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My heart sinks. Her words almost hurt more than the pounding sensation in my head.
She notices my hurt expression and lets out a groan. “Damn, you really took our friendship seriously, didn’t you?” she says. “If I’d known you would be such a sap about it, maybe I would’ve toned down all the friendly stuff. Too late for that, I guess.”
She crosses her arms and turns away. “Still, I know this probably sucks for you and all, but you have to admit it was sort of your fault. Who’d have thought the Cyber Thief would be taken down so easily?” she teases. “You used to be all about not trusting people and working on your own, but one handsome orc takes pity on you and you bend like a glowstick. It’s kinda sad, really.”
I bite back a snide remark as I struggle to sit upright. As much as I want to snap back at her, I can’t help but notice that my wrists are bound with some frayed rope. If I can find something sharp in this room…
“And by the way,” Amber says, briefly glancing my way. “If you were curious at all, I’m the reason Angel got sick the other day. Apparently, you can’t taste spoiled milk in a latte if you add enough pumpkin spice.”
Gross. Once I’m out of this place, I’m never accepting coffee from anyone again.
I glance to my left and spot a rusty nail sticking out of the wall. I slowly scoot across the floor as she rambles on.
“And when Craig called Valentina? I had him do that to make her look shady.” Amber giggles to herself.
I hook the rope onto the nail. As I tug, I notice a roll of duct tape sitting on the upper shelf. If my plan works, that might come in handy in a few minutes.
“And the ominous emails to Lewis? Written by yours truly,” Amber continues. “And let’s not forget about Gage’s stolen ad campaigns. He practically handed those to me on a silver platter.”
So Amber’s snakelike behavior didn’t spare anyone in the office, did it? That lessens the sting of the betrayal a little more, yet at the same time feeds the growing pit of rage in my stomach.
The rope snaps. Thankfully, Amber can’t hear it over the sound of her own voice, which she really seems to love right now.
“Honestly, it’s surprising you didn’t suspect me sooner,” she says. “I was like, right under your—”
I leap to my feet and grab Amber by the wrists, slamming her against the shelf. A few tools—including the duct tape—tumble to the floor around us.
“You were saying?”
“Let go of me!” Amber thrashes in my grip and breaks free. She swings a fist into my gut and sends me stumbling back.
Damn, that girl can pack a punch. Or maybe it’s because my body still aches from the drug she’d slipped in my coffee. Regardless, I suck it up for the time being and recollect myself.
As I regain my balance, Amber stuffs a hand into one of the pockets of her cargo pants. While she’s distracted, I knock her over with a kick to the knees and pin her to the floor.
“Now, let’s see what you’ve got…” I reach into her pockets and pull out a knife and a cell phone. These may come in handy later, especially the phone. Who knows what kind of information this phone will have on Craig?
“Sloane, please!” she begs. Amber briefly pulls her arm out of my grip and I slam it back on the ground before she can get anywhere. “I’m sorry, okay? Do whatever you want, just please don’t kill me!”
“Whoa, okay. I may not be a saint, but I’m not that evil.” I scoff, tucking the phone and knife into my pocket. I reach for the roll of duct tape that had fallen from the shelf and rip off a long piece.
“That said, I’m not above doing this,” I say as I bind her wrists together with the tape. I make sure to duct tape her wrists to the shelf as well, just in case she gets any clever ideas about escaping.
“... And maybe this, too. You talk too much for your own good.” I slap a piece of tape over her mouth as well.
As I jump back to my feet, I head out of the room and let the door slam shut behind me, ignoring Amber’s muffled cries of protest.
By the looks of it, I’m standing in some sort of warehouse. The room before me is enormous, with shelves of boxes reaching up to the sky-high ceiling.
“Did you hear that?” a voice says from a few aisles over.
“I think so,” another one says.
I scour the aisle for a suitable hiding spot. I find an empty box sitting nearby and climb in, pulling the top shut.
A few seconds later, two heavy pairs of footsteps walk down the aisle. My heart races as one of them stops right in front of me.
“... I swear I heard something bang,” the first voice says.
