Page 105 of Ruthless Prince
I grabbed a book and curled up on the sofa with a short, contented sigh. Before this nightmare began, I would’ve never considered a few moments alone with a book to be the height of luxury, but now it was exactly that. Pureindulgence.
It just showed how easily and quickly things could change in life, no matter who you were. I’d been raised to believe I lived in an impenetrable fortress because of my parents, but that turned out to be a joke. Nothing in this world was immutable, and no one was ever truly safe. Your whole life as you knew it could be ripped away in an instant if you ever got on the wrong side of someone more powerful than you, and there was nothing you could do to stopit.
Once I’d finished the book, I padded over to the shelf to put it back. A metallic glint caught my eye, and I squinted and steppedcloser.
In my earlier appraisal of the room, I’d assumed the small wooden door on the wall beside one of the shelves was a cabinet, but now I realized I was wrong. It was an old-fashioned dumbwaiter with a tiny bronze control panel next toit.
I opened it and peered inside to see a silver serving tray sitting in the little wooden elevator car. It was caked with dust. The rest of the dingy space was coated in grime, too. No one had used this thing in a very long time. Given its unobtrusive appearance, Logan must’ve forgotten it was here or never even realized in the first place. Otherwise he would’ve locked it so I couldn’t try to useit.
My heart began to pound as I realized this piece of luck could represent a chance at escape, as long as I wascareful.
If I wrote a note and sent it down to the kitchen, one of the Thorne House staff members might notice the sound and open up the dumbwaiter at the other end. I knew none of them were aware that I was a prisoner, because Logan had specifically told me to act normally around them when he pulled me out of the dungeonearlier.
I could explain that I needed help, and I could make it clear that my brother must be spirited away to the safest location possible before I received that assistance. That way Jared and I could both escape Logan’s wrathunscathed.
I raced over to the desk and grabbed a sheet of paper. With a trembling hand, I picked up a black pen and wrote a basic first note.PLEASE HELPME.
I hurried back to the dumbwaiter and placed the note on the tray. Then I shut the door, opened the control panel, and clicked the ‘Kitchen’button.
Nothinghappened.
My heart sank. I sighed deeply, figuring that Logan must’ve known the dumbwaiter was here all along. He didn’t feel the need to lock it or break the control panel in any way because he knew it didn’twork.
“Oh well. Guess it was a worth a shot,” I muttered tomyself.
I was about to turn away and return to the bookshelf when the kitchen button lit up, and a faint humming sound emanated from beyond the wooden door. Eyes widening, I leaned closer and pressed my ear against it. I heard a steady whirring and then an echoing clunk as the elevator car reached its destination on the firstfloor.
“Holy shit,” I whispered. It worked. It fuckingworked.
Now, if I played my cards right, I might be able to get the hell out of thisplace.
20
Logan
“Get up.”
Willow’s head jerked up, and her eyes widened. She dropped her book and leapt to her feet. “Sorry, sir,” she mumbled. “I had no idea you were inhere.”
“You didn’t hear me comein?”
“No. I was milesaway.”
“You know you’re supposed to greet me on your knees in the bedroom whenever I come to see you. Just because you’re out of the dungeon now doesn’t mean the rules havechanged.”
“I know, sir.” Willow’s eyes darted to the right and then back again, and she licked her lips. “I’m very sorry. I honestly didn’t hear you.” She dropped to her knees and bowed her head. “You should punish me now. I know I deserveit.”
I frowned. She was behaving strangely. Far more skittish than usual. Considering her usual anxious state, that was saying alot.
Not only that, she was actively telling me to punish her for her poor behavior. That was odd, to say the least. While I’d had to punish her a few times in the last week or so for minor infractions, she’d never encouraged me to doit.
Narrowing my eyes, I stepped over to the desk she’d been sitting at before I entered the reading room. “What were you doing?” I asked, half-expecting to find a diary entry containing a plot to kill me by jamming a pen through one of myeyes.
“I was just working on an assignment, sir,” she said, voice barely above a whisper. “I know you don’t want anyone to get suspicious of our situation. That means I need to get my class papers handed in ontime.”
I leafed through the books and notes on the desk. They all seemed to match up with her story. With another quick glance around the room, I shrugged off my concerns. She didn’t seem to be doing anything wrong aside from failing to greet meproperly.
I waved a hand at her. “I’ll punish you later. I have something to show younow.”
