“Yes! Yes!” Vautour cried out.
“This is it. This is all that’s in there,” Theo said.
“Then bring it to me,” Vautour said, waving him forward.
Theo took a step but then stopped. “And then what? What happens after I hand this to you?”
“Do not be an imbecile. Bring it to me and I won’t leave you trapped down here for the rest of your miserable existence,” Vautour said.
“How do we know you won’t do that anyway?” Dani asked.
“I suppose you’ll have to trust me.”
Theo wanted to laugh. Trust a wanted criminal. Sure, sounded like a great idea.
“Hey, Theo,” Dani said, tearing his attention from Vautour. “Remember Bobby.”
Theo furrowed his brow for a minute. Why the fuck would she bring up that time he almost got his ass kicked by Bobby Thomas in the seventh grade?
Then Theo looked down at that football-shaped ruby. This was a bad idea. Averybad idea. But like so many of Dani’spranks and antics, there wasn’t time to think. So without further hesitation, Theo called out, “Hey, Maurice! Catch!”
Theo tossed the ruby in the air at Maurice. In that split second, Theo watched Maurice make a decision between the gun and the lantern, or the ruby. Unsurprisingly, he chose the ruby.
Dani reached down and picked up a clump of dirt in her hand, tossing it in Vautour’s and Louis’s distracted faces. They each yelled out and dropped their flashlights to reach up for their eyes. Maurice’s lantern hit the ground, bursting into a million pieces at the same time the gun hit and went off. But now, with only a few light beams from their flashlights, it was almost impossible to see who was where or if anyone had been hit. Theo grabbed Dani’s hand, and they headed toward the flashlights Vautour and Louis had dropped to pick them up and then they ran. They ran faster than he’d ever run before, thankful that Dani’s strong thighs gave her power that should have been impossible for a person of her stature. Vautour’s, Louis’s, and Maurice’s yells came from behind them. Their lack of flashlights would slow them down, but it wouldn’t stop them for good.
Dani and Theo made it to the rope.
“You first,” Dani said, handing the rope to him.
“No! You go!” he insisted. He wasn’t leaving her down there.
“You’ll be faster. Get up there and then pull me out.”
“Juicy—”
“We don’t have time for this! Go!”
Despite the struggle in his heart, Theo did as she said. He climbed the rope faster than any high school gym test and as soon as he made it out, he called down for her.
“I’m ready!” she called out.
Pure adrenaline rushed through his body as he pulled up therope. With all his strength, one hand over the other, he pulled, bracing his feet against another rock at the top of the hole. Once Dani’s head finally poked out the top and her arms crested the opening, Theo finally felt as though he could breathe again.
He reached down to pull her out the rest of the way by her armpits, heaving her body on top of him. They lay there for a moment with panting breaths, unable to move, and holding each other tight. Finally, Theo released his hold and then grabbed her face and inspected her.
“Are you hurt?” he asked. “Did you get shot?”
She shook her head in his hands. “I’m fine. You?”
“I’m not sure I’d describe what I’m feeling as fine, but I’m alive. Though more important, so are you.”
A gunshot fired out of the hole, startling them.
“Get us the hell out of here, you son of a bitch!” Maurice shouted.
Theo and Dani scooted away from the opening to avoid any stray bullets as Maurice, Louis, and Vautour continued to yell profanities.
“What do you think we should do?” Dani asked.
