The Fate of the Muse - By Derrolyn Anderson Page 0,99
my first shocking glimpse of Nerissa.
He shook his head, running his fingers through his hair, “I still can’t believe it.”
“There’s an elevator at the end of the hall,” I continued on, “It goes up three floors, and opens into a wood paneled room. Then you go into a giant great room, like Evie’s, only bigger. There’s a library with thousands of books and two full suits of armor.”
Cruz’s head snapped towards mine, his eyes burning intensely. His already pale skin went a shade lighter.
“You go through the library into a trophy room, and the walls are covered with all kinds of weapons. There’s a huge stuffed Grizzly… a mantel with tusks…”
Cruz dropped his head, covering his face with his hands. I knew he believed me now, and I watched as his heart broke with the knowledge of Brad’s unbelievable betrayal. His shoulders started to heave and he turned away from me.
“I’m sorry,” I scooted next to him and put my arm around him, resting my cheek on his back. I could feel his suppressed sobs shaking his slim shoulders, and I would have done anything to take the hurt instead of him. I felt completely helpless, guilty and angry all at the same time.
“I should have known… I was so stupid…”
“No you weren’t! You had no way to know, nobody did.”
“Oh, I knew… I knew there was no way someone like that would, could… really want to be with me…” his voice was muffled.
“No… Cruz…” I felt terrible.
“I acted like such a fool,” his voice was anguished, and he rubbed his eyes hard with clenched fists.
“You did not! We had no way of knowing who he was.”
“I knew it was too good to be true,” he said bitterly.
We sat there quietly for a minute, and as I turned it over and over in my mind, it made no sense. Something just didn’t sit right.
“Why would Brad have brought me there… blown his cover… and then just let me go?” I thought about how wrong I’d been about Ethan, “What if… Cruz– it’s possible that he didn’t know …”
Cruz shook his head violently, “No, when I think about how he was so totally into me from the first moment we met… It had to be an act.”
“Cruz… it did sound like him and his dad weren’t real close…” I couldn’t believe I was defending Edward’s son. I sat back, pondering Brad’s possible motives. Things seemed more confusing than ever.
Cruz lifted his head, a hard glint forming in his bruised gaze, “I’m calling him out on it! I need to tell him I know!”
“Cruz… are you sure you should…”
He got up angrily and pulled out his phone. Of all people, I could understand how love made even the most rational person crazy, and I knew better than to try and talk Cruz out of it. He went to pace back and forth by the large bank of windows. I went over to the sink with our cups, leaving him to his confrontation.
“I know EVERYTHING!” he screamed into the phone, making me jump, “Don’t play dumb with me!”
I could only imagine what Brad was saying, but it was pretty clear that he was denying the whole thing. Cruz was screeching like a wounded animal; I’d never heard him sound so angry. “You expect me to believe that it wasn’t just one big set up? That you don’t know your dad has a jailhouse set up in his garage?”
Suddenly there was a loud thump that rattled the whole building, and I ran out into the room, looking at the door. Cruz’s eyes met mine, “It looks like your thugs are here for us,” he told Brad, his voice shaking, “How could you do this to me?”
I scanned around for a weapon, grabbing a lamp from a nearby table. There was another loud thump, and I could see the door’s lock start to tear from the frame. It was clear that it wasn’t going to hold. Cruz ran to my side, looking around for another way out, but I knew that I’d done it again. I’d brought Cruz here to the perfect trap, just like the cove that had ended up being Lorelei’s undoing.
The door flew open, and Cruz dropped his phone. “Cruz? Cruz!” I could hear Brad’s voice coming from it just as three men poured in, coming straight at us. Cruz tried to block me, and two of them grabbed him, pinning his arms behind his back and slipping a black hood over