here,” Preston promised. “I’m so sorry, Julie. I don’t understand what happened.”
Julie swallowed a few times convulsively as Dante knelt to help Preston untie the ropes binding her ankles.
“It’s Jasmine,” Julie croaked. “She did this. I don’t know…” Gulp. “I don’t know what happened to her.” She released a shuddering sob. “You wouldn’t recognize her. She’s crazy, and her friends are just as crazy.”
“Friends?” Dante asked.
“Yes. I don’t know who they are, but they’re crazy, and they scare me.”
“I’m so sorry,” Preston breathed as the ropes gave way.
Julie sobbed as she threw herself into his arms, and the siblings clung to each other.
“Is there another way out of here?” he asked Preston; he didn’t see one, but maybe Preston knew something about this place that he didn’t.
“There’s another door and a set of stairs over there,” Preston said and pointed to the left.
Dante saw the faint outline of a doorway near the far corner of the room, but he had a feeling getting out of this place wouldn’t be as simple as taking the backstairs. “What about the windows?”
“The last time I was here, they were boarded over with metal. We can try tearing it off,” Preston said.
Dante looked at Julie; he could handle a jump out of the window with no problem, but it would be more difficult with her. He could land while holding her, but he wasn’t sure he could keep her from being injured.
Unfortunately, they didn’t have a choice. He trusted those backstairs about as much as he trusted an alligator petting zoo.
“What about the stairs?” Julie asked.
“They wouldn’t let us escape that easy,” he said.
“I can’t jump out a third-floor window,” Julie said.
“I’ll make sure you’re okay,” Dante assured her.
“I don’t know who you are.”
“Your mom hired me to find you, and I am going to bring you home to her.”
More tears filled Julie’s eyes as her lower lip trembled. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine; she’s just really missing you.”
“I’ve been such an asshole to her. I’ll be so much better if we get out of this. I swear I will.”
Dante squeezed her hand. “You will make it up to her. Now, let’s get one of those windows open.”
Dante released her, and Preston helped her rise. Once standing, Julie winced, and her knees wobbled; when she tried to take a step, her knees buckled and she almost fell.
Preston caught her before she hit the ground. Adjusting his hold on her, Preston draped her arm around his shoulders and kept an arm around her waist. He helped her to walk as Dante led them to the closest window.
Dante’s heart sank when he saw the sheet of metal covering the window and the large bolts holding it in place. Opal’s crew had done an outstanding job of ensuring no sound escaped this place. Or maybe Jasmine and her friends had been busy over the past two weeks getting this place ready.
Determined not to be deterred, Dante gripped the edges of the metal and tried to get his fingers underneath it. He couldn’t