Chapter 9 #3
One of the voices steadily increased in volume and clarity, as if the person was getting closer to them, and she looked at Kieran, even though his face was just a featureless black blob.
Charlie hurried to grab the doorknob on the second door, pulling it open as a heavy knock landed on the bedroom door.
“Gabby? You asleep?”
The latch clicked as someone turned the doorknob, and a slice of light from the hallway cut into the darkness of the room.
Charlie realized there was another danger besides being caught by the guy from the hall.
The loud knocking for sure woke up Gabrielle.
All she had to do was turn her head to see Charlie and Kieran lurking in her room, pretending to be invisible.
Grabbing blindly for Kieran’s hand, Charlie dove into the even deeper darkness of the closet—or what she hoped was a closet.
Thankfully, the press of fabric on her face was a good sign.
She wiggled around to face the door—or rather to face Kieran’s looming form, which was wedged between her and the exit—cringing at the rustle of clothes her movement caused.
Kieran pressed back against her even more tightly as he closed the door, and she tried to move back to give them both some room, but the mass of clothes behind her was like a semi-squishy but immovable wall.
What felt like the corner of a hanger dug into the back of her neck, and she shifted to the side to avoid it.
“Shh!” Even though Kieran barely breathed the command, it was still loaded with bossy.
She went still except for her index finger, which gave a reprimanding poke to his ribs—or where she guessed his ribs were. He jolted but didn’t make a sound. Charlie had a feeling she’d be hearing about it once they were free of the closet—and the whole compound.
“Gabby?” The voice was muffled through the closet door, but still too close for comfort.
It also made Charlie realize that if the militia members were returning to their rooms, that meant the distraction was no longer doing its job, and the guards were also likely returning to their posts.
Getting out of the compound was going to be… tricky. “Gabby!”
The sudden increase in volume made Charlie jump, although she couldn’t move very much.
She even had to turn her head to the side so she didn’t squash her nose on his rock-hard back.
That meant that every one of her inhales took in a mouthful of his warmth and faint smoke and distinctive new-car scent, and she made yet another mental note to ask him what exactly made him smell like anticipation and celebration and fresh-from-the-factory plastic.
A hand on her hip made her start, but Kieran’s gentle squeeze was reassuring, and she was oddly glad when he kept his fingers where they were instead of releasing her. His hold, along with the press of his back against her front, grounded her in the thick darkness of the closet.
“Wha?” A sleep-thickened feminine voice penetrated the closet door, and Charlie closed her eyes in frustration—not that there was any visual difference between closing her eyes and keeping them open.
Now that the bedroom’s occupant was awake, they were going to have to figure out how to escape the closet before they could even worry about the reposted guards. “What’s going on?”
“Sorry to disturb you,” the man’s voice said, quieter now that Gabrielle was awake. Charlie couldn’t tell if it was a voice she’d heard before or not. “But there was some trouble in the armory. I didn’t see you out there with everyone, so I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” From the continued thickness of Gabrielle’s voice, Charlie was pretty sure the woman had used a sleep aid of some sort. “Thanks, Terry.”
Terry! He’s on the list! Charlie poked Kieran’s ribs again, and his fingers tightened warningly on her hip.
She squirmed just a little, careful not to disturb the clothes again, but unable to stay still.
His grip and silent reprimand should’ve bothered her, but it didn’t.
No, that wasn’t right. She was bothered, but in an excited, fizzy-bubbles-in-her-middle type of way.
Giving herself a mental slap, she forced herself to be still and did her best not to smell him—or at least not obsess about smelling him.
“No problem. Everything’s under control out there, so go back to sleep.”
“Okay.” From the way Gabrielle mumbled the word, she was halfway back to dreamland already.
Charlie was impressed. Whatever the woman had used to help her sleep must be some pretty strong stuff.
If Charlie had been woken up in the middle of the night because there’d been a problem in the militia’s armory, she would’ve been bouncing off the walls for the rest of the night.
There was a pause, and Charlie strained her ears, trying to pick up the click of the latch that meant Terry was gone—or out of Gabrielle’s bedroom, at least. She was listening so hard that she jumped a tiny bit when instead of leaving, the man spoke again.
“Thought I told you to keep this door locked, Gabby.”
Gabrielle must’ve had her head in a pillow, because Charlie couldn’t make out her response.
“No, you didn’t. It was unlocked.” Terry made an annoyed sound. “Never mind. Just lock it after me.”
Charlie was pretty sure there was no way the woman was leaving her bed. Terry must’ve realized that, because he heaved a sigh that she could hear in the closet.
“Fine. I’ll lock it with my key. Try to remember to secure it in the future though.
None of the members will bother the president’s lady, but I don’t trust some of the new recruits.
” He paused again, but Charlie didn’t hear any response from Gabrielle.
That was good for her and Kieran, since the quicker she was sleeping, the quicker they could get out of her bedroom—and into the hall, another potential crocodile pit now that the members were back. “Night, Gabby.”
This time, when silence fell over the bedroom, Charlie was pretty sure Terry was gone. Even though he hadn’t said anything incriminating, his presence made their break-in seem worth the hassle.
Although she probably should hold off on deciding if their breaking and entering was worth it once they were out of the compound and not still wedged in a tiny closet.
They waited long enough that Charlie started obsessing over how good Kieran smelled again, but finally, his back muscles flexed against her cheek and the door soundlessly cracked open.
