Twisted Beautiful Lies by Kelleigh Clare

Author:Kelleigh Clare [Clare, Kelleigh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: White Rose Press

Twenty-Nine

Another volatile, rumbling shock wave ripped through the fifth floor of the hotel, followed by the sounds of more splintering glass and wood. The lounge door blasted from its hinges and flew more than fifty feet beyond where we lay.

Will remained on top of me. “Don’t move, Elle,” he repeated, though neither of us could hear much aside from the ringing aftermath of the explosions. He locked his gaze deep into mine and held it steady. “I’ve got you, baby. Breathe out.”

My lungs expelled a shuddering exhale. I was mindless, frozen.

“In. Out again,” Will instructed. “Are you hurt?”

I shook my head.

Ethan, Thomas, and the others burst into the corridor. Some of them had visible lacerations, caused by flying objects and glass. No one appeared to have life-threatening injuries.

Ethan’s phone was pressed to his ear. He shouted information as he received it from the security command center. “Four is secure. Hotel is locked down. Get her down to the room. No elevator. Use the stairs. Go now.”

Will brought us to our feet, and we raced to the stairwell exit. Ben flew in front of us and kicked open the steel door, exiting first. The stairwell echoed with pounding feet as everyone else followed.

When we arrived at the entry to the fourth floor, Will shouted back at Ethan, “I won’t take her in there without searching first, goddamn it.”

“Thomas and I will do it. The rest of you stay here,” Ethan ordered.

Drops of blood fell onto my arm. It wasn’t mine.

“You’re hurt. Let go, Will. Let me see!”

He released his tight grip, complaining as I inspected his body, searching for the source of the blood. A piece of the door had hit him on the back of his neck, but it was a superficial laceration.

“Thank God,” I breathed, wiping at the blood with the palm of my hand.

Thomas came back and held open the door. “All clear. Come on. Let’s go.”

Everyone huddled in the center of the corridor on the fourth floor, where there was no obvious impact or damage.

Ethan was on his phone again, but he disconnected within a few seconds. “No one can get in or out of the hotel. All guests have been ordered to their rooms. I’ve delayed contacting police, but it won’t be long before neighboring establishments do. Two explosive devices were detonated on the roof. The second one made it to the terrace. There are no serious injuries, and it will stay that way. We don’t have much time to act independently.”

Ethan shifted his eyes to Will, and the two shared a dark, knowing look. Ben and Thomas closed in at my sides when Ethan jerked his head at Will to pull him aside for a separate conversation. I heard only parts of their exchange when their voices were raised.

“Fucking cowards, terrorizing an innocent woman because they’re afraid of her DNA.” Ethan palmed Will’s shoulder. “We need to move now.”

“You know me, Ethan. I’ll find a way. Motherfuckers are dead.”

The reality of what had happened and what was to come began to sink into my horrified, confused mind.

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