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Once we reach the first floor, she tilts her head toward the front door, raising her eyebrows in a question.
I shake my head.
If we’re going to make this work, I need my phone, and I need that fucking money. There’s a back door just past the office, and it will probably be smarter to leave through that one. It will give us less chance of being seen by any neighbors, and I’m pretty damn familiar with the landscape back there from all the time I’ve spent staring out my bedroom window, so I’ve got a good idea of which direction to head.
I squeeze Chloe’s hand and lead her back toward Maddoc’s office.
“What’s that?” Chloe breathes as we enter, her eyes darting to the dim outline of the map on the wall.
“Halston,” I answer, sparing it a glance that’s more of a glare. Whatever the Reapers’ end game is, I know it has something to do with that. With the gang territories Maddoc marked on the map, making this corner of the city I grew up in look like something foreign and sinister in the dim light coming through the window from the streetlights outside.
I shush Chloe when she tries to ask something else. She knows better, but she’s nervous. I get it. Now isn’t the time, though.
I check a couple of drawers in the desk, grateful that they slide open smoothly and silently, and finally find what I’m looking for.
“Here,” I whisper, handing Chloe the envelope of cash and my phone.“Put these in your pockets.”
She stows them carefully, and I usher her out of the office and then turn us toward the back door. But as we start to move in that direction, a noise from behind and above us draws my attention.
The creaky stair step.
The blood freezesin my veins, every atom in my body seeming to seize up.
Fuck.
We’re not the only ones who are awake.
42
RILEY
My heart lurches.I have to get Chloe out of here, but if we run, whoever it is I just heard on the stairs will follow.
At least, if webothrun.
“Go,” I breathe quietly, tilting my head toward the back door. “Head east.” She stares at me blankly, frozen in place, and I point emphatically. “That way. I’ll just be a few minutes behind you.”
But Chloe is already shaking her head, one hand covering her mouth as her eyes shimmer brightly in the faint light.
She doesn’t want to leave me. I get that. But shehasto. The Reapers are ruthless, and this is my only chance to get her out of their house.
“Go,” I hiss. “Now, Chloe!”
I give her a little push, and she finally jerks into motion and slips past me, heading for the back door.
I want to watch and make sure she gets out of the house okay, but I don’t have time for that. Every second counts, so I quickly shuck off my shoes and socks, pants, and sweatshirt, then dart back toward the stairs, keeping my footsteps as light as possible.
I need to cover for Chloe for as long as I can, giving her a chance to get away from these fucking monsters that I was stupid enough to start to trust. I’ll figure out how to leave the house myself once whichever man suddenly decided he needs a late night snack goes back to sleep.
It turns out it’s Maddoc, and he’s just reaching the bottom of the stairs when he looks up and sees me.
“What are you doing up?” he asks, his eyes heavy-lidded from sleep. He’s dressed in a pair of gray sweats and a soft looking t-shirt that clings to his muscles.
Dammit. If he came downstairs because he heard us, I’m fucked.
But instead of looking suspicious, his gaze slides down my body before slowly coming back to my face, a hint of a smile hovering around his lips. I knew what I was dressed in before wouldn’t pass as sleep clothes, but now all I’ve got on are a pair of panties and a thin t-shirt.
Desire flares in his eyes for a half second, there and then quickly masked behind his usual stoic expression as he tilts his head. “Couldn’t sleep?”
