Niko nods, looking a bit unsure of himself for the first time ever. “Yes. I’m not making this up. It’s really what happened. It was all an accident, and I just took the credit for it so I wouldn’t lose face.”
I’m stunned. Fuck. This is crazy, the biggest hoax ever! But also, it’s fucking ingenious.
Worry knits Niko’s eyebrows together. His hand caresses my cheek, hope swimming in those pretty browns. “If I didn’t get lucky, I might not even be alive today.” He sucks in air through his nostrils. “Tommy. Please, say something…”
I’m speechless. “I’m impressed,” I settle on, because I truly am. “That’s such a genius move.”
The smile happens gradually. The corners of Niko’s lips lift first, then his eyebrows relax, then the rest of his facial muscles follow suit. It’s the most beaming one yet, radiating fondness and acceptance and pride.Fuuuuck, it’s insane, but I think I’m falling in love with this man.
Niko hugs me, and for a moment I forget all about our imminent problems. The world could be ending and I wouldn’t care, not when he holds me like this. Like I am a precious treasure, a god he wants to worship.
Unfortunately, reality charges back in as another explosion pierces the silence.
“We need to go!” Niko says, grabbing my arm.
We run to the back of the shop, where the storage area is. The old lady is there, mostly unharmed. She’s kneeling on the floor, clearing stuff away as if she’s looking for something. When she hears us, she turns to us, shouts something, and waves us over.
“This way!” Niko rushes over. He picks up a box full of beers and discards it to the side, then kneels down next to her and starts tossing away items just like she is.
Confused, I join them. At first, I don’t really see it, but once the last of the boxes are out of the way, there is a tiny hatch on the floor. You wouldn’t know it was there, that’s how smartly it’s hidden, the only telltale being the indentation that serves as a handle.
The woman pokes her fingers inside, and after a click sounds, she pulls up the hatch. I don’t even wait for an invitation before I hop down the rope ladder, Niko on myheels. I’ve no idea where this leads. Hell, it could be a trap for all we know. But it sure as hell beats whatever those four men have in store for us.
9
Nikolas
Thetunnelundertheshop is dark and musty. It must have been a cellar of some sort, but I can see a couple of cave-ins, which explains why it was sealed and is no longer in use. Still, I’m endlessly grateful to Doña Chela for helping us.
She didn’t have to. She overheard my call, but instead of using that rifle she’s hiding under the vest, she decided to lend us a hand. I won’t forget that.
I don’t let go of Tommy as the woman leads us through a maze of damp corridors. We only rely on two small flashlights. Dirt and dust rain on us from all directions, but I’m not about to complain. The four men who attacked us… My gut tells me they might be the same as that officer, or else how would they have survived the plane crash?
My brain tries to fight that logic, to deny and rationalize how someone could be so strong that bullets and blades are useless against them. It just makes no sense.
I glance back into the darkness we came from, pitch-black and stiff. I didn’t tell Tommy, but I heard the impact of the plane crashing. I knew it had gone down. I didn’t want to worry him with my nonsense concerns unless they turned out to be justified, but here we are now. What I feared most has come true—we are up against something we aren’t prepared for.
My friend, Isidoro, might be our only hope for survival.
But what if he can’t help you? What if disappearing twice doesn’t cut it?
Worry worms its way like a bug crawling up my back. It’s normal to be afraid, but I really can’t afford it now that Tommy torpedoed himself into my life. It’s crazy, and maybe I’ve lost my mind to fall for him so quickly, but I can’t fight this profound craving in me. He’s my person, I just know it, and I will do everything in my power to protect him and us.
Shaking away the gloomy thoughts as best as I can, I turn my attention to Doña Chela. I thank her once again and promise to compensate her for the damage and stress we’ve incurred. She laughs it off, but I mean every word. Then, in a slightly trembling voice, she tells me to check on my partner.
At first, I’m a little confused. Tommy seems fine when I cast an over-the-shoulder look at him, that is until I notice the strain on his face. The sweat, the cloudiness in his gaze. His lips are pursed and he’s bunched his eyebrows together as if he’s in pain.
My heart lurches into my throat. How did I not notice?
“Tommy, what’s wrong?” I demand, halting as Doña Chela lifts her hand in a stop gesture. There is a right turn ahead of us, and I can spy streaks of light coming from around the corner. It’s probably the exit.
“Hm? What do you mean? Everything is fine.” My cute little king plays it off as if it’s nothing, doing his best not to wince as I yank him closer to me.
My eyes identify the cause of his discomfort a second later, my stomach turning into a ball of dread as I aim theflashlight at him. His wound has reopened. It’s bleeding all over his sleeve, and now that I know it’s there, I can catch the tangy note of copper mixing in with the dust and the dirt. I thought I could smell old piping or storage racks, but I see now that I was wrong in my assumption.
“Liar. You’re bleeding,” I say, pulling the small bag Doña Chela prepared with supplies off my shoulder so I can get to the bandages. I forgot our stuff on the plane, so it’s a good thing I had some of the money on me.
Tommy worries his lip, looking anywhere but at me. “It’s no big deal,” he insists, flashing me a fake smile.
