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Saint’s quiet for a moment, then he finally sighs. “Okay. It’s downstairs in the basement though…”
The way he lets those words hang in the air makes me think he expects that to dissuade me. I don’t want to go down there, near yet another place I’ve been held captive, but I don’t want to be stuck here with Roy the random security guy either.
“That’s fine,” I say. “C’mon, let’s go. We need the power back up.”
He sighs, but he doesn’t argue with me. He holds my hand as we both get up. “Roy, stay in here. If anyone tries to come inside without the passcode, shoot them.”
“Got it, boss.”
Saint leads me to the door, and I nearly stumble over one of the rolling chairs in the way. I don’t complain, though. As it is, I’m going to have to get out of this room and to the stairs, thendownthe stairs, all without being able to see, but if I argue…
“We can’t use a light,” Saint murmurs as he opens the door. “It’d make us perfect targets, and we have no idea where anyone’s at. Just stay as quiet as you can in those heels.”
I roll my eyes then just take the damn things off, leaving them at the doorway. “There,” I say. It’ll be much easier to be quiet without heels clicking against the floor anyway, and probably easier to move as well.
“Good,” he whispers. Still holding my hand, he starts to slowly lead me down the hallway. It feels like it takes an eternity to get to the staircase, and when we’re there, we have to pause while Saint has a hushed back and forth with the guards there. “No one else comes down here,” he directs them. “Not until I come back through and say it’s safe.”
“Yes, sir,” one of them says, and I hear him take a step forward in the darkness.
Saint and I continue, starting down the stairs. It’s a slow process, painfully so, but neither of us wants to break an ankle. When we finally put our feet on the solid cement floor, I breathe out a sigh of relief.
But we’re not done. We still have to get the lights back up.
Saint seems to know the way around the building pretty well even in the dark, which isn’t surprising, and it doesn’t take him long to get to a doorway. A faint blue light glows, and he taps into the keypad. The door unlocks, and he pulls me inside before locking the door behind us again.
Only then doeshesigh in relief, and I’m nearly blinded when he turns his phone’s flashlight on.
“Okay, stay put while I find the breaker,” Saint orders. He moves away from me, taking the light with him, and I’m frozen with fear. I don’t want to be alone in the dark, but I have no idea what’s in this room. I don’t want to crash into sensitive electronics and call Saint’s—or Victor’s—anger down on me.
It seems to take Saint forever to find what he’s looking for. I keep my eyes fixed on that beam of light, watching it disappear behind the server towers and flicker through the cracks.
It’s just the dark. It’s just the dark.
I wave my arms around in front of myself to remind myself that I’m not locked in a small trunk. That I could move, if I wanted to.
None of that helps. My breathing picks up, and I crouch down, trying everything to drive the panic away. I want to say something, to get Saint to talk to me, but I know how precarious our situation is. Any sound could give away where we are.
I cover my mouth and swallow against the bile rising in my throat.
I almost cry in relief when dim floor lights flicker on, and the hum of computers starts. Saint turns his phone’s flashlight off and walks back over to me.
“Okay. We need to get you to safety, and I have to find Angelo and Victor.” He looks at his phone and curses. “They’re still jamming signals somehow.”
“Don’t leave me,” I beg quietly. “I’ll help.”
“Kitten…” Saint sighs loudly. “Fine. We’ll try the safe room first. That’s where Victor should be. You can stay with him while I figure out where the signal jammer is coming from.”
I nod quickly and stand up again. He has me stand behind him while he opens the server room door, and I’m fine with cowering in his shadow. As long as I’m with him, I’ll be fine.
Saint takes one step, then makes a muffled noise. I have no idea what’s happening until Saint’s body thuds to the floor and somebody else’s silhouette appears in the doorway.
My heart thuds loudly in my ears. I need to run, fight back, do anything except stand there like a fucking deer in headlights.
The man grabs my wrist and pulls me closer, making me stumble over Saint’s body. Is he dead?
“Lucia. I’ve been looking for you.”
It’s a familiar voice, although I haven’t heard it in months. Dark and rough, ruined by years of smoking.
