‘I don’t have pockets I trust,’ I tell him. ‘Can you keep this safe for me? Give it to Blake if I don’t make it out?’
‘Youaremaking it out,’ Shade snarls.
I nod even though he can’t see the movement in the dark.
‘Let’s go,' I say, grabbing Mav’s hand again, taking control of this little rescue because I know where we’re going better than they do now.
I pull Mav into the hall and make sure Shade is on our heels. I see the doors to the dining room not far away, and I listen intently. Not hearing any footsteps, I nod to them, and we go to the doors.
I pull one open, and I realize my error immediately as it creaks. I wince.
'Hurry.’
I go over the threshold and close the door quietly. It doesn't make another noise, thankfully and we run throughthe dining room, then through the kitchen toward the back door.
'Where's Blake?' I ask.
'He's outside.'
'Shoes?' I say, looking down at my thin-soled slippers dubiously.
'They’re outside too.’
‘I don’t have any,’ I mutter, mentally preparing myself for the cold, wet mud I’ll have to slog through in order to get out of here.
‘You’re taking mine,' Mav says immediately.
'B-But what about you? It’s winter!' I stammer.
'I'll be fine.’ He gives me a smile that reaches his eyes. ‘You know I run hot.'
My mind is in a whirl as I feel the burst of frigid air. Is this really happening?
I see Blake melt out of the shadows.
‘Daisy,’ he breathes.
He hugs me tightly as Mav puts a pair of muddy shoes on my feet and laces them up. They’re big, but they’ll work. Next to me, Shade is slipping his on as well.
'Now. Before another one comes out for a cigarette,’ Blake says, taking my other hand. ‘All these assholes are chain smokers. They come out here every five minutes.'
We head down the edge of the building in the shadows toward the parking lot, circumventing it through the bushes.
'Where are we going?' I ask.
'Perimeter fence.'
They take me down toward the jogging path, but then we veer off into the next field. I get caught in the deep mud several times as we cross through the middle, and Mav has to keep pulling me out. Luckily, he's tied the shoes on my feet so tightly that they don't slideoff.
We get to the back corner of the field and go through the trees. We stop at the fence.
'Where is it?' Shade says in a loud whisper.
'Where's what?' I ask.
'The hole. It has to be around here somewhere.'
'We could make another one,' Mav says, brandishing the massive pair of bolt cutters he’s been carrying.
