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A slight frown appears on my forehead. Does he want me to go up, but not from this side? Unsure of what his message is, I step forward and see him shake his head. Okay, so he wants me to use the other one.
Wetting my lips with the tip of my tongue, I nod as I cautiously move along the length of the foyer to reach the rail. The smooth surface welcomes the touch of my hand, and I anchor myself to it to keep myself focused. I take a step and, from the corner of my eye, see him mirror my acts in the other direction.
My feet go up, his go down.
Frowning with confusion, I halt mid-step. He does the same.
Is he imitating what I’m doing?
I thought he planned on capturing me as soon as I reached the top, but now I fear he’s doing the opposite. What if he goes after Jen? Tricking me into going upstairs so he can have a clear path to follow the others.
A knot appears in my throat—thick and hard. I struggle to swallow the dryness scratching inside of my mouth.
Hesitantly, just to test a theory, I climb another step and analyze what he does.
Like I predicted, he mimics me. The higher I go, the lower he steps, but his focus is entirely on me. The silver mask faces straight in my direction, never once looking down his path to see where he’s going.
His movements are instinctual, animalistic even, like a hungry lion waiting to hunt his prey. But they’re also graceful—confident. Different from mine in every sense. My actions are clumsy and insecure, faltering when I misstep.
A waltz of danger and excitement forms between us. No, a waltz would be too slow and bland. This dance we form with our auras isn’t made of the classic swaying. Instead, it’s stealthy, transcendent, intense, and…passionate. Tension thickens, changing our dynamic as the desire slips past our defenses. The way we glide can only be compared to a tango. That’s the perfect description of our parade around the foyer.
When I reach the top, Silver Mask approaches the bottom of my stairs and waits there. His patience is admirable.
He gives me a shallow head movement. Once again, his message is crystal clear. A single notice that our game has begun, and I break into a run, without knowing where to go. I just move my legs as fast as my body allows me to while not paying attention to my surroundings, which might be the stupidest decision I’ve ever made in my life.
Instinct drives me. I don’t bother to check if he’s following because the heavy thumps of boots behind me are noticeable enough. Heischasing me.
Hunting me.
My heart hammers against the sternum, threatening to break it with every passing second.
Ay, Dios.
Even my face tingles with the surge of adrenaline rocking me like I’ve never felt before. The danger, though fake, feels so imminent that my senses are in overdrive. Everything is heightened. The faint scent of smoke from the fog machine sneaks past my nostrils, distracting me for a split second and forcing me to notice the low cloud lingering on the floor.
I take a left in the first hall, then a right.
The front of my thighs burns with the force of my strides, and one of my shins tightens. I turn again at the next corner and promptly realize my mistake.
“No, no, no,” I whisper between rapid pants when I reach the end.
The wall is solid when I touch it, with no creases of hidden passages in sight.
Carajo.
Being so focused on escaping clouded my judgment because I’ve found a dead end. And I can’t backtrack because I hear the footsteps approaching behind me. They’ve slowed down but have grown more confident.
Think, Sadie.
Blowing out the air from my lungs, I regain my control. There’s a way to outsmart him; I just have to find it. But…how?Looking down at the front of my top, I realize what I can use to escape. Discretely, I lower my shirt to show more cleavage, even when my breasts are half out of the bottom of the bra cups. Running with desperation will do that to a girl. Sweat drips down the length of my neck, and it’s not an attractive sight by any means.
Oh, well. I’ll manage with what I have.
Right now, what’s left is my looks. I’m not a traffic-stopping beauty, but I’m self-aware that I’m beautiful enough to grab people’s attention. After all, I already had his while I waited in line. Thiscanwork.
I’m confident it will.
Arming myself with the last bits of my charm, I spin around to face Silver Mask. However, I keep my wristband hidden behind me, in case my lame seducing attempt doesn’t give me the results I wanted. I’m not ready to let go yet.
