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I can hear the edge in Salvatore’s voice—he’s pissed. Not necessarily at me, at the situation going awry and being outside his control.
“I’ll be there as fast as I can. Wherever there is. Don’t go anywhere.”
Judging by the gasps and rustling in the background, he’s forcing his way through the party.
I breathe in and out and calm myself. The elevator hasn’t stopped. The glass box takes me lower and lower, my stomach bottoming out, feeling like a journey to the pit of the earth.
The worst part is watching the other floors zip by. Because the elevator’s made of glass, the other floors are partially visible as the elevator sinks down each level.
At one point I’m certain we bypass the atrium where Stitches and I walked through earlier and nauseated security.
Which means… I’m going beneath the ground floor.
The calming breath I inhaled moments ago becomes a shaky one as the journey finally ends. The elevator reaches its destination with a jerk of a stop, making me stumble in place. The glass doors slide apart and cool air rushes inside.
I feel as if I’ve taken an elevator into some sort of underworld.
The hall before me is black.
Obsidian walls, floors, and ceiling. The only lighting comes from the sparse sconces spaced out every few feet along the wall.
“Jon,” I whisper. “Can you hear me?”
No answer.
“Jon… Jon!”
But he doesn’t answer me—being underground, there’s no signal for the earpiece to work.
I keep trying anyway, the panic expanding inside me. He said to stay put, but what if he can’t find me? What if I wait inside the elevator and someone calls it back up? I could get even more lost on a different floor.
“Welcome!”
My internal debate is interrupted by none other than Gene. He appears grinning ear-to-ear with his arms open as he approaches in wide strides.
“Oh, I remember you! I didn’t peg you as being interested… and by yourself. Very adventurous of you. Follow me.”
He grabs my arm and wrenches me from the elevator. I dig my heels into the floor and pry it away.
“Don’t touch me!” I scream. “I came down here by mistake. I don’t know where I am. Please help me get back upstairs… to… to the rest of the party.”
“You came down here by mistake?”
“Yes, there were only symbols on the panel. No floor numbers.”
The grin falls off his face. “I see.”
Goosebumps skim across my arms noticing the change in his features. His eyes harden and his brow lines. The toothy grin that’s disappeared has made way for his lips to flatten into a deep frown.
I take a step back. I need to run like hell back to the elevator.
Gene cinches hold of my arm as I spin around to do so.
“No you don’t!” he grunts, dragging me toward him. “You think I don’t know what you are? You just revealed your hand without knowing it!”
I have no clue what the hell he’s talking about, but I don’t care. I’m focused on freeing myself. I drop my wristlet and go into survival mode, trying to fight him off.
His hold’s too tight. He’s latched onto me from behind and dodges every attempt I make at elbowing, head butting, and stomping.
