“Someone will notice though, right? Security or something?”
His grimace is answer enough. “I doubt for quite some time. The alarm isn’t sounding, so nothing will be tripped in the office. And so long as the other elevator is up and running, people will just think that one arrived first and not question it.”
I glance up at the ceiling the same time that he does. “So starve to death or squished to death?” Realizing the thought of a starving vamp isn’t going to put him any more at ease, I hastily amend, “I mean you, not me. I’ll be fine. And honestly, when I don’t show up for dinner, Malcolm or Kasen will check the security cameras and see I came in here but never came out, so we could wait it out for-” I check the time “- another five hours, give or take.”
He grunts, taking the mail cart and positioning it in the center and climbing up. “Can’t. Just got the call my brother was in a car accident and I need to get to the hospital to see how bad it is, because they wouldn't tell me anything over the phone.” Opening the access panel, he hauls himself up, heavy footsteps thudding above me. A second later his face reappears in the square hole, looking confused. “You coming?”
“Seriously?”
His expression softens, though it’s still strained. “Jack Fredrickson, Ms. Drake. Kase’ll have my hide if he finds out I escaped and left you here alone, but besides that, I’m not an asshole. So yeah, I’m serious.” He extends a hand through the gap and gestures for me to hurry up.
Climbing up on the cart, I take his hand and jump, making it easier for him to lift me up so I can grab the edge, pulling myself out the rest of the way. It’s insanely dark in the elevator shaft, like we’re trapped at the bottom of a pit with no idea how far the abyss extends.
“So we just... climb up, yank a door open, and escape. Easy.”
“Easy,” he agrees, tugging on the cable like he’s nervous it’ll snap. “Can you climb or am I carrying you on my back?”
Balking at the idea, I gesture for him to go first. “I’ll be fine. But if the elevator starts moving, I’m abandoning you to jump back inside, heads up.”
“Fair enough.” He huffs out a breath as he starts climbing, making quick work and leaving me in the dust.
Heart hammering in my chest, I follow his lead. "I hope your brother's alright."
He sighs. "Guy's a terrible driver, but he's the luckiest bastard I know. He'll be fine, or I'll have to kick his ass."
My smile falls within the next two feet of progress. It’s worse than rope burn; the more nervous I get, the sweatier my palms. That doesn’t translate well to metal cables, and every time I start to slip, I tighten my grip until my muscles ache. After ten feet, Jack slips. Shutting my eyes and tensing, I brace myself for impact, but when the scent of blood barrels into me instead, I actually sigh in relief.
He managed to catch himself, but the burn tore up the skin on his palm. Each thud of his heart is like a clap of thunder, and he becomes impossibly still, not twitching so much as a muscle.
Not because he was scared of falling, but because he’s afraid of me.
“No worries, Jack. Fated blood is far more appealing than some random guy’s, and it’s not like I can’t still eat regular food to curb any cravings. Unless I was horribly injured and desperate, you’ve got nothing to be concerned about.”
“So if you fall and break a leg, leave you behind. Got it,” he teases with strained levity, continuing to climb.
When I get to that section of the cable, I wrinkle my nose, wondering how I ever managed to feed off of anyone besides my mates. Carefully, I reach past it so I don’t get his blood on my hands, though it’s far trickier to ensure none of it winds up on my clothes. Last thing I want is to walk out of this elevator shaft with an employee’s blood all over me; the shifters in the building would crucify me, even if Jack was clearly fine.
Stopping outside of the doors, he curses, hanging onto the cable with one hand and stretching closer since there’s no foothold. “Fuck. I can’t get any leverage like this.”
A faint creaking has me moving before I even open my mouth. “Drop me and I’ll kill you.”
Taking his hand, we carefully maneuver so that he has an arm banded around my waist and leaning as close as he can. Working my fingers into the seam of the door, I manage to pry them apart a crack, light spilling into the shaft.
“Ms. Drake.” He slips an inch, tightening his grip on my waist.
“I’ve almost got it, just hold on a few more seconds,” I pant, shoving harder.
“Scarlett!” Jack hisses, and I freeze.
That small creak becomes a whir as the cable slides in his palm, the elevator starting up again. Straining my hearing, my eyes widen with horror as it becomes clear the sound is getting closer instead of farther away.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Clawing at the door, I shove it far enough that I can slip through, pushing with everything I have to make enough room for Jack.
“What in the world?” someone says from in front of us, jogging closer.
Without warning, he tosses me forward, and as I fall, I pivot to the side. Shoulder shoving the left door nearly into the wall, I kick as hard as I can, catching the opposite side with the sole of my foot before it closes again and forcing it to stay open. Jack’s a blur as he sails past me, his knee drives into my kidney and sends me tumbling forward with him, the doors slamming shut behind us with an audible thud.
For a brief, beautiful moment, my heartbeat drowns out everything. But it’s quickly swept away in the flood of adrenaline, sending every instinct that I’d forced into submission suddenly into overdrive. The world comes crashing into focus like a freight train, stealing the breath from my lungs.
