Beautiful Lies (Breaking Belles #2) - Alta Hensley Page 0,29

body surface to anything else that could catch my scent, the better. It would probably be pretty obvious where I entered the lake, but I was hoping all this effort would keep them confused for a little while about where I exited.

The ground was newly mown here, and one protip Sully did tell me was that freshly cut grass was one of the few things that could confuse a dog on a scent trail. And because the Order was sporting like that—aka, they liked it when their Human Hunts took longer—they always made sure to get the grass cut the day of the hunt.

The manicured lawn was also kinder on my bare feet. But I had to be careful, because maybe one of those bastards had thought about all this and was lying in wait. Bastards. This game was as much of a mind-fuck as it was grueling physically.

I ran low and close to the ground as I headed back for the shining beacon on the hill of the lit-up manor house. The wet foxtail of the plug occasionally slapped wetly against my thigh, but I forced myself to ignore it.

Going for the ridge might have been the smarter move. But I’d never been the smartest girl, had I? And there was no going back now.

I was tired and exposed and did I mention tired? No, make that exhausted.

If I could actually manage this—trick them by doubling back so they wasted a few hours hunting in the woods, all the better. Because I simply couldn’t keep this pace up. My arms were burning from the rope climb, and the adrenaline was starting to wane.

My legs, though, they still had a little bit of fight left in them.

So, I ran, bent over low, and until all was quiet again, noises of hounds and horses far in the distance. Then I sprinted for the cellar where the little note had indicated on the map. It even had a crude drawing on the back showing how to get in.

I ran around the East wing and snuck around the outer garden that was used to harvest vegetables for use in the kitchens. And there, finally, I found it. The entrance was all but hidden. It doubled as a storm shelter, but of course the Order couldn’t have something as pedantic as a storm cellar marring their property grounds.

I rushed to the entrance by the garden and pushed with all my might against a statue of a naked Venus. Because God-forbid their vegetable gardens be anything other than Georgia Historical Tour worthy, naturally.

I needn’t have pushed so hard. The statue slid easily and quietly to the side, obviously on some sort of track I couldn’t see, revealing stone steps that led down into the darkness.

I clambered down them without even thinking twice.

I only reconsidered and wondered if I’d just jumped from the frying pan into the fire when the dim light of the night that my eyes had long adjusted to cut off completely.

Because the statue slid into place behind me and then I was surrounded in darkness, complete darkness. And no one in the living world knew where I was.

10

Sully

I knew she was smart.

Thank God she was smart.

I had hoped she would go to the cellar, and when I watched her muddy frame sneak behind the statue and disappear into the darkness, I couldn’t help but release the breath that I’d been holding.

Hearing the hounds in the distance, I acted quickly and followed her. Raising my gas lantern to see into the dark room, it only took a second to spot her wide eyes and wild stance.

When she recognized that it was me who had found her, she relaxed and didn’t appear as if she would pounce with claws out and ready for a fight.

“So, you found me,” she said, as she crossed her arms against her chest.

“Would you rather it be someone else?” I strode across the room and placed the light on an old wooden table. The warm glow lit up the room enough that I could see how dirty and exhausted Portia looked. Mud caked her hair, and her body dripped water and shivered before me.

I removed the ridiculous frock coat I was forced to wear for the hunt and placed it over Portia’s shoulders.

She pulled it tightly around her, but her teeth still chattered. “How did you find me?”

I didn’t feel the need to tell her that I had written the note and hidden it in her cloak pocket to