Chapter 31
THIRTY-ONE
Justice rushes me behind a storage cabinet, pushing me down to a crouch. “Stay.”
Gulp.
He disappears, completely silent.
It’s okay. He knows what he’s doing. But…is this squeezing in my chest cardiac?
The footsteps are getting louder. Closer.
My heart slams against my ribs so hard I’m certain whoever’s coming can hear it echoing through the lab.
Justice is somewhere out there in the shadows, waiting, and I’m crouched behind this metal cabinet like a kid playing hide-and-seek. Except this game could get us killed.
The door swings open with a metallic groan.
I press my palm over my mouth, forcing my breathing to slow. In. Out. Nice and easy.
A cart squeaks across the tile. Then…humming?
I peek around the edge of the cabinet, just barely, and my stomach drops.
It’s a janitor. Gray coveralls on, mop bucket on wheels, completely oblivious to the fact that two trespassers are lurking in the shadows.
Creak. Creak. The wheels squeak slightly as he rolls further into the lab. He moves past the rows of shelving, still humming some tune I don’t recognize.
He’s maybe sixty, with tired eyes and a slight limp.
Justice materializes behind him like a ghost.
I almost scream.
One second the janitor’s reaching for a spray bottle, the next Justice has him in some kind of hold that makes the man freeze mid-reach.
“Don’t make a sound,” Justice rumbles, low and dangerous.
The janitor’s hands go up, instantly trembling. “Please, I—I don’t want trouble.”
“Then you won’t get any.” Justice loosens his grip just slightly. “How many guards on this floor?”
“Not sure. Maybe three. There’s more of them nowadays.” The man’s voice shakes. “They rotate every hour.”
Justice curses under his breath, his frustration radiating across the room.
“We need to roll,” he mutters, just loud enough for me to hear through the comms. “I want you out of here.”
He brought me here because leaving me behind was worse, but he hates it. That’s clean in every word.
Ryker’s voice crackles through the bone-conduction mic. “JT, there’s more movement. Getting close to you.”
He looks at the janitor, then at me, his eyes burning with a decision he doesn’t want to make.
“Rosalie. Stay.”
Justice moves fast, pressing against the man’s neck. The janitor slumps, and Justice lowers him carefully to the floor.
“Pressure point,” he says, catching my wide-eyed stare. “He’ll wake up in a few minutes with a headache. That’s all.”
“Twenty seconds,” Ryker warns.
Justice grabs my hand, hauling me to my feet. “Come. Now.”
But there’s nowhere to go. The door we came through is the only exit, and whoever’s coming is heading straight for it.
My brain kicks into overdrive, scanning the room. My eyes land on the industrial freezer unit in the corner.
It’s massive, probably big enough for both of us if we squeeze.
“There!” I yank Justice toward it, wrenching open the heavy door.
Cold air blasts us as we squeeze inside. Justice pulls the door shut just as footsteps echo into the lab.
“Five seconds,” Ryker says, unnecessarily.
We’re pressed together in the cramped space, my back against the frozen metal wall, Justice’s body shielding mine.
His breath mists in the frigid air, and I can feel the heat of him all over me.
“Brilliant,” he whispers against my ear, and the pride in his voice makes my insides flutter despite the fact that we’re about to freeze to death.
The footsteps stop. A voice barks out. “What the hell?”
Through the tiny frosted window in the freezer door, I can just make out the shape of someone kneeling beside the janitor.
“Hey! Wake up!”
Justice’s hand slides to the small of my back, pulling me even closer. His other hand rests on his weapon.
“If this goes south,” he breathes, so quiet I almost miss it, “you run. Straight to Ryker. You don’t look back.”
I shake my head, my teeth starting to chatter. “Not leaving you.”
His eyes flash with challenge, dark and fierce. “Rosalie—”
“No.”
The guard outside curses, pulling out a radio. “This is Peterson. I need backup in cold storage. Janitor’s down. Possible intruder.”
Static crackles. Then a response. “Copy. Two minutes out.”
Justice’s expression hardens. We don’t have two minutes. At this temperature, we’ll be hypothermic before backup even arrives.
My fingers are already going numb. I flex them, trying to keep the blood flowing.
Justice notices. He takes my hands in his, rubbing them between his palms. It’s the sweetest gesture and it makes a scratchy lump form in my throat.
“I’m sorry,” he rumbles. “I hate this.”
“This was my idea,” I remind him through chattering teeth.
