Stealing Fire (Bad Boys Of The Underworld Book 5) Read Online Free PDF Page A

important.”
    Lucian shot Ella an apologetic glance. “I have to take this. I’ll be right back.”
    Ella nodded and tried to imagine who Aleksander was. Someone important in the defense game apparently. Did Cade and Lucian work for him? Was he high up in the US government?
    Or some other government?
    A metallic clanging sounded from below her and Ella jerked around at the sound. What the heck was that?
    She shook her head at her own jumpiness. Just because the house was old and slightly creepy didn’t mean she needed to jump at every strange noise.
    Then she heard it again.
    The lingering uneasiness she’d felt ever since she entered the strange house now reached fever pitch. She took a deep breath and told herself it was nothing. This was an old house and old houses made strange noises.
    Metal clanged against metal.
    “Lucian? Is that you?”
    No answer.
    She approached the hallway, moving closer to the origin of the sound. She looked left and right but saw no one. Not that she expected different. The sounds came from beneath her. The clanging metal sounded again and Ella estimated it was right below her.
    “Cade?” she called.
    Again, no answer.
    She should go back in the kitchen. Lucian would be there and he would take her back to her car.
    It was probably an old furnace or water heater. The noise sounded again and Ella couldn’t take it anymore. No furnace made noises like this! She would just peek downstairs and see what it was so she could calm her frayed nerves.
    She turned down the hallway, trying to see whether Cade or Lucian were anywhere nearby, when she stopped in her tracks. The open door led to a darkened staircase.
    That door wasn’t open a second ago. She was sure of it.
    Ella took a deep breath. Stop imagining things. This house isn’t haunted, and there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for all this. Just go down the stairs and see for yourself.
    Upon closer inspection, the stairs weren’t as dark as she thought. A faint light shone at the bottom. At least she wouldn’t have to fumble for a light switch. Houses like this one tended to be covered in cobwebs.
    She assumed. She’d never really been in a house like this before.
    Ella didn’t consider herself scared of spiders, but she still wouldn’t want to sneak up on one.
    Each stair creaked and moaned as she stepped; she paused. It wasn’t as if she were sneaking anywhere. If Lucian or Cade came around, she’d tell them the truth. She’d heard strange noises repeatedly and hadn’t been able to get either of them to check it out.
    Really, she was doing them a favor.
    She grinned at her logic as she made it to the end of the stairs. Looking around, her heart dropped out of her chest.
    She’d expected to see normal basement stuff: storage boxes and the ugly appliances no one wanted on the upper levels.
    She found a dungeon.
    Her breaths came in short pants as she stared down the dark, narrow hallway. Two doors on either side, each with a small, barred window. She should go. Turn and run. A mile wasn’t that far. If she left right now, she could probably make it to her car before Lucian did. Probably.
    She twisted back to the stairs before a sickening realization filled her. Dad’s car was right outside Lucian’s property.
    Flooded with the urgency to escape, Ella pushed past her fear and ran to the doors. The first two cells were both empty, containing only a depressing-looking bucket and a bare, metal bench.
    The third one was exactly the same, except for the small man huddled in a corner. All she could see was messy, white hair and a tattered brown sweater, but she knew exactly who this was.
    Lucian had her dad locked in his basement dungeon.

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    “D ad!” she whispered.
    He twitched at her cry; his white hair shook with the movement. “Ella?” He squinted at the door, as though his eyes weren’t focusing.
    Her hands fumbled at the door, the dim light making it hard to see. She threw up a silent prayer