AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Grayson's piercing blue eyes met my gaze. "Babydoll," he said, "I know they are going to worry, but you've informed them of our plan and if you go inside with that phone, they'll be calling and textingnonstop."
"I haven't exactly informed them of anything," I protested, "since you haven't told me what the planis."
Dipping over to my side of the car, Grayson popped the glove compartment open and retrieved a small pouch. "I did tell you," he said. "We're breaking and entering. Now, leave the phone and let'sgo."
I groaned as Grayson got out of the car and headed towards the building. He had managed to park behind a large tree on the border of the parking lot. Once we left, it would be empty and appear as though someone had simply left the vehicle to sit there overnight, but there was still a lot of open space from the car to the building. I got out and hurried afterhim.
His legs ate the distance up much quicker than mine, but both of us got to the side of the building without much fanfare. Once we did, we slid around towards what Grayson said was the employee's entrance and exit. Crouching down on the ground, he opened the pouch and retrieved two slender looking metal tools. One of them had a curved, dipping edge while the other was straighter,narrower.
"Keep a lookout," he whispered. I did, but within a few minutes, Grayson was smirking in victory as he turned the knob and swung the door inward to a long, dark hallway. "Ladies first," he said,gesturing.
I pursed my lips and arched abrow.
"Since when do you treat me like a lady?" I asked, taking a stepinside.
"I always treat you like a lady," heargued.
"Name onetime."
"I—" His voice cut off as we hit the end of the hallway and noticed a light towards one side. Sharp eyes cut to me in the darkness. I couldn't see his face as clearly as I would have liked, but I understood what he meant when he put a hand on my shoulder and then moved around in front of me. He wanted me to hangback.
Waiting in the dark, alone, was the worst. It reminded me of old, scary movies, where young women in black and white would head directly towards a door—usually leading into a basement or attic or somewhere equally creepy—as those watching urged them to turn around and run away. I stuck close to the wall, though, and kept my gaze trained on Grayson's movements as he edged away from me, towards the light. Once he reached the end of the corridor, he flipped his head back and motioned for me to come to him. Quietly, I easedforward.
The closer I got to the light, the better I felt. There was no sound coming from the direction of the light, and Grayson slowly peeked his head around the corner. When he released a heavy breath, relief flooded me. Grayson stepped away from the wall and took my hand, pulling me along withhim.
"Come on," he whispered. "Thisway."
"You know where you're going?" I asked, keeping my voicelow.
He nodded once and tugged me after him. We passed a hallway with the lights on, which—when I managed to catch a glimpse—was simply a short little path into what looked to be a lobby. Someone must have accidentally left it on. Grayson pulled me back into the dark. We moved further and further into the building, finding a staircase that appeared to be yet another ‘employee only entrance’ to the second floor of offices. Weren't people sleeping here? I wondered. Living here? Weren't there supposed to be nurses onduty?
Almost as soon as I had that thought, a feminine voice called out and another answered. Grayson froze for a split second before yanking me after him into a small room. I turned around as he eased the door shut behind us. We appeared to be in a break room. A cheap wooden table was littered with sugar packets and brochures for the area. The Railroad Historical Center, the local museum, and two parks.Fascinating,I thoughtdryly.
I spun to face Grayson as he remained by the door, listening. "We're not going to find anything here," Ihissed.
He shook his head and put a finger to his lips. I frowned and moved closer, right up alongside him, pressing my ear to the door as well. I waited for several moments, but no sound came, and I pushed away, sighing loudly. He shot me an irritated look that I ignored. What exactly did he mean by dragging me here in the middle of the night? How would this help find Erika? I paced back and forth across the tile as I waited for him to determine if it was alright toleave.
After several minutes of pacing and complete and utter silence, he gently pried the door open again and looked out into the hall. Looking back, he gestured for me to follow. "Let's go," hesaid.
I followed him out the door and back up the hall—away from the muted voices I could still hear. We found yet another staircase and took it up to the third floor. This floor, I realized must be where they stored stuff and kept smaller offices for the employees. There were several doors on either side of the hallway—all of them closed. At the end of the long corridor, there was a meeting room. I stopped as soon as we entered, turning to glare at Grayson for wasting my time, but he was already focused on a door to the side of the meeting room. It opened into a much largeroffice.
"Whose office is this?" I wondered aloud, stopping in the doorway as Grayson headed for thedesk.
"The facility manager's probably," he said quietly as he began opening drawers and digging throughthem.
"What are you looking for?" Iasked.
He shook his head as he rifled through papers and files. "I don't know—evidence, maybe—I'll know it when I seeit."
I looked around the room, noting the dull, worn carpet and the drab drapes that hung by the window facing out to the front of the building. I moved towards the window, but before I could reach it something sparked my interest. I paused by a tall, floor to ceiling bookcase. No, I thought to myself. There wouldn't be anything here. It was too easy, too plain. Like a Scooby-Doo episode orsomething.
Still, I found myself running my hand along the wooden shelves. Just as I suspected, though, there weren't any hidden switches or secret passageways. But there was a case wedged between two larger volumes—some old encyclopedias. I wedged my finger between the top of the black, hard plastic case and wiggled it, trying to free the case from its hiding spot. I winced when I tried to pull my finger out and found it stuck. I pulled again, and something dug into one of the tiny finger-joints. After several minutes of wiggling, I started topanic.
"Grayson!" I hissed. "Grayson, helpme!"
His head jerked up and he stepped away from the desk towards me. I regretted calling for him immediately. Almost as if in slow motion—the stack of papers and books on the edge of the desk went tumbling over the side. My eyes widened and both of us froze at the ricocheting sound of the books landing on the carpet and spilling across the floor alongside the desk. The sound echoed throughout the room and our eyes went directly to the door of both the office and the meeting room. Even with my finger throbbing and my heartbeat pounding in my chest, I tried to strain myears.
There was no way anyone would be close enough to hear that...right? We wouldn't be that unlucky, would we? A door closed—the noise much closer than either of us would have liked because as soon as the sound occurred, Grayson jumped into action. Leaving the papers and books on the floor, he hurried over tome.
