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That thought brought my mind back into full alertness. I had a small mission of my own here, and I needed to see it through before I was interrupted. I wasn’t sure I’d want to take off on the men right now, still with no real sense of direction, but it’d be good to be prepared in case I decided I needed to make a quick escape later.
I started by walking the entire length of the wooden wall, feeling for imperfections or rot. No surprise, the wall was as secure as it was tall. When I returned to the spot beside the door, I stepped back, analyzing the barrier from more of a distance.
It was taller than the wall around the household by a few feet, so jumping it would be impossible without help, but with a chair stacked on top of the patio table, I knew I could make it to the top. But from there… I didn’t know exactly how high up we were, but the length of the elevator ride and the absence of any taller buildings in view suggested it was at least ten stories. I’d bet more.
With a grappling hook and a good length of rope, I’d have been just fine regardless of what the outer walls looked like. Somehow I didn’t think I could ask the cops to pick up those items for me at the store. Tying sheets and other items together was always an option, but I didn’t think there were enough in the apartment to guarantee I’d make it close enough to the ground to jump the rest of the way.
Maybe there was another building nearby, or a tree or cables or some other object I could make use of. I wouldn’t know until I got up to the top, though, and if they caught me clambering along the wall, they’d never let me up here alone again. I had to be sure I was ready.
Lost in thought, I ran my tongue over my teeth and found myself meandering over to the telescope I’d examined earlier with Blaze. I drummed my fingers on the smooth metal. Too bad it wasn’t an X-ray machine like one of the gadgets in Spy Time, built to let me see right through the wall.
Who said it might not show me something in the sky that would be useful, though? A more distant building or some other landmark? That would help me orient myself and the apartment in the city.
I bent down, leaning toward the place where I assumed I needed to put my eye.
A snarky voice carried from behind me. “Most people know not to touch other people’s belongings without asking. Hands off the telescope.”
I jerked back and whirled around to find Garrison stepping out onto the deck. I’d let myself get so lost in thought I hadn’t heard the door open. Sloppy, Noelle said in my head with a tsk of her tongue.
Blaze had mentioned that the telescope was Garrison’s. Garrison stood watching me with his hands slung in his pockets in a careless pose, but his expression was chilly. Why did he have to be such an ass all the time?
Well, there was nothing stopping me from poking the bear and seeing what came out.
With a taunting smile, I lowered my fingers to the telescope and stroked it. “Get my hands off of this?”
Garrison tilted his head and looked between me and the telescope, his hands not leaving his pockets. “Do you know how to use it?”
“Not particularly.”
“Then I’m sticking to my demand. Hands. Off.”
I rolled my eyes and folded my arms over my chest, stepping toward him. “Buzzkill.”
Not dropping eye contact, he sank onto one of the lawn chairs surrounding a small coffee-style table. He stretched out his legs and leaned his head back as if making a statement about how little he was intimidated by me.
He just didn’t know better.
“Let’s not pretend you’re actually up here to stargaze,” he said.
I made a sweeping gesture toward him. “Feel free to enlighten me about my own motivations, then.”
He glowered at me. “You’re looking for escape routes. Hopefully you’re smart enough to have figured out by now that it’s hopeless.”
I let the corner of my lips quirk upward. “You think I’m smart, huh?”
Garrison let out a huff of annoyance. “That wasn’t what I was getting at.”
“But you said it anyway.” I plopped down onto the chair kitty-corner to him, matching his careless demeanor. I didn’t think I’d given away anything about my intentions. He was just guessing, and when I’d tried to run off on them a few times already, guessing that I might be thinking about doing it again didn’t exactly require major brain power. “What makes you so sure I’m in a hurry to get out of here?”
“You’ve been trying to take off since the first day. What makes today any different?”
I could think of a few things that made today different, but I wasn’t going to mention them to him. Instead, I scooted to the edge of the chair and leaned forward. If I’d slid my foot out, I could have brushed it against his ankle.
“What’s wrong?” I teased. “Are you worried you’d miss me if I got away?”
I could see his hackles rise—the way he sat up straighter and the cunning smirk on his face tightened, remaining only because of his iron will to remain cool and collected.
“If you got away,” he said, “it would solve every single problem I’ve had over the past week.”
