AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The door opens, and he grabs my arm, flinging me inside. I suck in air between my clenched teeth, cringing from being thrown around like a rag doll.
“I had nothing to do with this,” the other man says, his fists clenching at his sides when we all make it through the door. “You tricked me.” He brushes by me and stomps off.
The heavy door closes with a thud, and my rescuer enters more numbers. Grating metal slices through my ears from the locks closing back in place, followed by deafening silence.
Both of us stand in the hall, water dripping onto the floor, breaths heaving in and out of our lungs. His back tenses, and he slams a fist against the wall, sending a dull echo down the hallway. Lights flicker overhead, and he turns around, allowing me to catch the name on his uniform.
I laugh to myself and run my hands down my wet face, shaking my head and smiling. He must think he saved a manic woman, and maybe I have lost my mind a little. I don’t feel in control of it lately, or anything else, for that matter.
He raises one eyebrow and looks me over. “A brush with death that funny?”
“It’s your name.” I point to the embroidered panel on his uniform, almost grazing my fingertips across the stitching.
“My surname? Morgan?” he questions. “I don’t get it.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I admit, fighting the urge to ask about my children. They’re here, which means they’ve survived one more day, and I won’t push my luck with someone already at odds with his decisions. He could still throw me outside. “Thank you for helping me.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he warns. He wraps strong fingers around my bicep, yanking me to the side, and leads us to an elevator shaft. He’s rough with me, regretting the daring rescue already. His partner in crime is long gone and possibly ratting us out.
“Are we still in danger here?” I ask. The electricity is questionable as lights flicker over his stern face, but I don’t see rushing water flooding the hallway, and I’m not being carried away by the wind. That’s a small miracle today.
“Youmight be,“ he growls.
I tilt my chin up to him, an act of defiance when I have no right. He meets my glare and tightens his grip on my arm. “I found you in this hall. Do you understand? You got inside the entry and snuck through during the mess of bringing people in. I’ll take my lashes for it, but I didn’t let you down here. I found you, and I’m arresting you.”
I nod and swallow hard, unsure of what an arrest in the underground means. I’m not dead, but some fates are worse than death. “I understand,” I bite out through clenched teeth. A pit forms in my stomach, but I don’t fight him. There’s no point in this place where he could kill me and no one would know, no one would care.
We step inside an elevator, and he orders me to put my hands behind my back, tying my wrists with rope so tightly that my fingers throb. “Is this necessary?” I ask. My arms wiggle against the corded ties, trying to give my hands a reprieve. There isn’t a part of my body that doesn’t hurt, and I’m not looking forward to more discomfort. His lack of response tells me I’m stuck this way, and I let my question die on my lips.
My head pounds with a dull ache from stitches freshly removed by Luke. Pain pulses in my hip and back from falls and beatings. Now he’s pinned my arms behind me, the rope already rubbing my skin raw and pulling at my sore muscles.
“My daughter’s name is Morgan,” I tell him. The elevator cranks to life, bobs a few times, then lowers. “My sister, too.”
He pauses, and I watch his throat move with a harsh swallow. Complete assholes don’t save people, and I need to be human to him — more than a mistake made in haste.
“Your family’s not very creative, are they?” he remarks.
I let a smile creep up my lips. He glances down and sees. “No. We’re loyal. I’m loyal.”
I don’t let my eyes leave his profile, staring him down as we lower deeper into the depths of the underground. The light of the elevator shaft flicks as we pass every floor, sending shadows across his stern face. Sam mentioned they buried these people miles below the surface, but I saw nothing in my premonitions that would help guide me through this. We don’t know what to expect down here.
“I owe you,” I add. “I won’t forget that.”
He turns to face me, shadows darkening his expression. “I found you and arrested you. I’m taking you to the Eminent. You owe me nothing.”
I can’t hide my shocked face or how my jaw falls slack at the word.
Eminent.
It startles me for that split second, sending a rush to my beating heart. He sees it but doesn’t break our gaze, and his eyes that cast over me now appear almost pained. I remain firm in our silent standoff, letting all the unsaid words hang heavy between us.
Sam didn’t know everything about this place.
The elevator continues, creaking metal sliding against the cement — lower and lower. Time moves slowly as the seconds tick by and no more words are spoken. My heart sinks with every inch. His face softens, and there’s something in the way he looks at me that I can’t place. It’s not regret, but there’s a hint of sadness in his expression as he swallows hard and I choke on my next words.
“No matter what, I thank you for your help.”
He remains motionless, unmoving despite the slight jiggle of the unsteady floor as we sink. “I know I haven’t earned your help,” I continue. “But—“
