Marcus winks, taunting his brother. “That’s cute too.”
The boys get into it, throwing insults back and forth as I relax deeper into Marcus’ side, feeling truly at peace for the first time in over a week. Their insults are perfect, deadly, and wicked in all the right ways, and it makes me wonder just how many long nights they spent in that big-ass castle doing this exact thing, forcing themselves to get creative to keep on top of the game.
It’s not long before Roman stands, and I gaze up at the big clock.
8:59 pm.
He moves into my side, offering me his hand, and I take it greedily before he pulls me up from the ground. “You ready?” he questions, leading me toward the heavy, metal door as Levi cuts in front of us and slowly pulls the lock out of place.
Taking a deep breath, I look up into Roman’s adoring eyes as Marcus subtly moves in behind me, his hand pressed to the back of my hip, ready to propel me forward if needed. “I’m ready.”
“Good,” he says, looking up at the clock once again. “It’s game time.”
Not even a second passes before the power cuts off, and if Mick is as good as he says he is, then it’s not just the warehouse that’s out—it’s the whole fucking city. Every camera, every scanner, every streetlight, completely out, making it nearly impossible to track our movements.
The door swings wide and we take off like fucking bats out of hell, having only two minutes and sixteen seconds to race up six flights of stairs, break out of the warehouse, and get to the new ride Mick stashed in the storage facility halfway down the block before the city generators kick in and the power restores.
From there, we’ll be able to start a new life. At least, Mick promised that he would fill the car with everything we would need to start fresh if that’s what we decide, but I can’t see that happening any time soon. Not going to lie though, I appreciate that he went and bought us each new clothes and made sure to have refills of all the medication the boys are dosed up on.
Levi runs out in front as Roman grips my hand, pulling me along. The door of the stairwell has been left unlocked, and I can only assume that the one at the top has been too. It takes less than four seconds for us to hit the very first step, and even less for the boys to start racing up them like it’s their greatest challenge.
The noise of our feet thunders in the hollow stairwell, echoing up and bouncing off every wall. Levi takes them two at a time as Marcus keeps right on my heels, his hand still on my hip, propelling me up the stairs at a speed that scares the shit out of me.
The need to comment on just how strenuous this is on their bodies rattles me, but every sentence I try to form gets replaced with silent chanting. Don’t fall, don’t fall, don’t fall.
The first floor passes with ease, and by the time we’re reaching the top of the second, my thighs are starting to burn. I’m sure the boys could do this kind of shit all day. Fuck, I bet they even used to practice it up and down the castle steps, but not me. Running really isn’t my thing, but an elliptical? No, absolutely not. No sir. There’s a reason I’ve never had a gym membership, but if this is what my future is going to look like, then perhaps it’s about time I sign up.
“Don’t slow down on me, baby,” Marcus says, feeling the resistance as he tries to push me up the stairs. “I’ve seen the way you fuck. Those thighs have more fucking endurance than mine. You can handle this.”
He’s right. I can ride those fuckers for hours on end, even with my thighs burning. It’s just mind over matter. When I’m riding them, I’m pushing for that sweet release at the end, and this is no different. If I put in the work, I’ll be rewarded on the other end. It’s just a different kind of reward this time.
I push myself faster, matching Levi’s steps in front of me. “You’re a fucking goddess, Shayne,” Roman says, noticing the newfound fire burning through my veins as he silently keeps track of the time.
We pass the third floor.
Fourth floor.
Fifth floor.
Ignoring the ache, I push through it, forcing myself faster until I can barely feel Marcus’ hand at my hip, and before I know it, we’re crashing through the door at the top, bringing us right out into the pitch-black warehouse. I can’t see shit, but the guys seem to have this place mentally mapped out as though they have spent every waking hour of their lives preparing for this very moment.
Voices call out across the warehouse, and I strain to hear them over the rapid beating of my pulse against my eardrum. I don’t doubt they can hear the sound of our feet slamming against the warehouse flooring as we storm through here like a fucking tornado, but before I can give them a second thought, we’re racing out through a side door and into the cold night.
“Time?” Levi calls over his shoulder.
“A minute, twenty-eight,” Roman calls back, his hand tightening in mine.
“Fuck,” Levi growls, picking up his pace.
That took too long. We still have to get down the street and break into a storage locker. It’s probably been left unlocked, but that doesn’t change the fact that there’s only so much we can do within the space of two minutes and sixteen seconds.
My feet pound against the ground, and I push myself harder, determined to make this happen. My chest rises with sharp pants, and I feel myself beginning to slip, but Marcus is right there, pressing against me and taking the strain. As long as I keep my legs moving, he can propel each of my steps further and further.
It won’t be long. All we have to do is get inside that storage locker and then I can stop. After everything we’ve suffered through together, I refuse to allow a quick sprint to be my downfall. Hell no, if I’m going down, it’ll be during a fucking war with a crown on top of my goddamn head and my men at my back.
“Twenty seconds,” Roman grunts just as I see the storage facility up ahead, the very sight of it lighting a fire under my ass and giving me a target to aim for. It’s not so bad. We can make that … I think.
Ten seconds pass before we’re finally sprinting into the complex and rounding the corner. All the storage garages look exactly the same and my eyes dart from side to side, conscious of the big lights and cameras surrounding us. They’re still out, but it won’t be long now. Only a few more seconds.