Chapter 1 #4
“It rarely is,” he murmured, his thumb brushing behind my ear. “Madeline, listen to me. This is good. This means we’re being lowered manually. It’s what we want.”
I shook my head frantically. “It feels like we’re dying—”
“You’re not dying. You’re scared. That’s not the same thing.”
The elevator jerked again, violent, a full-body tremor that knocked the air from my lungs.
I whimpered, actually whimpered, and without thinking, I let go of his arm, and dropped into him. My forehead pressed into his chest. He wrapped both arms around me.
Another shudder.
Another heavy drop.
I sobbed once, panicked, and shoved myself even closer, burying my face against his throat. His hand stroked down my back, grounding.
“Good girl,” he murmured before he could stop himself.
My breath stuttered.
He froze for a heartbeat.
Then the elevator jerked downward again, and I didn’t care what he’d called me, I just clung to him, shaking, terrified, believing the world was going to split open beneath us.
He pressed his cheek to my hair, holding me tighter.
“I promise you, this is the part where we survive.”
“How will they even identify us?” I blurted into his chest. “Our bodies are going to be splattered. I never wanted to splatter. That’s such an undignified death.”
His arms tightened around me. “Madeline—”
“I’m going to be a pancake,” I gasped. “A pancake. With a bow.”
His chest shook once—once—like he might have laughed if the situation weren’t actively destroying me.
“You’re not—”
“I am!” I insisted, the elevator jolted again. “A pancake with a bow! A bow-cake! They’ll have to scrape me off the floor. What if someone steps on my—”
Another hard drop cut me off.
This time I didn’t just lean into him, I practically climbed into his lap, curling up against him. My knees ended up bracketing his thighs. My arms locked around his neck. My cheek pressed against his collarbone.
I didn’t care.
If we were dying, I was doing it attached to him.
The elevator shuddered, deeper descent.
His hand came up instantly, cupping the back of my head, his thumb rubbing small circles.
“Easy,” he murmured. “You’re okay. This is the lowering sequence, they’re bringing us down manually.”
“We’re going so fast,”
“It’s too much panic,” he corrected softly. “Not too much speed.”
The sensation of falling went through me. My stomach dropped. I clung harder, gripping the tank top stretched across his chest.
“Breathe for me.”
“I can’t,” I cried. “I can’t breathe—I’m—I’m going to pass out—”
“No,” he whispered.
The elevator dipped again, farther this time, and I half-sobbed, half-squeaked—a noise, I’d normally be humiliated for making.
“You’re okay. Listen to me.”
“I hate this,” I breathed into his throat. “I hate this—I hate storms—I hate elevators—I hate dying—”
“You’re not dying.”
“It feels like dying!”
“It feels like movement,” he said. “Movement is good. Movement means we’re close.”
Another jolt.
A deeper descent.
This time lasting several seconds, long enough for the panic to spike hard.
“It’s okay. They’re lowering us floor by floor. This is how it works.”
My breath shook. “Vince—”
“I’ve got you,” his mouth close to my ear. “Keep holding on.”
Like I had any other choice.
I buried my face deeper into his neck, body shaking as the elevator kept descending. He held me through every second. Pulling me back each time my fear tried to push me off the edge.
“Good girl,”
The elevator dropped again, not a smooth descent. A fall.
“We’re falling—we’re falling—Vince—oh God—”
His arms locked around me before I even finished the sentence “Madeline. Look at me.”
“I can’t—I can’t—”
“Yes, you can. You’re okay.”
And I held onto him.
Minutes stretched. Or seconds. I couldn’t tell. My body was shaking so badly I wasn’t even sure I was breathing. Then….A deep mechanical clunk. The floor leveled.
“We’re here,” he stroked my back.
I dropped against him, exhausted.
Alive.
Somehow alive. The elevator chimed. The doors began to part. I panicked for an entirely new reason.
“Oh my God—people are going to see me like this.”
I looked down at myself, oversized shirt buttoned, hair bow half fallen. “I’m—I’m sitting in your lap—I’m wearing your shirt—my dress is on the floor—no—no, no, no—”
The door started to open.
Someone outside stuttered, “Sir, we—”
“Close the fucking doors!”
“Y-yes, sir! Closing!”
Silence followed. I realized I was still clinging to him.
“You’re okay.” He lowered his voice, softer than I’d heard it all night. I nodded, but the shaking only got worse.
“Why am I—why can’t I stop shaking?”
“It’s adrenaline. Your body’s dumping the fear out now that you’re safe. It’s normal.”
I swallowed hard. “I hate it.”
His thumb brushed behind my ear. “Want help?”
I nodded.
He eased me off his lap, like I might break if he moved too quickly. I stayed kneeling on the floor while he crouched in front of me.
“Arms up,” He made it sound simple.
I lifted my arms, and he pulled the shirt off me. He reached behind me for my crumpled dress. He held it up for me, guiding it over my head.
He tugged it gently into place. His fingers brushed the zipper at my spine.
“Ready?” he asked, zipping me up.
I nodded.
“You’re alright. Stand up slowly.”
After I did. He stepped back, looked me over, making sure the straps were straight, the bodice wasn’t twisted, the hem wasn’t tucked.
Once I found my balance, he handed me my heels. My fingers still shook around the thin straps.
“You good?” he asked.
“Yep, I think.”
He turned toward the doors. But before he could touch the panel, I moved. Wrapping my arms around him again, grateful, and pressed a kiss to the center of his chest through his tank top.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
His breath caught…hard enough I felt it. I dropped my hands, embarrassed. He reached for the door controls. Light flooded in as the doors slid open. People were everywhere.
Security. Engineers. Dynasty personnel. And in the middle, Uncle Cole shouting into his phone in another language, face red, pacing like he was about to tear the building in half.
“Maddy!” someone yelled. “She’s here—she’s here!”
Hands reached for me. Questions flew. Flashlights pointed. Cameras flashed. Security swarmed in on me immediately to protect me from the veil drones that was streaming the situation live.
I turned back toward the elevator. Trying to get a glimpse of him. But Vince was already gone. Just disappeared into the chaos like he had never been there at all.