Page 103 of Beautiful Ruins
His thumb moved quickly across the screen, firing off messages without hesitation.
“I presume this house has a panic room,” he asked without looking at us.“You both need to go there.Immediately.”
My feet didn’t move.
“What about you?”
He finally looked up.The expression in his eyes made my chest tighten.Clear.Serious.Unwavering.
“I will handle the situation.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It is the only one you’re getting.”
Tone grabbed my wrist suddenly.
“Izzy,” she hissed.
But I shook my head.
“You’re staying out here?”I demanded.
Archie held my gaze.There was something in the look he gave me that made the air feel thinner.
“You need to disappear,” he informed us.“Now.”
Another volley of gunfire exploded somewhere near the perimeter wall.Closer.Inside the estate.
“Because things are about to get really, really ugly.”
The words had barely left his mouth when another series of shots erupted.Loud.Violent.Close enough that the glass in the windows rattled.
That was enough.
Tone didn’t argue again.She turned sharply and pulled me toward the staircase.
“Move.”
This time I didn’t resist.
We took the stairs two at a time, our footsteps pounding against the marble as the house transformed around us.
Moments ago it had felt safe.Now it felt like a fortress under siege.
Another gunshot cracked through the air behind us.Closer again.
My lungs burned as we reached the top of the stairs, my heart slamming against my ribs so hard it hurt.
Instinct took over.
I turned toward the hallway that led to the panic room.
Tone yanked me sideways so violently I almost lost my balance.
“Not yet.”
“What—”
