Page 116 of Forbidden Fate

She nodded. “Upstairs.”

Another crash came from downstairs.

A man’s shout.

Cruz’s voice.

Something heavy hitting wood.

“There’s no time to tell the others.” Esmeralda pulled me into what I assumed is her room. “They’ll hear the guns. They’ll hide.” She pushed me toward the armoire. “In.”

I went.

Now here we are.

Hidden like children.

I hate it.

I hate every second of it.

A loud thud echoes from somewhere below. Esmeralda flinches so hard her shoulder knocks into mine. I squeeze her wrist, even though I have no comfort to offer.

My own pulse is screaming.

I try to listen past it.

Footsteps?

Voices?

Another gunshot?

Nothing.

Then something worse.

Silence.

The kind that comes when everyone is too afraid to move.

Esmeralda’s breath shakes. Tears slide down her cheeks, but she makes no sound.

I think about Señora Valentina’s voice in the kitchen.

You are safe in this house.

God.

I close my eyes.

No.

Not now.

I can’t fall apart in an armoire. I can’t let my mind take me somewhere else. Not Romania. Not Adriana’s house. Not the cell. Not any of the places where I was helpless.

I need to stay here.