Page 114 of Love Bleeds Red
I can’t speak yet, so I just nod while I rub my throat. It feels like I’ve swallowed razor blades. Leon pulls me against his chest, whispering words of praise. His heartbeat pounds against my ears, giving me strength.
“I’m okay,” I finally manage to croak, gesturing toward Ada who’s in shock across the room. “Your mom.”
“Shit!” Leon releases me to rush to Ada’s side. She’s sitting against the wall, holding her cheek where Alfred hit her. Blood trickles from her nose.
“I’m alright,” she says weakly, as Leon helps her to her feet. “Is he dead?”
Leon’s face is pure rage unlike I’ve ever seen before. “No… not yet.”
“Son,” Ada cries. “Why is this happening? I don’t understand.”
He leads her to the door. “I’m so sorry. Both of you. I should never have?—”
“The keycard,” I interrupt, my voice barely audible. I point to where it fell.
He makes sure Ada can stand on her own before grabbing the card from the floor. Alfred still doesn’t stir.
“Let’s get out of here,” he says, reaching for my hand. The moment we’re outside the cell Leon immediately pushes the door shut and swipes the keycard over the lock until it beeps.
“Son, are you alright?” Ada asks, wrapping Leon in her arms. They hug but only briefly. Leon’s too preoccupied staring at a control panel beside the door. I wrap my arm around Ada’sshoulder, and hold her close while Leon starts pressing buttons in a specific sequence, cursing under his breath.
“Can he get out?” I ask, watching him work.
“Not without help,” Leon says, concentrating on whatever he’s typing. “This lock is designed to stay shut even if the power goes out. It’s made for holding prisoners. The door stays locked by default, not like a normal door.”
He keeps working on the control panel for what feels like forever. I don’t want to bother him with more questions, but I certainly do not want to wait upstairs either. So for now, Ada and I quietly watch him work, my anxiety on high alert knowing Alfred will wake up at any moment.
When Leon finally speaks, I’m not sure if he’s talking to himself or us. “Alfred’s keycard is like a master key that could open any of these cells. I’m trying to erase his card from the system and change his passwords, but I’ve never worked with something like this.”
“What about emergency exits?” Ada asks quietly. “Don’t these doors have some kind of safety release? What if there were a fire?”
Leon glances through the window at a small metal box mounted on the wall inside the cell. “They’re supposed to have a manual override, like a fire alarm that automatically opens the door if there’s smoke or something. But I think Alfred disconnected it. I doubt he cared if his prisoners got out. In fact, he probably hoped they didn’t.”
Ada makes a small sound and stumbles forward a bit. “I think this is too much for her,” I say, holding Ada close. “We should get her upstairs for some water. He’s not going anywhere.”
Leon finally looks away from his work and nods. “You’re right. I’ve got her.” He hands me his phone and moves to support Ada. “Can you call Falin? They should be here by now and I could really use her help.”
I take the phone with shaky hands and head for the stairs, Leon helping Ada right behind me. As soon as we reach the main floor, I take a deep cleansing breath and dial Falin.
“Leon! Where are you?” Falin’s voice comes through the speaker.
“It’s Bailey. We’re at the estate. We found his mom, but we need your help with something. Are you almost here?”
“We’re getting to the gates now. It took forever—Oh fuck.”
All at once the others start talking in the background before the line goes dead.
What the hell?
I turn to follow Leon and Ada in their search for the kitchen when they freeze, hearing what must have made Falin hang up abruptly—three rapid gunshots in the distance, followed by dead silence.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
LEON
Gunshots echothrough the estate grounds and my adrenaline ramps up. Three rapid shots, then nothing but the sound of our shaky breaths.
“What the hell was that?” I ask, afraid to know the answer. We’re not the only ones here, I knew that from the footsteps earlier. But who?
