Page 136 of Buried in Blood
“I don’t have time to explain.”
“Then make time.”
“There are devices—four of them. Hidden around the property.”
He turns slightly, enough to catch my expression from the corner of his eye.
“Bombs?” he asks quietly.
I nod once.
“Where?”
“Under the arbor. Kitchen extinguisher panel. Basement breaker box. And… the floral cascade in the main hall.”
He exhales through his nose. No panic. No rage. Just motion. Just calculating.
“When?” he asks.
“Soon. He’s waiting for something. I don’t know what.”
Dante shifts his body enough to block me from view as guests pass by.
“I can get Astra and Evelyn out,” he says under his breath. “Lucien, too.”
“You have to hurry.”
“Why tell me?” he asks.
I stare straight ahead. “Because I’m not his anymore.”
A beat of silence.
“Will he know it was you?”
I nod.
And for the first time, I say it out loud:
“I don’t care.”
Dante nods once. Tight. Final.
“Go back inside. Pretend nothing happened.”
I take one step away—then stop.
“Dante?”
His jaw flexes.
“If I don’t survive this,” I whisper, “tell Lucien not to blame anyone, except Damien.”
“Harmony—” he says.
“Be careful.”
I nod, heading out to a side entrance that wasn’t on Damien’s master blueprint. I need to escape.
