Chapter Fourteen
I”m fumbling with my cufflinks, readying myself to get out of this place, when one slips from my grasp. It clinks against the hardwood floor, skittering away. I curse under my breath and bend down to retrieve it, my fingers grasping around until they close around the small piece of metal. As I bend down to grab it, I spot something out of place—a hatch door set into the ground, nearly blending in with the pattern of the floorboards. It”s an odd detail, out of place and out of sight, and it piques my curiosity.
I straighten up, ready to secure the cufflink, a sharp knock reverberates through the room, followed by the sound of someone pounding on the locked door to the office. My heart leaps into my throat. Whoever”s out there isn”t calling for me; they”re after Marina, and somehow, that”s worse.
The world seems to come to a standstill as I whip around to face her. The look on my face must mirror what she feels inside—fear, panic, hopelessness. I can see it in her eyes, reflected back at me like tiny windows into my own mind.
”Marina,” a male voice shouts, ”open the damn door! I know you”re in there!”
We stare at each other for a moment, paralyzed with indecision, and then we leap into action. Ignoring the continued banging on the door, I crouch down to examine the hatch more closely. It”s inconspicuous, flush with the floor and lacking any obvious handle. My fingers trace its edges, searching for a way to open it. Just as I spot a small latch, the office door rattles in its frame from the person outside now attempting to force their way in.
”Come on, come on,” I mutter to myself, praying that this hatch leads to some kind of escape route and not just a dusty old cellar. With a click, the latch gives way, revealing a handle. Without hesitation, I grab it and lift the hatch open, revealing a dark passage below. Marina peers inside before looking up at me with wide eyes. ”Down?”
She nods and hops down into the darkness, her feet disappearing into the shadows. Taking a deep breath, I look around the room one last time. The office door shakes again, more forcefully this time. I have to make a choice, and I have to make it fast. Trusting my instincts, I lower myself into the dark passage below, the hatch closing silently above me as I disappear into the unknown.
The moment my feet touch the ground, a musty smell assaults my nostrils, and I find myself surrounded by the dim light filtering in from the open hatch above. Marina leaps up to pull on a string dangling from a light bulb, and I pull the latch closed and lock it in place with a small bar.
I look around and take in the space, but it”s nothing more than an ordinary basement. Stacks of boxes and old furniture line the walls, creating narrow corridors between them, while a few old-looking crates sit on the floor next to an ancient looking furnace. Everything seems dusty and forgotten.
We weave our way through the maze of boxes, our footsteps muffled by the soft carpet of dust on the ground. Every creak of the wooden floorboards above us sends me jumping out of my skin as I worry about being found. I feel like we”re sneaking out of a friend”s house after a late-night sleepover—a feeling I haven”t had for some time.
”What do you think is in all these boxes?” Marina asks, her voice barely audible over the sound of rustling paper and clinking glassware. ”Doesn”t seem like this place has been used in a while.”
”Probably old stuff from the mansion upstairs,” I offer. ”Let”s just find a way out of here.”
When we reach the end of the maze, a bulkhead door greets us with an ominous iron lock, but by some miracle, it isn”t engaged. A glimmer of hope lights up Marina”s eyes as she rushes toward it, her hand grasping the rusted handle. With a creak of protest, the door swings open, and the cool air from outside comes rushing in.
We burst out of the basement, the fresh air hitting us like a blast of ice water. I look around to get my bearings and realize we”re on the side of the house, and my car is just around the corner.
”Come on!” Marina urges, breaking into a sprint toward the car. I follow closely behind, adrenaline coursing through my veins, propelling me forward. We round the corner to find ourselves in front of our parked vehicle. There are no signs of any other vehicles nearby, which makes me wonder if we managed to evade all of Charles”s cronies somehow. My hands fumble as I unlock the doors, and just as we climb inside, a stream of armed men file out the front door.
”Go, go, go,” Marina shrieks.
I jam the key into the ignition, my hands trembling with fear, and throw the car in drive. The tires screech against the pavement as I floor it. My foot slams down on the accelerator, and we shoot out of the driveway with tires screeching and gravel flying. Marina screams something at me, but I don”t hear her. All I can hear is my heart pounding in my ears and my own breathing—which sounds more like gasping. We need to get away, right now, or we will both die.
”Hang on!” I shout, glancing in the rearview mirror. My stomach drops as I spot the armed men pouring out of the front door, raising their weapons and taking aim. Before I can react, the sharp crack of gunfire echoes through the night, and bullets start zipping past us. One smashes through the rear window, sending glass shards flying.
