My eyes go wide at what that could mean. Dante and his blank expression leave the cell and head towards some rolling cart from hell with various tools meant to inflict pain.
I instinctively stand up only to be thrust back down onto the bench. I feel my whole body start to tremble.
“What do you want to do?” Dante asks Elio as if this were a mundane task. “Should we wait for Vincenzo?”
Yes. Yes you should wait for Vincenzo.I scream at them mentally, knowing that Vincenzo will never walk down these steps.
“I have no fucking idea where Vincenzo is,” Elio says. “He won’t pick up his phone either.”
Panic continues to rise, and I feel like I’m in a nightmare where I have the front-row seat to my own death.
Dante and Elio bicker back and forth about whether Elio has cell service down here or whether they should go looking for either Vincenzo or Alessandro.
Then everything is black.
Pitch black.
All the men go silent for what feels like an entire minute as we’re left suspended in confusion, until Elio shouts, “Someone grab her!”
I throw myself on the ground, my knees banging against the hard concrete. I quickly roll underneath the bench towards the other side of the cell.
“She’s not here anymore!”
“Well, keep look—” Elio’s voice goes from clear, crisp, and commanding to sounding like he’s drowning in an instant.
Blood rushes to my head at the smell of copper.
Someone has slit his throat.
“Got him.” I recognize Max’s voice.
Then I hear some more scuffling followed by Nick shouting, “Watch it!”
Screams echo throughout the dungeon. Screams of pain. Screams of anger.
There aren’t any gunshots—only an overwhelming sound of sharp knives connecting with flesh.
Knowing that my family is down here fills me with both hope and dread. I know I might get out of this alive, but what if something happens to them? All because I stupidly went back into the castle to look for Alessandro.
And it’s not even him that’s saving me.
I question whether I should try to crawl my way out of my hiding space, but I seem safe enough here.
“Get the ones that are running!” someone shouts in Italian. Someone’s voice I don’t recognize. Which doesn’t make any sense if it’s Max and Nick that are orchestrating this thing.
Unless…
Two hands grip my arms and slide me out of my hiding place. I flail until I hear the familiar voice whisper in my ear. “It’s me, it’s me.”
I nod my head and melt into him, never having felt this much relief in my life. I can feel how much I’m trembling as Alessandro holds me. His heart pounds in his chest as my head rests against him.
“I’m going to unbind you, but we’re still in danger. We’re going to wait right here until it’s over.”
He maneuvers me, sawing at the tape with a knife until my legs are broken free along with my arms. Then finally, he removes the tape from my mouth.
Despite the danger surrounding us, I instinctively try to kiss him, but he stops me, gently putting his hand on my forehead. He guides my hand up to his face, revealing what I can assume are a pair of night-vision goggles sticking out several inches. He brings the back of my hand to his mouth, kissing it. Then, heturns around to watch out for anyone who could come into the cell.
There are so many things I want to say to him—questions I want to ask—but we stay crouched in the corner, him in front of me as the sound of carnage surrounds us. I don’t know how much time passes as I sit there, my forehead resting against his back.
