Page 73 of Fractured Hearts

“It’s probably just a foundation at this point,” I say with a sigh. I’m exhausted and overwhelmed. Patrick hasn’t contacted anyone, which means this can’t be a ransom situation. I’m pacing and pulling at my hair, trying to figure out where to start looking when Belle clears her throat. “What?” I ask, but from the look on her face it’s clear she was speaking and I didn’t hear a word of it. “Sorry. Can you repeat that?”

I don’t love the look of pity on her face, but I ignore it and pay attention to her words. “I was saying that houses usually have basements.”

It takes my tired brain a minute to process what she’s saying, but the moment I do, I’m running out of the barn door that’s barely holding on to the last hinge. Ezra never mentioned a house, and I didn’t pass one on my way here. Which means it has to be past the barn. Somewhere further than Ezra or I have been. I hear my name, but I ignore it and keep running, my eyes darting around to find anything that could have been a house.

“To your left,” I hear Kai yell. I pause long enough to see him pointing at a large mound of dirt. I take off running in that direction.

“What the fuck?” I say the moment I see what caught Kai’s attention. It’s an underground metal door. A metal door with about six different locking mechanisms on it. There’s a set of concrete steps leading down to it, but all that’s above it is dirt and dead grass.

“Should we be quiet? What if there’s a bunch of guys with guns in there?” Belle whispers.

“Then I take them out,” Martha says, cocking her shotgun and making me jump.

“I’ll knock.” I run down the stairs before anyone has the time to protest and rap my knuckles against the cold metal.

“Get back up here,” Harrison growls, pulling me by the back of my jacket and up the stairs. He holds his gun out in front of him with his other hand, eyes trained on the door. We wait. And wait. Then I try to knock again, but Harrison won’t let go of my jacket. I consider slipping out of it, but it’s freezing. So I opt to do what anyone else would do in my situation.

I scream their names.

seventy-five

EZRA

Noelle fell asleep against me almost instantly. It’s like her body was in survival mode and the minute she decided she could trust me, it just shut down. I pulled her close to my side so she could share the little warmth I have. I can feel her ribs poking out from under the thin shirt she’s wearing. The wheezing sound coming after every breath is a bad sign. She doesn’t know how long she’s been here, but it has to have been a while with the state she’s in. I wish I could see her. Not that assessing how bad of a shape she’s in will matter down here.

I’m hungry to the point of pain. I’m pretty sure my stomach is just eating itself. The good news is I’ve become nose blind to the smell in here. The bad news is that no matter how long or how hard I stare at the door, no one walks through it. I made sure I sat against the wall directly in front of it after pacing the small room so many times I can tell you where every crack in the concrete wall is and where the dirt floor dips down by a few inches. I have even more respect for blind people because this fucking sucks.

I thought about trying to dig through the floor and under the wall, but I don’t think I could get far before someone comes. Now that I’m not sure someone was coming, digging doesn’t seem like such a bad idea. Especially since it’s the only idea. It’s only been a day or two . . . I think, but the longer we go without food and water, the less likely it is that I can dig us out of here. Noelle’s wheeze turns into a wet cough, and I know she can’t stay down here much longer and survive. I’m about to shift her off me so I can feel for the best spot to dig when I hear voices. At least I think I do.

Shifting Noelle into a lying position as gently as I can, I scramble to my feet and press my ear to the door. The metal is cold against my already cold skin, but I press harder, hoping for anything that could be a person. I’m pretty sure I can get the better of anyone that comes in here. Noelle is not, and she laughed at the suggestion. It made me miss Jo painfully in that moment. She would’ve not only believed I could but bet she could do it better and faster.

It’s too silent, making me think I’m hearing things. But then someone knocks, causing me to jump back. I stay quiet and glance toward where I left Noelle.

“Don’t answer,” she whispers, terror making her voice shake.

I hear hushed whispers and crunching leaves. There’s at least two people out there, if not more. I back up, taking a fighting stance, ready for whoever enters through that door. I’m expecting some thug with an assault rifle, or maybe Patrick himself, but the door doesn’t open. Instead, I hear the voice of an angel.

“Ezra! Maverick!”

As a single tear falls down my face, I realize this is the second time that I’ve been saved by someone I love screaming my name. I don’t care how long it’s been. Or how crazy it seems that I fell for her so quickly. But the second Jo let her real personality shine, my heart was gone. The half that Maverick didn’t already own went straight to her. Sitting in the dark gave me so much time to reflect. It feels so stupid now, to look back and realize how hard I was fighting my feelings for her. And now she’s here. Saving me in more ways than one.

seventy-six

JO

“What are you doing?” Harrison hisses, his hand covering my mouth. I yank it down and turn to glare at him. Before I can even open my mouth to tell him off, I hear something. I shove Harrison off me and sprint back down the stairs. Pushing my ear to the door, I hear it again.

“Jo! Bambi, is that you?”

“Ezra!” I scream, choking up at the sound of his voice. “I’m here! Is Maverick with you?”

“No! I don’t know where he is.” Even through the thick metal, I can hear the pain in his voice, the hope being lost. If Maverick isn’t with either of us, then where the fuck is he?

“We’re gonna get you out!” Kai yells.

“I’m not alone! Get medics out here!” Ezra calls back.

“Medics? Fuck,” Kai says, already dialing. “How many?”