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“Leo, and Nick…” I offer, realising only belatedly that the question slipped from my lips. “I mean, they’re not likely to tackle a two-person challenge together, but do you think they made it through the first one all right?”
“Determined, Charming, Ruthless, and Reckless?” he asks with the quirk of an eyebrow. “Of course they did.”
“Is that really what you call them?” I ask, the tension in the room reaching boiling point.
He shrugs. “Sometimes.”
I dare not ask which one is which, I’m not sure I want to know as I go back to attempting various combinations of numbers and colours, Wyatt re-reading the note. Finally, he reads the correct set out just as I punch them in and the lock clicks. Excitedly, I pull off the lock, opening the wooden box to find another lockbox.This must hold the key.
“Okay, let’s try this again,” I say, exhaling a breath as I click in 5, 7 and 12.
The lock disengages with a click, and I slide it open to find a key.
“Do you really think that could be it?” Wyatt asks, looking around like we’ve missed something.
It can’t be that simple, can it?
Just one misdirection.
A single box with nothing useful inside.
A number sentence, some badly hidden colours, and a bit of common sense and we’re out?
“There’s only one way to find out,” I reply, jumping up and heading straight for the exit door and sliding it in. When it unlocks and pushes open, my released relief is audible.
“What on earth was that stupid box with the tools for?” I ask as we step out, locking it behind us.
“No idea.” He shrugs as we turn around in the darkened space.
The only thing lit up in here are the arrows in front of us, pointing to the left and an ‘EXIT’ sign.It can’t be that simple, can it?There’s something on the wood in front of us, and as I glide my fingers along the edge of the rectangle, I squint my eyes to see the wording; only one may enter.”
I guess that means Jasper and Emmerson aren’t done yet.
The two of us look at each other before looking again at the door. Clearly, we’ve dodged a bullet here as we head straight for the exit, pushing open the door into the harsh fluorescent lighting of the warehouse.
Whoops and cheers ring out, and as my eyes begin to adjust, I see the guys heading our way.
“I knew you could do it, little bro,” Nick calls out, and I think it’s him pulling me in to slap his fist against my back until Leo’s cologne hits my nostrils and his lips crash against mine with urgency.
Any thought of the panic that gripped us all at the end of that first room, or the near constant state of panic the last half an hour or more has held disappears as his tongue tangles with mine. My fingers thread through the loops of his belt, dragging his hard body against me as he deepens the kiss.
If anyone is surprised by our open and obvious display, they don’t say it, leaving us to our moment, and even though I’m ready to let him go and check on everyone else, he isn’t quite there yet, instead resting his forehead against mine, our intermingled breaths coming out panted, lust filled, and wanting.
“I guess your brother knows,” Leo comments, eyes closed.
“I guess he doesn’t care,” I reply, peeking over his shoulder to where Nick, Wyatt, Taylor and Oliver laugh together over a drink.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” he says, opening his eyes, darkness swirling like the midnight sky.
“Me too, that dagger was really close.” I huff out a laugh, watching the darkness in his eyes solidify, along with every muscle in his body as he tenses.
“I’m sorry, say that again…”
I pull back, looking over the unscathed exterior of both my friends and my… Leo. His hands drop from my face, not that I’d even registered the reverent way he held me just seconds ago until the contact was broken. Grabbing him through one belt loop, I drag him back to where everyone else waits, ready to remember we’re out and safe, for now.
Reluctantly, he comes with me, no less rigid, no less taut as he waits for an explanation with more patience than I expect.
“It sounds like these fuckers made it out with ten minutes to spare,” Wyatt says, filling me in as I grab a beer from the closest cooler.
