Page 46 of Enzo

I stepped closer, peering through the glass, my breath fogging it. The courtyard was empty. Silent. But then?—

A shadow moved.

My stomach dropped. A face appeared at the window, only just visible under the hood of a sweatshirt, the fabric casting deep shadows over their features. My brain didn’t have time to register it before a light flicked on, the glow bouncing off the glass, catching on a glint of something metallic?—

A knife? A flashlight? I didn’t know. I didn’t care.

Glass exploded—shards flying inward like shrapnel. A brick slammed through the window with a crack that felt like a gunshot. I stumbled back, arms thrown up too late, the sting of tiny cuts already biting into my skin. Wind surged in behind the impact, and through it—arms. Hands. Someone trying to reach in.

Panic swallowed my breath. I hit the floor, heart hammering, scrambling backward on instinct. My back slammed into the wall.

“You fucking shit!” a voice roared from outside, vicious and unhinged. “Where’s my fucking money!”

It was movement, rage, and broken glass crunching under their boots. My chest tightened so hard it hurt. I couldn’t get air in. Couldn’t think.

John?

He’s here for me.

A scream ripped from my throat as I stumbled backward, my heel catching the edge of the counter. My shoulder slammed into the cabinets, pain jolting up my arm, but I barely felt it. My hands scrambled over the wall, my fingers searching, desperate. The panic button—I had to reach the damn panic button?—

My fingers finally found it, and I slammed my palm against it so hard I felt something crack beneath my hand. The alarm triggered, a high-pitched wail splitting the silence of Redcars, and I didn’t have time to gasp before the fear swallowed me whole.

SIXTEEN

Enzo

An explosion of glass,a scream, then the sharp, piercing sound of my phone alarm yanked me from sleep.

Redcars Emergency Alarm Activated.

Cold horror gripped me, and still fully dressed, sneakers and all, I threw myself down the stairs.

Robbie!

Danger!

“Robbie!”

The flashing security lights painted everything in sharp, unnatural bursts of red and white, shadows jerking and twisting around me.

My heart pounded, as I landed at the bottom of the stairs, in a crouch my muscles tight as I scanned the dimly lit garage, searching, desperate. A cool breeze through an open window? Open? No, smashed clean through.

Robbie had triggered the alarm. Robbie screamed.

But I couldn’t see him.

The bright, artificial glow of the alarm caught on the scattered tools and half-finished projects. My gut twisted, and every inch of me was on high alert.

“Robbie!” I shouted, voice raw. No answer. Just the flash of the alarm, the pounding of my pulse. I killed the flashing lights just as the front door swung open again, and I spun to face Logan, who slammed the door shut behind him, panting from running from his place.

“Robbie?” he asked, and I shook my head. “Where is he? Is that glass! What the fuck happened?—”

“I don’t know.” Were we too late? Had someone come for Robbie and taken him?

Jamie and Rio arrived, out of breath, moving in sync as if they were meant for this kind of chaos.

“What’s wrong? Where’s Robbie?” Rio demanded, his voice sharp, scanning for a threat.

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