“You’re not going to find Bel,” Rafe growled. “You’ll never find him.”
Minerva laughed and stood. She gave a little shake of her head before turning to stroll toward the door she’d entered through. “He’s proving to be trickier than we expected, but we’ll find him. I’ll put a thousand husks on his trail if I have to. I’ll get that little pet as well. Turns out he’s some unfinished business for me. And I so hate leaving loose ends.”
Marcus bit his tongue, wanting to demand what she was talking about with Ethan, but he trapped the question behind his teeth. It was better if he didn’t draw her back into the room. He kneeled on the concrete, his knees aching, as he watched all her little minions follow Minerva. Carl brought up the rear, his shoes scraping along the floor with each slow step.
When the door was closed and the bolt slid back into place, Marcus started to count to one hundred. He wanted to give enough time for any of her minions to wander away. Sure as he could be that they were finally alone, Marcus turned as best as he could to look at Winter and Rafe.
“Well, she’s a fucking nut job,” Rafe muttered.
Marcus couldn’t argue that point. Minerva had gone off the deep end, but that wasn’t his main concern. “What did she mean by that comment about Ethan? How is he unfinished business?”
Winter sighed. He still lay on his side, his hands pulled down between his bent knees thanks to the short chain bolted to the floor. “Minerva is the one who murdered his family. She and a handful of her clan slaughtered everyone in that apartment building. I’d just uncovered it when she attacked my house.”
“Fuck,” Marcus whispered. “How was she not brought up before the Ministry? She should have been executed for such a thing. It endangers all of us. Could have led to discovery.”
“I would imagine that she got out of execution the same way you’ve been protecting our family for years,” Rafe said with a half smile. “The Black Wolf clan isn’t an impoverished clan. Enough money and the Ministry would have looked the other way.”
“There is one good thing about crazy people,” Winter said. He groaned a little as he pushed himself into an upright position. Sweat glistened on his forehead in the low light despite the coolness of the room. Marcus was willing to wager that it was from pain snaking through his brother’s body.
“Really? Because I can’t think of any,” Rafe mumbled.
“Get them to fly into a fit of rage, and they tend to not notice things going missing. You know…things like keys.” There was a soft jingle as Winter opened some of the fingers on his right hand to reveal a ring of keys.
Holy fuck, he’d picked Minerva’s pocket while she attacked him!
Marcus and Rafe laughed softly for a moment. They still had an uphill battle ahead of them, but it was at least a little easier if they weren’t manacled.
At Winter’s instruction, Marcus inched closer to him, presenting his hands to Winter. It was slow going as Winter tried one key after another in the lock, but he finally located the right one, freeing Marcus. Taking the keys from Winter, Marcus freed his brothers as silently as possible.
“What’s our next step? If I know Bel, he’s already on his way,” Rafe asked. He was leaning heavily against the wall, rubbing his wrists, while Winter remained seated on the floor. At the very least, he looked as if he’d found a more comfortable position. They were all in horrible shape. Marcus’s legs were trembling where he stood, threatening to collapse before they could even make it to the door. They weren’t going to be much use in a fight if they didn’t feed soon.
But that wasn’t even their first problem. They still had to get out of this torture chamber, and it sounded like Minerva’s keys weren’t going to do much good against a slide bolt.
“Do you have any idea what Bel’s plan might be?” Winter asked.
“Probably grab whatever wicked shit he’s cooked up in his lab and storm the house. Well, that’s assuming he could even figure out who attacked us.” Rafe dropped his head against the wall and swore softly. “Bel,” he whispered. “Please, run. Just fucking run.”
“He’s not,” Marcus said.
Rafe blinked back tears and flashed Marcus a crooked smile. “I know.” It was a hard thing. They all wanted Bel to escape and be safe, but they knew he wouldn’t leave them. It was both touching and terrifying.
Winter pressed his hands to the floor and carefully pushed to his feet. He swayed for a moment, putting his hand quickly against the wall to steady himself. “Do you think Ethan reached him?”
“Yes.” Marcus didn’t hesitate. He had to believe that Ethan reached Bel in time. He had to believe that his lover was safely in his brother’s hands, or he’d lose all hope. He couldn’t think of Ethan injured and dying somewhere. The only reassuring thing was that he was not in Minerva’s hands.