Melody couldn’t make herself let go of Christian’s hand. She knew it would make it easier to navigate the dim hallways and mazelike floors of Enrique’s house as they tried to figure out where the bastard could be hiding Bianca, but she just couldn’t force her fingers to unclench his.
They pushed forward, creeping slowly from corner to corner, Christian always careful to make sure that she stayed out of sight as he peeked to make sure that the coast was clear before tugging her after him to the next hallway.
They checked every single room that they passed, but it was slow going. Time was ticking faster and faster, and they were getting no closer to finding where Bianca was being kept.
After ten fruitless minutes, Christian turned to her with a hissed whisper.
“You know this house, Melody. You lived here for a year, didn’t you?
Melody flinched at the question, already shaking her head, wishing it was just as easy to banish the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“I didn’t really live here, Christian. Enrique made me stay on the second floor, and towards the end he mostly kept me locked up in the bedroom and I could only leave if he was with me.”
Even in the dim light, Melody could see Christian’s blue eyes darken with rage at her words.
“He’s dead,” Christian promised, his tone as sharp as it was quiet. “For what he did to you. For how he hurt you…”
“Hush. It’s over now. He doesn’t matter,” Melody said hastily, trying to divert his anger, “Let’s just find Bianca and get the hell out of this place. I don’t want to be here any longer than we have to.”
Christian nodded, struggling to pull his anger back in for a moment, but when he spoke again, his voice was lighter, less filled with the need to do violence.
“So, you have no idea where he might be keeping her? A tower? A dungeon, perhaps?”
Melody snorted, surprised that she could laugh at a time like this. She looked at him sideways, but he just shot her a tight grin and squeezed her hand in answer before moving forward once more.
It made Melody feel a little better that Christian was just as reticent to let go of her hand as she was to let go of his. She was starting to believe that he’d meant every word of his promise never to let her out of his sight again.
Warmth flowed through her at the thought, banishing some of the icy cold frost that had settled inside her since that first moment in the office, facing down Enrique. Watching him pull the gun on his men without blinking. Pulling the trigger without even flinching.
“He killed him.”
She hadn’t meant to say the word out loud, but now that she’d spoken she couldn’t keep the rest inside.
“What did you say?” Christian asked, looking at her now with concern.
“Enrique,” Melody said after swallowing down nausea at the unwelcome memory. “He shot the man who hit me. He was standing right next to me and his blood… It was everywhere. All over me. I swear I can still smell it.”
Suddenly, Christian was moving, and this time it was towards her. He didn’t stop until he had enfolded her in his arms and she was melting against him, like she knew she always would.
He drew in a deep breath before whispering the words soft and sweet against her ear, so that she felt them more than she heard them.
“I promise you. We are going to find Bianca. We are going to get out of here. And then we are going to go far, far away, and you will never have to worry about Enrique again.”
He kissed her then, sweeping his lips across her forehead, and Melody felt his promise settle inside her like a bright star that she held tight to as he retook her hand. The next moment, they were rushing down the hallway as quickly as they dared, still searching every room they passed for Bianca. But there was no sign of her.
They needed to figure out where Enrique was keeping the older woman. They just didn’t have time to sneak around and search the entire palatial home. There was no way they could look everywhere before Enrique and his men came back, and Melody knew it was likely that he still had men guarding the sprawling property while he was gone.
They were running out of time. And Melody didn’t know what to do. She just knew that she couldn’t leave Bianca behind. Not after the old woman had gotten tangled up in this mess because of her.
She held that thought just as tightly as she held Christian’s promise as they snuck around a corner. Christian rushed to stifle Melody’s scream of surprise as she nearly ran smack dab into another creeping woman.
“Amanda?” Melody asked in a whisper, too spooked to say anything louder.
Enrique’s cousin took a stumbling step back, both of them shaken as she shot Melody a guilty look, obviously steeling herself as Melody walked towards her.
But instead of yelling at her like Amanda expected, Melody threw her arms around the other woman, giving her a hug of gratitude.
“Thank you. For saving me. For saving my baby. Anything you’ve done, it’s all forgotten. I forgive you.”
All the tension went out of Amanda as she let out a quick breath, and they all took a step back.
Melody glanced over at Christian, whose expression was stiff with tension. But even though he remained silent, he did gift Enrique’s cousin with a nod of thanks.
“You found her,” Amanda said.
They were all still talking in a whisper, and Christian nodded again.
“With your help,” he added gruffly. “And we need your help again. Enrique is holding Bianca here somewhere. We need to find her.”
“No, you need to get the hell out of here before Enrique gets back,” Amanda hissed with a nervous look behind her.
It put Melody on edge, just thinking about the possibility of being caught by him again.
“He could be back here any minute! And if he finds you both here…”
Amanda grabbed them both by the arm and tried to hurry them towards the door, but Melody refused to be moved.
“We are not leaving here without Bianca,” she said staunchly.
“No, you little bitch.”
A harsh voice growled from behind her, and Melody whirled around in horror as four of Enrique’s men surrounded them.
“You aren’t leaving here at all. None of you are. Grab them.”