Chapter 34
Paige
Darkness devours us whole as the heavy door closes, locking us away in the staff-only halls.
The muffled thuds of thunder and the pounding of my heart break through the silence.
With me dragging him through the shadows for once, Vanya must be on edge.
After all the screwed up shit he’s subjected me to, forcing him to rely on me seems like a fitting punishment. He’s out of his element, needing me to guide him. The same situation he put me in, even if not on purpose.
Behind me, Vanya’s breathing is controlled but quick, his presence a crowding warmth at my back.
Maybe he’s trying to swallow his fear as much as I am? While I have the gun Max gave me—from Vanya’s quarters at the compound—tucked into the back of my pants, that knowledge doesn’t make me feel as safe as I thought it would.
After walking these halls zillions of times, I could find the room with the book blindfolded. Every smooth spot on the tile, every gust of breeze that comes from the vents, the smells that linger in the nooks and corners.
Because this is my domain.
Was my domain.
Whatever.
Still is, since Dr. Abernathy hasn’t thought to remove my codes and passwords from the database…I hope. I’ll need those to proceed.
We reach the acquisition storage, where I will do what I swore I’d never consider. I raise my hand to the pad. Green approval flashes in the dark. Good old Abernathy. I knew I could depend on him.
Just like that, we have both safety and access to what Vanya needs to end this cursed mission.
As I push the door open, the cold, filtered air rushes out around us. Vanya jerks, and I realize he has no idea what he’s about to walk into.
Tightening my grip on his wrist, I pull him through the threshold. The door closes and seals automatically.
He twitches as the air pressure jumps up. “Where are we?”
I keep the answer simple to stave off more time-consuming questions. “This is where we store the books that aren’t in circulation yet.” Guiding him to the worktable, I place his fingers against the cool metal, providing him with an anchor point. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
Okay, maybe I didn’t have to do that. But it’s faster if I retrieve the book by myself instead of dragging him around, and he can’t hurt anything if he stays put.
“Paige—”
“Trust me.” I squeeze his tight tush once, then dart off before he can respond.
The shelves are organized by acquisition date and donor. I set the system up, so I know exactly where to find the book. Days that seem like another lifetime, one lived by someone else. A story about a different world altogether.
I’m no longer that stiff, rule-abiding woman, but I do still have all her memories.
Feeling like I’m walking through a dream, I trace my old footsteps. I cross the room, turn right, take nine more steps, and then kneel to reach the bottom shelf.
My hands graze over cardboard, searching for the correct size.
There.
The case is right where I left it. Instead of carrying the whole thing to the desk, I pull the container out just enough to open the top and remove the drop-front archival box. The hundred-year-old leather-bound book that landed me in this situation sits inside.
If I’d handed him the book the day I confirmed what he was looking for…
Nothing would be the same. I wouldn’t have confronted my own limitations. We wouldn’t have spent all that time together. I wouldn’t be fired, in danger, or…
In love.
I inhale a deep breath. Now’s not the time to untangle my emotions.
“Vanya.” I pivot back toward where I left him. “Turn on your phone light.”
A thin beam of LED white cuts through the black. He aims the flashlight at my hands. “What’s that? I thought you’d be getting—”
“It’s the book. This is the protective case it comes in. Just because I’m granting you access doesn’t mean I’ll risk rain damage on an antique this valuable.”
Out of habit, I set the case on the table.
He scrunches his brows. “Shouldn’t we just grab it and go?”
“Don’t be stupid.”
I don a pair of gloves. “We won’t know if this is the real deal until I inspect it.”
The story collection sits in the protective plastic sleeve and looks exactly as I described to him days ago when I recited the catalogue description from memory.
The cover is calfskin, faded to pale blue with darker blue still visible under the stitching. It’s been tooled with snowflake patterns along the top. In the center is a tiny, white-haired girl wearing a fur-trimmed cloak. It’s exactly how I picture it in my mind’s eyes.
Vanya drifts closer, the beam from his phone growing steadily larger on the cover. “Open it.”
The first page is an illustration. The same as before, a colored version of the Snow Maiden Snegurochka. A girl created from snow who came to life and loved her parents and then melted away.
“It’s beautiful.” Vanya’s hand hovers over the page, as if he wants to touch but doesn’t dare. “I don’t… I have no idea what I’m looking for. What the clue is supposed to be.” Frustration bleeds into his tone, harshening his words and thickening his accent.
I could flip to the page with the quote, but we don’t have time. “We’ll figure it out later.” I close the book gently and put it back in the box, under the necessary protections. “Right now, we’ve got to move.” Grabbing a handful of gloves, I stuff them in my pocket. Just in case.
I pull down the clipboard with the acquisition paperwork for the Petrov Collection so I can remove all traces of The Snow Maiden from the records, which wastes a few minutes.
The same safeguards that kept us from knowing who sent us the box also prevent anyone else in the library from knowing precisely what was delivered.
Things go missing in shipping all the time.
The burner phone in my pocket vibrates. Once. Twice. Three times. That’s Max’s signal.
“Come on.” I shove the boxed book into Vanya’s hands. I plan on taking the lead once we’re out of here, so I need to keep my hands free to deal with emergent threats. “We’re leaving.”
We’re really doing this. Stealing a book. Erasing records. Battling our way past armed men.
The fear that’s been sitting under my ribs all night tries to claw its way up my throat, but I push all the rampant emotions back down and lock them away to deal with later. I’m the one in charge of this heist. The one calling the shots.
The power rush nearly intoxicates me.
I push that down too. The time to revel in it is after we’re safe, not while we’re still in the middle of things. That would just result in us dying, and I have no intention of letting anyone hurt Vanya.
Except me, when I kick his ass for bolting on me the way he did.
“Paige, what—”
I grab his face in the dark and kiss him hard.
Not just to shut him up, though that’s a nice bonus, but also to remind myself of why I’m doing this. Why I’m about to walk out of the only safe place in this entire library and return to where the men with guns wait.
Having him back, tasting him, is better than any thrill I’ve experienced tonight. All the terror swirling through me is incinerated, buried, and forgotten.
I silence Vanya’s surprised gasp with my tongue. Then his free hand is in my hair, and he’s returning my kiss with just as much intensity. Just as much desperation. His arm snakes around my waist, tugging me against his body, the box digging into my side.
It’s only been a matter of hours, really, but god, have I missed him. His touch, his kiss, that smug smile he always wears…
I retreat before I lose my head. “We have to go. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner you can explain what the hell you were thinking when you left. And then you can start making up for all the trouble you’ve caused me.” I click off his flashlight, plunging us back into darkness.
Vanya blows out a shaky breath, and his arm brushes against me as he adjusts himself. “I look forward to it.”
As soon as we open the door, boots thunder closer. Which means Gio’s men have entered the staff-only areas.
They’re still hunting us, but they don’t know these passages like I do.
I hope.