Page 93 of Made For Ruin

My voice echoes through the empty dining room. Water from the fire hoses pools on the checkerboard floor, reflecting the emergency lights streaming through the windows.

“Lainey, baby, where are you?”

I race through the dining room, my boots splashing through puddles as I check every possible space. Reign and Axel fan out behind me while angry shouts from the firefighters follow us inside.

I throw open every door, every cabinet big enough to hide a person.

The walk-in freezer where she stores those pies she’s so proud of.

The storage pantry where she keeps her father’s recipes.

Empty.

All empty.

Each space I check ratchets my fear higher.

“Check the security cameras.” Axel’s voice cuts through my frantic searching. “She had them installed a while back.”

Hope flares in my chest as I spin toward him “Where are they?”

“The office.” He points down the hallway. “Through there.”

We burst into the tiny office, cramped with all three of us plus the firefighters who’ve caught up. An old desk holds a monitor showing multiple camera views of the diner.

Reign immediately drops into the chair, his fingers flying over the keyboard.

“How far back can we look?” I demand, gripping the back of the chair as I lean in. My knuckles turn white against the worn leather.

Suddenly, the office door slams open. We all whirl around to see Ruby standing in the doorway, her red hair wild and her green eyes blazing.

“What the hell is going on?” she demands, looking from me to Axel to Reign. “I got here as fast as I could when I heard about the fire. Where’s Lainey?”

Axel steps forward, his face etched with worry.

“Her car’s out front, but we can’t find her anywhere. We’re checking the security footage now.”

Ruby’s eyes narrow, fixing on me with laser-like intensity. “And where were you when this happened?”

I bristle at the accusation in her tone, but before I can respond, Reign cuts in.

“I’ve got something.”

The screen splits into four feeds, each showing a different angle of the diner. My hands grip the back of Reign’s chair as he scrolls through the morning’s footage.

What I see next nearly brings me to my knees.

Lainey lies limp between two men, her hands bound behind her back. Her head lolls against one man’s shoulder as they dragher toward a black SUV. My stomach lurches at how small she looks between them, how vulnerable.

One of the men turns, and that’s when I see his face.

Enzo Castellano.

“Son of a bitch!” I snarl.

Enzo’s dark eyes flick toward the camera, a smirk playing on his lips. He knows exactly what he’s doing. The bastard wants me to see this.

We watch in stunned silence as Enzo and his goon load Lainey into the back of a black SUV. Her head lolls to the side, and I catch a glimpse of her face. Her skin is pale, and her eyes are closed. My chest constricts.

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