45
KIERA
A hand clampeddown on my mouth before I could draw a breath to scream. But that wouldn’t stop me from trying.
My captor dragged me back into the shadows kicking, screaming, and gnashing my teeth with all the force I could muster. My eyes darted around the long tunnel — why the fuck had I ventured so far down this stupid tunnel? — and I knew there wasn’t a chance anyone would hear me.
Their body was warm against my back and solid despite the flurry of kicks I’d lodged against their shins. I searched for anything I could use to defend myself, but I came up blank.
This is it. This dark, dingy tunnel is going to be the last thing I see before I die.
I’d known that coming here was a bad idea. I should have run far from the mansion the first chance I got. And now, I was going to pay the price for my curiosity.
But then a vibration rumbled through my chest. A familiar laugh.
…Spencer?
The second her grip over my mouth loosened, I wheeled around to shove her. “What the fuck is wrong with you!”
She let herself thud back against the wall with a shit-eating grin, hands held up in the air. “Sorry, Bunny. You’re just so cute when you’re spooked.”
I slammed the heel of my palm against her shoulder. “Don’t ‘Bunny’ me. That was seriously fucked up. You scared the shit out of me.”
“I know, I know. I didn’t mean to get you that bad.” She reached forward, slipping her fingers into my jacket pockets to pull me closer. “I saw you slip off from the group and came to see if you were okay. And then I saw you slink down the hall, and I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to get you alone. Forgive a stupid lesbian?”
She tilted her head down and gave a playful pout that told me she didn’t feel sorry at all. In fact, there was not a doubt in my mind that she would do the same thing over and over again if it ended like this: with me pressed close, hearing out her plea.
“Fine. But only because you admitted you’re stupid.” I huffed, giving her another shove.
“My generous goddess. How can I ever repay you?” She broke out into a megawatt grin that had me questioning how I’d ever been mad at her in the first place.
God, that smile is seriously dangerous. Making a mental note to have all future arguments via phone call.
Shaking my head, I flicked my gaze back to the end of the tunnel. “Get me the fuck out of here, for starters. It’s creepy as fuck down here, and I’ve had enough scares for one night.”
“No kidding. Just be glad the scare came from me. It’s not smart to wander around on your own.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What exactly does that mean?”
Spencer’s voice dropped an octave as she leaned to whisper in my ear. “It means that I’m not the worst monster waiting around in the dark for you.”
A chill ran down my spine at the insinuation. Maybe I hadn’t been wrong to be suspicious of what I’d seen here, but did that mean I was ready to handle whatever I walked into blindly?
Dropping her hand to intertwine with mine, Spencer broke my smirk with a boyish grin. “Come on. Let’s get some fresh air.”
Before I could say another word, she led me across the tunnel to the gold-washed door I’d been eyeing. Holding open the rusted metal door with one hand, she guided me through with the other to a narrow hallway with a short set of cement steps at the end of it.
We just fit side by side, but if Spencer wasn’t going to say anything about the squeeze, I wouldn’t either. “Where are we going?”
“To the best view in Valemont. Consider it my apology for scaring the shit out of you.”
“You’re not getting off that easy.”
“Wait until you see it to decide.” She smirked, taking the stairs in a single leap before reaching back to lift me up them. Setting me down in front of a final metal door at the top of the stairs, she drummed her free hand dramatically against the doorframe. “Are you ready?”
I couldn’t help but laugh at her goofy antics. “Oh, I was born ready.”
Satisfied, she swung the door open to what might be the best view I’d seen anywhere: a dazzling view of the night stars, so sweeping that from my low vantage, it swallowed the landscape entirely. A cool night breeze swept the hall as I stepped up the last stair, and it almost felt like I was stepping straight into the sky.
