Page 112 of Beautiful Revenge

“You don’t know how to pick a lock by any chance?” I whisper.

She shakes her head no.

We head back down into the basement, trying to be quiet in case Sal can hear us. Drawing attention to ourselves right now is not the way to go.

There’s a small window in the basement.

“Here.” I grab some boxes to stand on and try to pry the window open but it won’t budge. “Damn it.”

“You couldn’t have fit through there anyway.” With a sigh, Elena sits on the ground. “We’re screwed, aren’t we?”

“When did you get so defeatist?”

“I guess pregnancy changes a person.”

I sit down beside her. The concrete floor is practically ice on my butt. “I will get you out of here, Elena. I promise.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep. But I do appreciate your tenacity. Your fierceness.”

“If we can’t escape, then we fight. That’s what we do.”

She makes a show of looking around the room. “With what? What can we use against a man like him? What if he comes down here with a gun?”

“We still have to try. Look around the room.”

After a few minutes of doing that, it’s revealed that there’s nothing we can use as a weapon. No screwdriver. No hammer. No shovel. Nothing.

Elena begins to hyperventilate right before her tears come. “We’re going to die in here. My baby is going to die.”

I want to stay strong for her but I’m starting to think we won’t make it out of this. Instead of trying to convince Elena to be strong, I wrap my arms around her and give her a hug. Comfort is all I can give her.

She’s right. I can’t make false promises.

Aiden

When I return to Elio’s house after an hour, I’m surprised to see the door swinging wide open. Instantly, I’m on edge.

I draw my gun and inch my way to the house. Everything is fine, I tell myself.

But when I step inside and find Elio on the ground… his neck twisted around at an odd angle, I know everything will not be fine. Elio is dead.

His guard is lying next to him on the ground with a bullet hole through his head.

“Elena! Aria!” I search the entire house but they’re not there.

Shit. Did… Finn do this?

He would want Aria back. I know my brother. When he sets his sights onto something, he struggles to let go. But would he really hurt Elena? Aria was convinced Finn didn’t want to go after Elena any more but…

He killed Elio. But why? Aria wouldn’t be happy if her dad was dead.

What the hell is Finn doing?

I should call Dante and tell him what’s happened. If I was a better employee, I would.

But I’m a brother first. I want to find Finn and get answers. If I find him, hopefully I’ll find Elena, unharmed.

Finn is a hard person to track. There is one person I know he’ll come running for.

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