“Jagger! Please tell me that was you.”
I look in her direction, finger pressed to my lips. “Shh.” Turning back around, I follow the sound but trip over something on the ground. “Son of a bitch.” I kick what sounds like an aluminum can out of the way. So much for being quiet.
“Jagger, I’m getting a little scared. Why don’t we do this another time.”
Ignoring her plea, my curiosity gets the best of me. Slapping around on a shelf on the far wall, I search for anything that feels like a flashlight or lighter.
My eyes bolt over my shoulder when I notice some of the light has diminished. “Scar?”
When she doesn’t respond, I panic, rushing back over to the door. Once I’m there, I notice it’s propped open with a foot-long copper pipe.Fuck.
I pull the door open and breathe a sigh of relief when I see her. “What the hell are you doing?” I ask as she slams her hand into the fixed sconce on the tunnel wall.
“Something we should have done in the first place. It’s battery-operated, right?”
Holy fuck, my girl is a genius.
I hurry to her side, bumping her out of the way. “Hey,” she hisses, “I almost had it.”
“I know you did, but we have to do this quickly. Someone was in there, and if we hurry, we can catch them.”
“What?” She gasps. “Have you lost your damn mind? We can’t try to catch them. What if they kill us?”
With both hands, I thrust upward, knocking the light free. “If they wanted to kill us, they would have done it by now. I get the feeling, death is not their endgame. At least, not with us.”
“I dunno, Jagger. Whoever this is seems pretty smart. I think this is a bad idea.”
“Come on, Scar. You’re one of the most badass girls I know. If you can jump off a mountain, onto an antique Ferris wheel, you can do this. Besides, I’d never let anything happen to you.”
She hesitates, and it’s time we can’t waste. Finally, she says, “Okay. Let’s do this, I guess. I’m just glad you brought protection.”
I’m cradling the fixture like a delicate baby as we go back through the door. “Shit. I’m sorry, Scar.”
Of course! I never used protection like she asked. She either doesn’t know I didn’t use it, or she’s taking a jab at me because I didn’t.
“Why are you sorry?” She chuckles. “You said you have something to protect us with if we get ambushed, right?”
I stop walking, eyebrows pinched tightly. “Wait. You did meanprotection,protection, right?” I’ve never felt like more of an idiot than I do right now, and the look on her face says she’d agree with me. “You meant a weapon of some sort, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. What did you…” She bursts out a laugh. “You thought I meant a condom?”
“No.”
She swats me playfully as I continue into the room. “You did so. But if you did have a condom, why didn’t you use it?”
I blow out a heavy breath before giving her the truth. “Heat of the moment. It’s crazy because I’ve always used condoms but with you, it totally slipped my mind. You mad?”
“I’m not mad. I have an IUD so we’re good there.”
Whew.I was sure she’d be pissed.
We’re in the middle of the room when Scar stops and looks around. Her wide eyes take it all in, while I shine the light through the open area exposing newspaper clippings, old photographs, and family trees of The Elders.
“Oh. My. God.” She gulps. “Crew wasn’t kidding. Whoever did this is completely obsessed with The Blue Bloods.” She looks at me, her eyes curious with a glint of fear in them. “Where’s my room?”
I take in a deep breath, really hoping she’s prepared for this. When I tip my head to the right, she follows my line of sight. “Over there?”
I nod, walking toward the other door. “A quick look then we search for another door. I’m almost positive there’s another exit, or entrance.”