He grinned. “So do you. Need a hand?”
I grumbled my assent, and he pulled me back, leaving more skin and pieces of my suit on the window frame.
“Now tell me I look awesome instead of hating on me for coming dressed for the occasion.” Twirling his hand at me, he ended with a raised middle finger. “You had to ruin a perfectly good suit before you accepted that there was no way you’d be able to fit. Lucky for you, my lithe but still handsome and muscular body will squeeze through.”
Taking a deep breath so I didn’t hurt the person who was about to get into the basement to save Quinn, I pointed to the open window. “Well, then, show me what you got.”
After saluting me, the little shit slid straight through the window. It was a tight fit, but he made it. After giving me a queenly wave, he disappeared into the dark hallway.
He had five minutes. If he hadn’t found Quinn by then, I was going in with or without his signal.
The occasional sound of voices drifted from the house, but it was mostly quiet. I studied my watch like it held the answer to the meaning of life. And it might, because life wasn’t worth much if Quinn wasn’t in it.
With four seconds to spare, Jude found Quinn.
Then all hell broke loose.
21
QUINN
There was a scratching sound,then a squeak when the door opened. I tensed, not ready for my captors to be back so fast.
Light hit my face, and I blinked into the sudden brightness.
“Damn, I’m good,” Jude said, then closed the door behind him and lowered his flashlight.
Blinking to regain my vision, I stared at the youngest Olysses. “Jude? What are you doing here?”
He flashed his pearly white and perfectly straight teeth at me. “Coming to rescue you.”
He tilted his head to the side, then rolled his eyes. “Yes, of course I have her. I don’t understand how you guys still underestimate me all the time. Get your asses in here, in case they come back.”
He must have been talking to someone on comms, unless he had an invisible friend I didn’t know about.
“Who else came to rescue me?” I hoped my voice didn’t sound too needy.
Studying my chains, he pulled two pins out of his pocket. “Everyone’s here.” He inserted the pins into the lock, wiggling them around. “The only reason I’m your brave rescuer is becauseI was the only one small enough to fit through the window in the room next door. Both Gabriel’s and Liam’s fat asses couldn’t squeeze through. And believe me, Liam tried. Scraped his stomach and back to bits until he had to give up.”
The thought that he’d come for me made me feel happy in a situation that should only inspire desperation.
The lock clicked, and the heavy weight of the chains fell away. Rubbing my ankle, I winced at the sting.
Footsteps sounded outside, and both Jude and I froze. He put a finger to his lips and disappeared behind a stack of crates, turning his flashlight off.
The door opened, letting in four men with black ski masks. “Get her up.”
I didn’t see a chain tattoo and wondered where their leader was.
Before they could get close enough to touch me, two of them fell to the ground with a gurgle, clutching their throats, blood pooling from behind their hands.
The two remaining guys pulled out their guns, frantically searching for a target, but there was too much crammed into the room to be able to pinpoint anyone’s location. Not willing to take any chances, one of the men charged at me.
I scrambled back, hitting my head on the wall and cowering against the cold brick when he reached out his hand. But before he made contact, he dropped to his knees, clutching the hilt of the knife now sticking out of the side of his neck.
The last guy must have decided I wasn’t worth the trouble, because he turned and ran.
Jude came back out, collecting his knives and cleaning them on his victims before putting them back in various pockets along his person.
