Page 74 of Bound

And why did she not see that from several miles back?

“I know where they are, rerda. Besides, I might be a while. It’s that time of the month.”

“I can wait.”

And why did she also not realize that her brother was the only male on earth not bolting because of that subject?

Damn it.

Fifteen minutes later, ’Raz was proving as good as his word.

Creator have mercy.

Jayd said it, interspersed with some saltier language, as she paced the bathroom’s lounge area to give him the illusion of her continued bonding time with Mother Nature.

At last, she gave in and plunked down on the velvet chaise in the pretty sitting area. Maybe, in this case, doing nothing was doing something. Maybe the bonsun would get equally bored and finally go away. Better yet, maybe someone would call him on the radio, wondering why he was not at his assigned security station.

But there he was still, just outside the door, whistling a really bad version of “Bad Blood.” When he started to insert all the song’s heys too, she curled her knees to her chest and screamed into them.

“Sometimes, brother, it is an act of mercy to leave Taylor Swift alone.”

Shiraz kept whistling. And heying.

She followed her screech with a groan. She was no longer in the restroom. She was trapped in hell. The only missing things were brimstone and darkness.

She jabbed her chin up. Then straightened higher. Then murmured beneath her breath, “Darkness.”

A huge grin bloomed across her lips.

Just before she dragged aside one of the velvet curtains behind the chaise.

At first, it looked like nothing more than the plain wall. But if she knew better…and had remembered some things right…

Creator be praised.

Sure enough, the panel gave in to her touch. An inch. Another. Then a few more, until there was just enough room for her to step through.

As soon as she did, the hidden alcove became a pivoting chamber, transporting her a hundred and eighty degrees.

When it stopped, she was facing a world of damp, permanent nighttime.

Thankfully, the tunnel was equipped with motion-activated wall sconces. They looked fairly modern, though in comparison to the damp and dirty walls, a prospector’s lamp would be state of the art.

She smiled again, already liking the metaphor. Like a prospector, she was hoping for something better than what she had left behind. Hidden gold, only not in the form of shiny nuggets. Right now, all she wanted was an effortless escape. A way to access any part of the palais free from her brothers and their sheepdog ways. Protective love was one thing. Too much slobber was another.

She continued on, using the compass on her watch to gauge her direction. She was northbound, which meant she would soon be underneath the kitchens, administrative offices, and operational hub of the palais. Perfect. She had no intention of startling the staff members in any of those offices, but getting to the hub would likely mean more tunnels to pick from. All she needed was one that led outside…

Escape challenge number one rose up much sooner than she expected. Twice as formidably.

“Damn it.”

The passageway was completely sealed off. A dead-end comprised of bricks as solid as the ones she had just passed through. Though these stones seemed a little fresher than the walls to her left and right, they were nonetheless bricks, and—

“Ohhh. Damn it.”

She let the repetition caress the air like the dawning recognition it was. She even finished it by humming a little Taylor herself—“Shake It Off” for this round—while carefully running her fingertips over every seam of mortar between the bricks.

Until the mortar was not mortar at all.