When I open the last door and find it empty, I sigh.At least she’s still alive.
I rush back out, the crowd having increased in density.
I shove people aside, screaming her name above the chatter, “Kate! Kate!”
A few faces turn toward me, but none of them have her blue eyes. I see the door for the stairs on the other side of the building, opposite the ones I came down. The handle doesn’t budge. I pull again, harder this time.
“It’s jammed, buddy. No one’s been coming out that side.”
I look up at the security guard, the same one there the night Kate and I went up to get the cameras from my office. I approach him, nostrils flaring.
“What do you mean? It’s been closed since when?”
He shrugs. “All day. I got here this morning, and it wouldn’t open. Something to do with the construction going up on twenty-three, I guess.”
I note that his name tag saysKen.
“Where’s the maintenance closet?”
He leads me down the hall, weaving through the crowd buzzing with theories about what could’ve caused the outage. The door blends in with the marbled halls, but the nameplate readsMaintenance Personnel Only.
“Key?”
I try to remain calm and not scream at him to hurry as he fumbles around on his ring, finally producing the one to the closet. He opens it, and I push through the door. He follows, illuminating the space with his flashlight.
“I need a crowbar.”
He shines the light around, revealing various tools and a few mop buckets. There are some bulk toilet paper boxes, and hanging behind them is a long steel bar with a curved end. Holstering my gun, I reach for the crowbar and turn to rush back out.
“What are you planning to do, mister?”
I ignore him, making my way through the people and hooking the bar under the door. It won’t budge for a minute until Ken helps me, and we pry it open together.
Once inside, I see rows of black tactical gear cases. My vision narrows, sharpening as I take in the military grade weapons before me. Bile rises in my throat. I drop the crowbar, pulling out my handgun again.
“Ken, do you have a gun?”
CHAPTER 31
KATE
My wrists are boundin front of me with zip ties cutting into my tender skin. I’m starting to bleed where Nikolai yanked on it earlier because I wasn’t moving fast enough. We’ve been walking up the stairs for what feels like an eternity. My thighs and calf muscles are burning.
“Boy, am I out of shape or what?” I complain, trying to pretend this is just another day at the gym, but I rarely work out, so I feel like I’m dying...or about to die anyway.
He took the mask off halfway up, confirming his identity as the Divine Taste bartender—Mel’s boyfriend. I’ve been making chatty little statements this whole time, thinking maybe I can appeal to his humanity and convince him not to stab me again.
At the very least, I’d like to avoid dying.
“So, did you ever try out that taco place with?—”
He halts, turning back to me. “Listen, I’m not like your Mr. Bradshaw.” His accent is noticeably thicker. He must have tried to mask it before. “I don’t care how much you jabber on about tacos or turtles. I’m not going to let you go. Shut the hell up and move.”
He turns back around, increasing the pace upward. There are two men ahead of him, but I don’t know what happened to Georginne.
“What’s wrong with turtles?” I mumble to myself, wondering why he had to bring Speckles into this.
The lighting in this stairwell is awful. I’m glad the elevator has never been out before because it’s almost like they didn’t even install lightbulbs in here. I look up to see that there are some overhead lights, but they aren’t on.
