She shakes her head. ‘Probably not tonight. The Blanks mess around on the weekends.’
'Come on,' Shade says. 'There's time for hugs later. Let's get the fuck out of here before they realize what’s happening.'
Chapter Six
Daisy
Icling on to Mav as tightly as I can, afraid on multiple levels that this is going to turn out to be some kind of dream, just a figment of my imagination.
It's been two days, I think, since Stoke had me locked in the cells. I'm so cold, so hungry, but at least no one came to bother me, and Marcus didn’t arrive to make me marry him.
We reach the metal stairs, and I try to will my numb feet warm. Shade goes first, and Mav follows him. He pulls me along with him. I climb up to the top, my heart beating erratically.
How are we going to get out of here? Do they have a plan? What if we’re caught? Will Stoke call the police, or just John?
'Don't worry,' Mav whispers, as if he can hear my thoughts. 'We have a plan.'
At the top of the stairs, Shade opens the heavy wooden door, held together with pieces of rusted iron, and he looks out into the hallway. After a moment, he nods.
'Come on,' he whispers.
The temperature change is drastic, making me shiver anew as my body begins to warm up.
Shade goes to the left, but I stop him. 'Wait,' I say. He looks back at me, in question. 'There's a closer exit.' I jerk my head in the other direction.
'Will it be unlocked?'
'I don't know,' I say.
He shakes his head. 'No, Blake is waiting for us outside the kitchen. Come on.'
They take me to the hallway. He goes a couple of steps before he turns back the way we came, looking confused.
'Where's the dining room from here?'
'Straight down the corridor, all the way down, and then to the right,' I say.
We go quickly. Like mine, their feet make no sound on the linoleum floor, and I realize neither of them have shoes on either. I don’t ask now, but curiosity gnaws at me.
My hand grips Mav’s more tightly, and he glances back, squeezing me a little in response.
'We're getting you out of here,' he whispers the promise again, and I nod a little jerkily.
At the end of the next hallway, near the stairs that lead to the next level, Shade peers around the corner.
'Someone's coming,' he whispers, his head darting around for somewhere to hide.
I lead them into the closest room. Mav closes the door a little, but I shake my head, opening it all the way and urging them toward the bathroom. Colin, asleep in the bed, doesn’t wake.
From the darkness of the bathroom, we see the shadow of a head poke into the room. Thankfully, they don’t turn on the light. They leave almost immediately, and I hearfootsteps going back down the hall toward the Blank’s break room.
‘Wait here,’ I say. ‘I’ll be back in a minute.’
‘Where are you going?’ Shade whispers. ‘We need to get out of here.’
I squeeze his hand and poke my head out of the door. When I see no one, I dart up the stairs. I go straight to the art room and move the easels, pulling up the floorboard and feeling for the flash drive the reporter never took. My fingers brush against it and I grab it, holding it tightly in my hand as I quickly put everything back where it was. I steal back down the stairs and into Colin’s room.
The guys are right where I left them, and I can practically hear Mav’s teeth grinding in impatience. I push the flash drive into his hand.