”Shit!” Marina screams, ducking low in her seat as another bullet grazes the side mirror.
The car swerves wildly, teetering on the edge of control as I fight to keep it on the road. My knuckles go white on the steering wheel, and I resist the urge to hit the accelerator harder. That”s the last thing I should do as the tires skid to the side. The world feels like it”s moving in slow motion, but everything moves too fast—it”s all a blur of streetlights and the glare from the headlights. Another gunshot rings out, hitting the trunk with an explosion of sparks.
”Hold on, Marina!” I grit out before we careen around a corner. I yank it hard to the left, narrowly avoiding a bullet that shatters the passenger window. The car fishtails, skidding sideways before I manage to straighten it out.
One more shot narrowly misses me, missing the top of my skull by mere inches. Instead, it strikes one of the mirrors, shattering it. I wince at the sound of glass crunching beneath my feet, and a sharp pain pierces my chest. It could have been so much worse, but if we don”t get out of here now...
I don”t finish my thought as I force my foot down hard on the gas pedal, taking a sharp right turn at the next intersection, driving us toward the hills and safety. I can feel Marina shaking beside me, her breath coming in panicked gasps. If she keeps hyperventilating like that, she”ll pass out. And while I wouldn”t blame her for doing just that, I need her to be strong if I”m going to keep my shit together.
”Gabriel, watch out!” Marina cries, pointing ahead of us.
I spot it just in time—a roadblock, an out of place set of barrels no doubt put in place by the Extractors. They”re desperate to catch us, and they”ve got no qualms about causing a deadly crash to do it. With a sharp turn of the wheel, I veer off the road, narrowly missing the barricade. The car jolts over the rough terrain, bouncing us around like rag dolls. But my grip on the wheel is ironclad, my eyes locked onto the path ahead.
”Are you okay?” I shout over the wind that”s tearing through the car.
“Yes, just drive!” Marina shouts back, clutching the door handle for dear life.
I push the car to its limits, weaving through trees and shrubs, praying we can put enough distance between us and our pursuers. The headlights cut through the darkness like twin beacons, revealing the treacherous terrain ahead. My foot is glued to the accelerator, and the engine screams in protest.
We burst out of the wooded area onto a paved road, the car fishtailing as it finds traction. I glance in the rearview mirror, relief flooding through me as I see no sign of the Extractors. We might just make it out of this alive.
”Looks like we lost them,” I say, my voice tinged with disbelief.
Marina lets out a shaky laugh, one that speaks of how shaken she is. ”I can”t believe we made it out of there. You”re an amazing driver, Gabriel.”
Her praise sends warmth rushing through my chest, and I give her a small smile before easing off the accelerator even though every instinct tells me to keep moving. But for now, we”re safe, and that”s all that matters. I focus on the road ahead, determined to get us as far away from that nightmare as possible. The night is still young, and we”ve got a long way to go before we can truly breathe easy.
Marina digs around at the floorboard and pulls out her purse. She opens it and starts digging around inside. ”I need to call Drake. I should”ve done it earlier, I don”t know why I waited. He needs to know what”s going on. He”ll know what to do.”
I glance at her out of the corner of my eye and say, ”Marina, think about it. They had your phone for a good while. They could”ve easily bugged it. We can”t risk it.”
Before she can protest, I reach over and snatch the phone from her hands and toss it out of the blown-out window.
”What the hell, Gabriel?” she exclaims, gasping. ”I needed that!”
”I know, I know,” I reply, keeping my eyes on the road but feeling the weight of her gaze. ”But we can”t take any chances. They”re more organized than we thought.”
She lets out a frustrated sigh, crossing her arms over her chest. I can see the resignation in her eyes, the understanding that I might”ve just saved us from being tracked but also hindered her ability to communicate with her clan leader.
”I get it,” she finally admits, her voice softer now. ”But we need to find another way to reach Drake.”
”We will,” I promise her.
”But for now, we need to focus on getting as far away from them as possible.”
Marina nods, her gaze drifting to the dark road ahead. The silence between us isn”t uncomfortable, but it”s pretty damn loud. We”re both processing what just happened, the danger we narrowly escaped, and the uncertainties that lie ahead.
As we continue to drive through the night, I can”t help but wonder what”s next for us. The Extractors have a much more personal vendetta than we ever imagined, and the stakes have never been higher. But one thing is clear: I”ll do whatever it takes to keep Marina safe, even if it means making tough calls on the fly.