Page 45 of Cash

“All I see are shelves, Cara. How do I get to the door?”

“I don’t know. Lolo just pulls them out.”

I reached for the middle shelf, and nothing moved. I repeated the process with all five and still nothing.

“Are you still coming, Cash?” she meekly asked.

Oh, yeah, fuck yeah, I’d sleep like a baby after putting two in the face of the motherfucker who scared this little girl.

“Yeah, I’m just trying to…” I trailed off when the shelf I was holding onto while I knelt pushed inward. Once I regained my balance I answered her, “almost there.”

I kicked the debris out of the way and swiveled the pantry insert sideways, the opening just enough room to slip though if you were Lore or a child.

“Holy fuck,” Easton muttered behind me.

I tossed him a dirty look and held out my phone reminding him not to cuss just in case Cara could hear him.

“Okay, Cara, you can come out now.”

“What’s the password?”

Despite the shit situation, I smiled. “Cash is King.”

“How do I know you’re really out there?”

Smart girl.

But fuck…

“I promise I’m right outside.”

“Knock on the door three times,” she demanded.

“I can’t. I need you to come out and slip through the opening.”

“No.”

“I’m too big to fit⁠—”

“Lolo said not to come out until you were at the door.”

Fucking shit.

“Okay. Hold tight, Cara.”

I moved to the opening in an attempt to shove myself through the small space.

“Are you seriously going to try to fit?” Easton asked. “Dude, you’re gonna get stuck.”

He probably wasn’t wrong.

It was by a miracle I managed to get through the tight space. It was also a miracle I kept all the four-letter words in my mind instead of grunting them and cursing Lore’s name for this shit. Only she would leave a foot of space to wedge through to get to her safe room.

The light back here was muted. It was also just enough for me to basically stand in front of the door.

“I’m gonna knock now,” I told Cara and rapped my knuckles on the metal door.

“Okay. I’m waiting.”