Page 194 of Damián

“What did you do?”

“Me? It was a structural failure,” I protest, pushing myself up to my feet and brushing the white dust off my pants. “Great… Now I’m leaving a trail.”

“Well, clean up because Kaleo just texted me. He is getting the boat ready to take us to the Hamptons.”

“Thank you, Zara.”

“If you want my thanks, you’d better bring those ginger cookie boxes with you.”

Of course Zara would want a box. She’s been obsessed with them since Damián gifted her one as a thanks for getting us back together.

“I’m not stealing one of Leif’s Pepparkakor boxes. He will hunt me down and offer me to Odin as a sacrifice.”

“Well… you can always find a taxi willing to drive you to a cartel war zone.”

“Fine, you extortionist.” I look down at the mess, take a red box full of cookies, and leave the storage room.

I step out onto a floor full of hallways and doors, and walk until I find the elevators.

“I am at the elevators now.”

“Good. I am already parked outside the building.”

DING!

I get into the elevator, turn, and—“What the fuck?!”

“What now?” Zara asks. “Is there a gang of crocodiles you need to fight against?”

“Almost… The elevator doesn’t have normal buttons.”

“What do you mean?”

“This thing has like twenty silver buttons, glowing runes, numeric keypads, and weird custom switches.”

“Oh man!” she laughs. “Why am I not there with you?”

“To see me suffer?”

“Yes, but also see the elevator panel.”

“I can fix that.” I take a picture of the elevator’s panel and send it to Zara. “Check your phone.”

“Oh, you weren’t kidding,” she hums, probably studying every inch of that picture, trying to see what I couldn’t. “Press the one in the middle.”

“Seriously? That’s so dumb.”

“What? You said it yourself, they built the building to stop people from coming in, not to keep people in.”

True…

Without anything to lose, I press the silver button at the center of the console, and the elevator moves.

“It’s moving!”

“Now let’s see where it takes you.”

“Hopefully to the damn lobby,” I say into the phone.