Longer.
I grabbed his arm, his whole arm, both hands around the thick muscle of his bicep like it might save us from gravity.
“It’s fine,” he murmured at my ear. “You’re fine. I’ve got you.”
Then the elevator jolted again, hard enough that my teeth clicked. Hard enough that my entire body left the floor for a heartbeat.
I cried out before I could stop it.
“Hold on to me.”
I was already doing exactly that. The lights flashed again. Too sudden, toofinal. Then the entire elevatordropped.
It lurched downward like the cables had snapped,
A strangled sound ripped out of my throat. “Oh my God—oh my God—no?—”
My fingers dug into his arm so hard I felt the flex of muscle under my palms. I couldn’t breathe. My ears rang. My vision blurred.
“We’re going down,” I choked. “We’re going—oh God—we’re?—”
“Madeline. It’s okay.”
Okay?!
The world was literally plummeting.
“What—how—how is this—okay—” My chest seized, breath too shallow. “We’re falling—Vince—we’refalling?—”
“We’re not.”
He cupped the back of my head, guiding my face toward him.
“This means the system is engaging. The brakes released. We’re moving.”
Another drop.
Harder.
My stomach slammed into my throat.
I looked up at him with tears blurring everything. “That—that wasn’t smooth?—”
“It rarely is,” he murmured, his thumb brushing behind my ear. “Madeline, listen to me. This is good. This means we’re being lowered manually. It’s what we want.”
I shook my head frantically. “It feels like we’re dying?—”
“You’re not dying. You’re scared. That’s not the same thing.”
The elevator jerked again, violent, a full-body tremor that knocked the air from my lungs.
I whimpered,actually whimpered, and without thinking, I let go of his arm, and dropped into him. My forehead pressed into his chest. He wrapped both arms around me.
Another shudder.
Another heavy drop.
I sobbed once, panicked, and shoved myself even closer, burying my face against his throat. His hand stroked down my back, grounding.
