He Strikes at the Hotel

Chapter Fifty One

Jaws were falling to the floor as people eyed us up one by one. Duke Zachery with his perfect suit covered in dust, dirt and little dots of my blood, along with his always pristine hair going rogue. Then there was me. A ripped, pale blue ball gown smeared with blood, whilst my hand still bled through the tatty cloth wrapped around it, and to top it off, a bruised cheek with dried blood lingering. I can't say I would act any differently if I were in there shoes, I would be as shocked as they were.

But we needed help, and we didn't have time to explain why.

Zachery found my hand with his and squeezed it tightly, reassuring me that we were both in the same situation and that we were in this together.

I expected Zachery's parents to be the first to rush up to see if he was okay, but Giles was the first to come charging towards us, pure panic in his eyes. This was the first time I had seen real emotion from Giles. He was always kind and he obviously was a good person for Zachery to value him so highly, but he never really showed you what was going on inside his mind. I guess he learnt how to do that from experience.

"What happened to you both?!" Giles boomed as he got within earshot of us. "Sir, Audrey Rose, are you alright?" He added through his panic stricken breathing. His voice was even showing how concerned he was, and not just for Zachery... But for me too. I couldn't help but warm to him even more in that moment. I just wanted to sink into his massive arms and let him protect me from everything outside those doors. I couldn't imagine one man, no matter how great, would be able to tackle those two along with a blazing fire, though. So that was out.

Zachery immediately turned into a leader, strong and authoritative as he put both his hands on Giles' arms and looked him dead in the eye as he said "We found them. We found out who has been causing the disappearances. They're murderers. They tortured Audrey Rose. And they're coming." He kept his explanation brief as his voice was calm and clear, like he was simply ordering a tray on canapés for his guests. His breathing didn't even falter his composed demeanour.

Giles quickly scanned the room trying to decipher who was missing, if anyone, to determine who was at fault. It wasn't long before his eyes grew wide as realisation fell upon his face. Deep lines between his brows began to form as I could see his resentment fuelling a dangerous anger inside of him. I'm sure I even heard a growl pass his tightly pursed lips.

"One more thing..." Zachery announced, bringing Giles back down to earth. "During our escape, a fire began downstairs and it is spreading fast. The fire brigade must be alerted immediately." The room was silent as everyone watched in amazement at what was unfolding before them. Zachery tried not to be loud in his explanations so not to cause fear amongst any of the other guests, however, a few nosey people begun listening in as best they could. When 'murderers' and 'fire' were heard by one exceptionally jolly woman sat at the table nearest to us, she jumped out of her seat in a show of exaggeration.

The ball gown she was wearing was very revealing, not leaving an awful lot to the imagination. Her corset was pulled so tightly around her voluptuous waist that her body had to adjust accordingly. Everything had to go somewhere, and it was obvious where once she jumped up out of her seat dramatically, holding her hands on her cheeks; her chest bounced and rippled along her bust hem like a sea of stormy waves.

I cringed, mainly because I knew what was now about to happen. A wave of panic would crash over everybody one table at a time, starting with that jolly woman, who was by this point fanning herself with a napkin and asking ridiculous questions in an annoyingly high pitched wail.

Giles and Zachery were both quiet now, contemplating what their next actions would be. Within a split second of their silent deliberations, they both turned to me as they listed off what we were about to do. Nerissa and Pierre were now running over to us, obviously concerned, with Nerissa close to losing her mind at the state of us.

Usually she would be suffocating us all with questions, however, she glanced to me, then to Zachery, then to Giles and back onto me and the blood stains covering my body. This silenced her usual demanding curiosity, and before I could even thank her for not asking anything, she instantly put her game face on and looked towards Giles.

"What do we do now?" She asked, point blank stating she was ready for business. She was one step away from taking out her earrings and kicking her heels off. Nerissa never failed to impress me with her understanding. Pierre, on the other hand, looked like he was about to be sick.

Giles acknowledged everyone's participation and thought for a second longer, before trailing off his orders.

"You two-" He directed towards Nerissa and Pierre. "You need to evacuate everyone from the building as quickly as possible. Call the fire brigade and say it is an emergency ordered by myself, they will know who I am and the seriousness of it. Also alert the authorities that we have two dangerous prisoners. Try to keep everyone calm outside the building and don't let anyone wander off." Nerissa and Pierre both nodded seriously as they set off determinedly.

"You two-" He said, looking towards Zachery and myself. "They are after you both, therefore you need to be careful. Don't leave my sight. Myself, Andrew and Jonathan will accompany you both as we go find them." Giles' voice seemed to recoil at the mere mention of Jared and Jeremy. I also realised that I had never caught the other two of Zachery's guards names. I only knew Jared's through his pure arrogance, and Giles because he was stuck to Zachery's hip. The other two always seemed to be monitoring doors, making arrangements and other such duties. I felt sort of guilty at this realisation, as they too were always pleasant to me.

With that, Giles ushered over Andrew and Jonathan hastily as he informed them of the situation at hand. It would seem that the guards carry handcuffs and other utensils as a precaution, as I heard snippets of their incarceration details. This was reassuring to know, as at least they would be detained until the authorities got here, with no further risk posed by them. However, until that moment arrived, we could not get too comfortable.

Zachery nudged me to gain my attention, to which he snatched my gaze greedily, staring deep into my eyes as he squeezed my hand yet again.

"Are you okay, Kitten?" He asked sombrely.

"Always. Are you?" I replied, a little too quickly.

"I will be." He looked down with hooded eyes, trying to mask his sadness at the family he had lost through this and how it would affect his parents. His father most likely did not bother him, however, I knew he was worrying about his mother, who was still sat wide eyed at her table, being told not to move by her husband's guards.

We began to move, knowing that the only direction to go was down. Down to where the fire was at its strongest, and to where Jared and Jeremy were most likely stewing in their hatred and torturous fantasies.