The Fate of the Muse - By Derrolyn Anderson Page 0,108

caught in his throat.

We hugged again, and I looked over his shoulder to see Brad, standing off to the side awkwardly.

His pained eyes met mine, “I’m so sorry… I had no idea… I still can’t believe it…” Brad’s eyes were as puffy as Cruz’s, and I wanted to believe him.

Cruz drew back again, his hands clutching my arms, “Marina! We didn’t see you make it out! You need to–”

“How did you get away?” I interrupted him.

“Brad,” Cruz choked out, nodding this head towards him, “But Marina–”

I wanted to trust him, but I had been burned before, “How?” I repeated, sounding harsher than I’d intended.

“Oh God!” Cruz took both my hands, “It was just like you said… The room they had me in. I was so scared… until Brad came to rescue me.”

Clearly Cruz was no longer suspicious of him, but I was. I faced him with blazing eyes, “How did you find him if you didn’t know those rooms were there?”

Brad looked traumatized, “After I talked to Cruz, I went down to the garage and started snooping around. I…I always thought they were just storage rooms… but I saw all the locks and it just didn’t seem right.” He drew a shuddering breath, “So, I snuck into my dad’s study and I…I…”

Cruz took over for him, “There were a bunch of security monitors, and Brad saw everything. He found the keys and snuck past where they had you in the library.”

I remembered the cameras that had watched me when I was held in Edwards little prison cell. I supposed it was plausible that the monitors would be in his father’s study…

Cruz looked at Brad adoringly, “I’ve never been so happy to see anyone in my life! But Marina, you really need to–”

“MARINA!” another voice boomed out, and when I saw a huge man rushing towards us in the eerie flickering light I yelped, scared until I recognized Boris. He swept us off to the side, his eagle eyes scanning the scene as he assessed the situation. Brad stood watching the house burn numbly, finally trailing behind us like he was lost.

“Boris! That guy… Yuri. The one from before– he’s back! He took me out there and… and, he fell…” I looked over my shoulder at the dark cliffs beyond.

“Vere?” Boris asked.

I pointed, “Just there… he actually saved my life.” My voice cracked as I explained to them what I remembered, “Barbara threw the ashtray at him… it must have started the fire.”

“Stay here!” Boris commanded, stalking off into the darkness.

I looked over at Brad, and then back to Cruz, “Did everyone get out?”

Cruz shook his head no, “We called the police and waited outside for help. We heard gunshots, but nobody came out. Then the police showed up, and there was a ton of smoke and they wouldn’t go in without the fire department…” Cruz’s eyes filled up again, “I thought you were in there… I even called Ethan!”

“Ethan?” I asked.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you! He’s here!”

“Where?” I cried, looking around.

“Come on,” Cruz took my arm and led me over to a pair of police cars that were just past the fire engines in the long drive. I could see Ethan’s truck parked behind them and my heart leapt. I wanted nothing more than to feel his arms around me. Cruz pointed to Ethan, sitting in the back of the patrol car, head hanging down, shoulders slumped forward in an attitude of abject despair.

“He went crazy,” Cruz explained, “The firemen wouldn’t let him go in… he started fighting the cops… they had to handcuff him…”

I rushed to the car, trying to open the door but finding it locked, flattening my hand against the window, hating to see him like that. He lifted his head, the eerie blue and red lights reflecting off his handsome face. His eyes were wild with pain and fear.

“Miss! Step away from the car!” I turned to see a policeman trotting up.

Cruz jumped in, “Officer! Please let him go, she’s the reason he was going nuts! He thought she didn’t make it out…”

I looked up with pleading eyes and saw his face soften.

“They’re gonna get married!” Cruz wailed.

The policeman sighed, reaching out to open the door.

Ethan came pouring out of the car, calling my name in a strangled voice. I rushed to grab hold of him, hugging him with all my might. He buried his face in my hair, his breath coming out in ragged shivers. His hands were still bound together behind