Page 62 of House of Soot

When it’s done, I collapse against her. Thank fuck for the wall as it’s the only thing holding us up.

“Well, that took the edge off.” I finally find strength in my legs and straighten. I help Jenna adjust her uniform, my hands lingering longer than necessary.

She smiles up at me and the words ‘I love you’ dangle at the end of her tongue.

"Blaise, I need to tell you something." Jenna’s face is flushed, lips still swollen from our kisses.

“I’m not sure how much longer we can be here before someone comes looking.” I press a quick kiss to her forehead, already calculating timing, exits, guard rotations. "I have to get back upstairs before someone notices I'm gone."

"It’s important.”

"Tonight's not good." The words come out sharper than they should. But I have to focus. Time to remember why I'm here.

Ronan Kean dies tonight.

With that thought, I remember where we are. The murder of my family started down here. I recalculate and realize that now's my chance.

“I’m sorry. I’m just… this party is a security nightmare.” I glance around the cellar. “I mean, anyone could be lurking down here. I’ve heard rumors of secret passageways.” I raise my brows. “Actually, you've lived on the property your whole life. Have you ever come across any?"

Her brow furrows. "Secret passages? I mean, they’re all through the house.”

“But down here?” I glance around again.

She shrugs. “I found one once when I was a kid, before…" She trails off, looking uncertain.

"Before what?"

"Before the fire. I found a hidden door. I don’t know if it’s still here.”

“Anyone know about it?”

“Ronan. I told him about it a long time ago. But then there was the fire and when the Keans rebuilt, I don’t know that they kept it.”

I fight off a surge of bitterness at hearing her confess to telling Ronan about the tunnel. This is the moment where I find out why she betrayed my family.

"You told Ronan about a door before the Keans lived here?”

She bites her lip. “Yeah, we were friends back then. Or I thought we were." She gives a sad little laugh. "I was just a kid with a crush.”

I don’t know what to feel. I mean, all the anger is back. The desire to hurt her is back. And yet, I feel like I’m being ripped in two. I love this woman, and she helped kill my family. Admits it openly. Admits she did it because she had a crush on Ronan.

“Well, if it’s still here, it could be a source of a breach, and since it’s my job to keep the family safe, I should check it. Can you show me where it is?”

“Over here somewhere." Jenna heads to the back corner of the cellar. "There’s a rack that is a secret opening used during prohibition.”

I follow her. "Did you ever go inside?" I keep my voice light, though my fingers itch to grab her shoulders and demand answers.

"No." She frowns, still searching. "Ronan wanted to, but I was too scared. It was dark and smelled musty. Plus, I didn't want to get in trouble." She stops near an empty rack. "Here.”

"That's incredible," I say, moving closer to examine it. "You must have been quite the explorer as a kid."

"I guess." She wraps her arms around herself again. I wonder if it’s guilt that is causing her to fold into herself. But is it guilt over betraying my family or simply nostalgia for her childhood friendship with Ronan?

I tug at the rack, pulling it open to reveal a door. I open it and look inside. I’ve never seen this, but I know about it because Flint used this tunnel to get into the home to save his wife, Lucy, last year. Does Jenna know about that?

“Anyone use this now?” I ask, proud at how I’m able to keep my voice from revealing my horror at what Jenna did.

“I don’t think so.”

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