Me? I would be quaking and in full panic mode with that stare.
He points at her. "You know what."
"All I did was ask her about sex and if she had done it with you and if you were bad at it." She huffs as he stares her down.
"What?" She gives him an innocent look. "Why else was her bra on the floor?"
"You're grounded." Then he turns to me. "And you...be quiet."
Lyndall looks to the heavens then gives me a reassuring smile, one that melts down to a frown. And she doesn't stop. It is like she is studying me, and I start to squirm when she squeals, snaps her fingers, and gasps.
"I knew you looked familiar. You're the girl from the photos."
I frown. "What?—"
Enzo shakes his head. "We used to go to her parents' house when you were still a baby. So, leave it. You were precocious then like you are now."
"No..."
"I spoke to Dad. He is not happy, but you can stay. So, my rule goes. It is bedtime. Go."
"But, Enzo, I wanna stay and talk with?—"
"Bed."
"Fine."
But he doesn't give her a chance.
Enzo hands me her bag and half hauls her to the stairs.
She is saying something about the elevator and how much she loves it. But I tune out. It is hard to concentrate when a battering ram bangs relentlessly in my ears.
We are on the main floor, in the great room off the foyerand front door when I look at it. "Enzo... Why's the door shaking?"
His sister has broken free and is at the bottom of the staircase that heads up. "I want a good room. The big one."
Enzo has stopped and goes to a credenza with a matching mate on the other side, and he pushes back the knob, punches in a number, then pulls out a big black gun and checks it, slamming in a clip.
He tucks it in the back of his jeans.
"No time to get up to the rooms. It's not safe. Across the great room, behind the stairs, is a hidden safe room. Seven Nine One Four. That's the access code with no one in there. Go."
The banging continues, and the door looks ready to give way.
"The inside has another lock. Push it. You will be safe."
I don't ask questions. I don't stop. I run to Lyndall and take her, finding the hidden numerical pad for the room. I punch in the numbers, and it slides open, then I hit the lock. Everything shuts.
Everything. It must be soundproofed and have its own air because the stale air starts to move.
It is big, and there are monitors.
Lyndall turns them on, and we can see the perimeters of the house, the door, and the hall. And the wall that hides the room.
I can also see Enzo.
My chest is tight, my stomach twisted, and Lyndall huddles in next to me, taking my hands and squeezing them tight.