Charlie tensed with anticipation, more than ready to escape the small space.
She wasn’t normally claustrophobic, but being this close to Kieran wasn’t good for her peace of mind.
This was definitely not the time to get silly over some guy’s smell, no matter how luscious it was.
She leaned forward, not even caring that all that did with Kieran in the way was to mash her more firmly against his back, eyes fixed on that thin crack of slightly brighter darkness outside the closet.
Kieran shifted, but before he could open the door wider and step out, there was a grumbly groan from the direction of the bed.
Charlie tensed, and Kieran closed the door a little too abruptly.
The bump of wood against wood and the click of the latch sounded like a bomb blast in the small space.
She froze and felt Kieran do the same, the body in front of her as solid as a stone gargoyle.
Faint rustling sounds drifted through the closet door and then the shuffle-flap of bare feet against a hard floor.
Charlie’s nerves tightened like a violin string, twisting tauter with each step Gabrielle made toward their very pathetic hiding place.
At the sound of a doorknob rattling, Charlie grabbed two handfuls of Kieran’s shirt.
He wasn’t immune to the tension, since his fingers had tightened on her hip until it felt like he’d leave five impressions in her skin when he finally released her.
The snap of a door closing broke Charlie out of her paralysis. “Bathroom,” she breathed against his still-tense back.
His exhale was audible—barely, but it still made it obvious how wound up Kieran had been by the close call, as well.
She went to jab him in the ribs to urge him to move, but he was already swinging open the door and stepping through it, leaving her poking finger to meet only air.
It wasn’t nearly as satisfying as picking on Kieran had been.
Knowing that they likely only had seconds before Gabrielle would be leaving the bathroom, she scooted out of the closet right behind Kieran, careful to close the door soundlessly behind her.
The bedroom seemed much lighter after the black box of the closet, so Charlie was able to pick her way quickly to where Kieran was leaning against the door to the hall, his ear flat to one of the panels.
He must not have heard anything, because he twisted the dead bolt and opened the door a tiny crack.
The silence from the hall seemed heavy, and Charlie’s imagination conjured up an image of the entire militia crouched right outside Gabrielle’s room, ready to leap at them the second they stepped into the hall.
The mental picture was vivid enough that she held her breath as Kieran opened the door wider and slipped out, only starting to breathe again when she followed him into the blessedly empty hallway.
Although it felt like they’d been in Gabrielle’s room for days, the hall looked just the same as it had a few minutes ago.
She pulled the door silently closed behind her, grimacing a little as she hoped that Terry wouldn’t check on Gabrielle again that night.
Without a key, there was no way to lock it from the outside.
Pushing the worry from her mind—since they had several other more pressing concerns at the moment—she caught up with Kieran.
She hated following behind him. It felt as if she were cowering behind him, letting him take the fire so she’d have an opportunity to duck and run if things got dangerous.
She’d much rather go first, throwing herself headlong into trouble and protecting the people she cared about by giving them a chance to run.
The thought stuck uncomfortably in her brain.
Of course she wasn’t putting Kieran on the same level as her beloved sisters.
She’d just met the guy. All her teasing about keeping him and marrying him were just a joke, although his incredible, cranky attractiveness was very real.
He was her partner for the break-in, and that’s the only—and quite understandable—reason she felt protective.
As they reached the base of the stairs, stretching up into darkness, Charlie spared a wistful look to her left.
They hadn’t gotten a chance to explore the other half of the basement living quarters, much less leave a few bugs.
Although she knew they were out of time, she still wished they’d been able to cover more ground.
There was a soft thunk of a lock disengaging, and then Charlie was flying through the air, only the hard band around her upper arm keeping her aloft.
As she landed, she stumbled on the stairs and struggled to regain her balance before it didn’t matter anymore, since Kieran had her pinned against the stairway wall, the railing digging painfully into her back.
Footsteps—heavier and more distinct than Gabrielle’s had been—echoed through the otherwise silent hall, gradually getting louder.
Charlie fingered the bumpy surface of the grenade in her pocket, wondering if it was time to use it.
Causing a commotion in the basement of all places seemed a good way to get them trapped, however.
Kieran tensed, making her realize she was once again pressed against him, although they were front to front this time. They were so close that she felt his hand dive into his jacket pocket, making her wonder if Kieran had a flash-bang of his own he was considering using.
The footsteps were coming impossibly close, and she knew someone would be stepping into view at any second.
Her muscles tensed in readiness as her brain whirred, coming up with plan after plan only to discard them.
She’d do what she always did—wing it. She always survived—at least she had in the past.
She decided to jump on whoever it was, using surprise to her advantage.
Even if he was armed, she could probably take him down if he wasn’t expecting her to leap out of the stairwell.
Kieran’s hand squeezed warningly, but she had no clue what exactly he was warning her about.
This would’ve been an excellent time for telepathic communication, but Charlie had never shared any traits with superheroes—except maybe an appreciation for spandex.
The footsteps paused, and Charlie stopped breathing.
Had she been exhaling too heavily? Had her boot sole squeaked against the concrete step?
Was her heart loud enough to be heard outside her body?
It had to be her who’d given them away. Kieran was silent as a rock next to her, so she knew he hadn’t made a sound.
She tensed even more, knowing this would be a hundred times more difficult if her opponent was ready for her attack.