The guard is pacing now, weapon drawn, checking every corner of the storage room.
We’re trapped, feet away. And running out of time.
Justice’s eyes narrow, his thoughts going inward, and I can practically see him calculating, running through scenarios.
But his expression says, none of them are good.
“Ryker,” he says into the comms, voice tight. “I might have to fight our way out of here. Over.”
“Working on it,” Ryker responds. “We could cut the grid again.”
“How long?”
“Maybe sixty seconds.”
Justice nods, even though Ryker can’t see him. Then he looks at me, and something shifts in his expression.
“Listen to me.” His hands frame my face, forcing me to meet his eyes. “I love you. I’m going out there, I’ll clear the way for us to get out.”
My throat closes up. I almost faint from the pain slicing through me.“Justice—”
“You can handle this.” His thumb brushes my cheekbone, and despite the cold, I feel warmth spreading through me. “You’re the bravest damn woman I’ve ever met.”
The lights cut out.
Darkness swallows the storage room, and the guard outside curses loudly. The hum of the freezer goes silent.
“Now!” Ryker shouts through the comms.
Justice yanks open the freezer door, and we burst out into the pitch-black room.
I can’t see anything. Can’t hear anything except my own ragged breathing and the guard shouting into his radio. Until the sound of fists on flesh stops me cold in my tracks.
It’s Justice, clearing the way.
My god, how can he see?
I press myself against a lab table, holding on for dear life as bodies crash to the floor around me.
“Let’s go!” Justice’s hand locks around mine, dragging me forward. We’re moving blind, and I catch my toe on something that squeaks. “Ryker, we’re clear for now. One guard out temporarily. Over.”
“East wall,” Ryker directs us. “Emergency exit. Fifteen feet straight ahead.”
We run.
Our boots pound against the tile, the sound impossibly loud in the darkness. Behind us, another guard is yelling, a flashlight beam cutting through the black.
“Stop! I will shoot!”
Justice shoves me ahead of him, putting his body between me and the threat. “Go. Go. Go!” He growls, the stomp of his boots sending fire and ice crackling along my spine.
The beam of light finds us, causing even more panic to erupt inside of me. Run. Just run!
Then my worst fear happens. A gunshot cracks through the air, and Justice grunts.
He stumbles, but he doesn’t stop moving. “Keep going,” his voice is tight, almost choked. “Go!”
He slams me into the emergency exit door. It flies open in front of us, cracking against the wall as we tumble into the hallway beyond.
“Fast!” he roars, breathing raggedly.
Oh my god. Oh my god. We sprint down the corridor, more footsteps thundering somewhere behind us.
Ryker’s voice is in my ear, calm and steady despite the chaos. “Second door on your right. Service stairs. Go!”
Justice yanks open the door, and we plunge into the stairwell, taking the steps two at a time, him hot on my heels like a hulking human shield.
“Don’t touch the railing.”
“Not ever doing that again,” I gasp between chugging breaths.
My lungs are on fire. My legs are screaming. I’m more scared, more supercharged than ever before.
“One more floor to go,” Ryker says and I can barely hear him over my breathing.
We hit the ground floor and the final exit door comes into sight.
Justice’s hand is on my back, pushing me to go faster.
Then he hits the bar on the door. It swings open to an empty loading dock and I’m swamped with relief that’s surely premature.
“Thank you, Ryker!” I wheeze.
Cold night air surrounds my face. It’s fresh and crisp, and I’ve never been so grateful for oxygen in my life.
“I’m to your right,” Ryker barks, “Move, move, move!”
The black pickup truck is idling at the curb, rear passenger door already open.
My energy reserves are waning.
Justice practically throws me into the back seat, my hip scraping over the buckles as Justice dives in after me. His body is a heavy, crushing me as he slams the door.
We’re both breathing heavily when Ryker floors it.
Below us tires squeal as we peel away from the building.
“We did it!” I sob, clinging to Justice’s neck with shaking arms.
He grunts. “Yep.”
That’s when I realize he’s pressing his hand to his left shoulder. I gasp, my eyes going wide. “Oh my god, you’re bleeding!”
He’s been shot.
Bright red blood is seeping between his fingers, soaking his shirt sleeve.
“You’re shot,” I choke out, reaching for him, but unsure where to touch him.
Grimacing, he nods. “Just a graze.”
“No, you’re bleeding,” My voice cracks. “A lot.”