I wasn’t thrilled at the idea of splitting up. “Be careful. Alex and his little cult could be—”
“Don’t worry, this isn’t my first subterranean monstrosity conjured up by a power-hungry wannabe god.” She gave me a tight, clearly forced smile. “In the old days, this would have been just another Tuesday.”
• • •
The old wooden door to the Gauntlet dangled by a single twisted hinge over an ugly drop. I climbed in through a broken window instead, keeping as far from the sinkhole as I could.
The electricity was out. Dust filled the air, thick as a morning fog, but I could make out a large shadow where part of the floor was missing. It looked like a giant had taken a bite out of the front of the building. The rest of the floor sloped toward the pit. Some of the tables and chairs had already fallen in. The door in back that led to the second floor was crushed and wedged in place by a collapsed section of ceiling.
The Pac-Man game lay on its side, its black screen a web of cracked glass. The pinball machine’s front legs had punched through the floor, making it look like it was kneeling.
End-of-the-world crises were hell on small businesses.
Over the sound of rushing water and the people outside, I heard crying from the other side of the bar. I pressed my back to the wall and started to make my way around the pit. “Hello? Who’s back there?”
“Stay away!” Terror made Duke’s voice all but unrecognizable.
Fear quickened my pace. “It’s Annette. What happened? Are you hurt?”
He didn’t answer.
I found him huddled behind an overturned table. His eyes were wide. His muscular arms were wrapped around his knees.
“Duke, it’s me.” I crouched in front of him.
He shook his head and pulled away, tightening his body like he was trying to disappear.
“We have to get you out of here.” I reached for his hand.
He took a swing at me. I jerked back, and his fist blew past my face to strike the wall. Bricks and mortar cracked.
Aside from his now-bloody knuckles, he didn’t look physically injured. He was just scared out of his wits and not seeing me at all.
What was it Temple had said about shoggoths the other day?“If you look at them closely, you go mad.”
I twisted around and cupped my hands to my mouth. “Jenny! Medusa protocols!”
I couldn’t see her or Temple, but she yelled back, “Got it!”
Hunting the creature without using her eyes would be challenging, but I trusted Jenny to pull it off.
I turned my attention back to Duke. “I’m sorry about this, but I don’t have time to be gentle. I’ve got to break through that terror.”
My mother could have done it with a look. Me, I needed a minute. Time to get in tune with the beat of my heart and the mouse-quick pounding of his. Time to shift my focus from the mental to the physical.
I thought back to the last time Duke and I had hooked up. Those strong hands were so gentle when they brushed my cheek, the side of my neck. They were so rough when they grabbed my ass to pull me close . . .
I remembered my lips on his, my barely checked hunger as we pulled each other onto the bed.
The floor groaned and sank another inch. I pretended it was the creak of bedsprings.
“Marmaduke Stone. Look at me.” My words were soft. Sultry. Seductive. Everything I’d fought so hard to suppress when I was a teenager. Everything I’d indulged a little too much in my twenties.
His eyes twitched. His pupils contracted ever so slightly.
“You know me. Even if your mind can’t remember, your body does.” I took his hand, gently opened his fist, and ran a finger up his palm. He didn’t try to hit me, which was a good sign. “Would you like to get out of here? We could go somewhere quiet and make some real noise.”
His eyes focused on me. Desire rose through the terror and confusion.
