Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
FRANKIE
I knew I liked this girl. She is me in female form, so why wouldn’t I? Unlike most of the airheads that come on to me, she loves a challenge. She resists and yet it’s there in her eyes when she looks at me. She wants me as much as I ache for her and there is no way in hell I’m not claiming this woman. She will be mine and then life will get interesting.
I lead her through an opening at the end of the chamber where the roof height alters, causing us to stoop lower. Cobwebs dust our faces and stones and dirt crunch beneath our sneakers. The air is shorter, more stifling, and as we venture further, we resort to crawling along on our hands and knees.
“Fuck, Frankie, are you sure about this?” Cassie shines her torch and whispers, “It’s getting narrower.”
“It is at certain points before it opens up.”
We reach a dead end and she huffs, “What, did we go the wrong way?”
“As if.” I reach around me and, as I find the opening, I push the stone aside with a grunt.
“Seriously.” She gasps as the huge stone scrapes against the dirt. “How was I supposed to know one of them was loose?”
“You weren’t.” I chuckle softly. “You’re lucky I’m showing you. The monks were clever and didn’t make it easy for their prey, which explains why nobody ever got away.”
I crawl through the narrow hole and then stand, the height of the roof allowing me to stretch my legs. As Cassie joins me, she breathes a sigh of relief as the light hits us from all angles. “Daylight.”
“Barely.”
I glance up at the hole in the roof and she shivers, the cold air reminding me we are barely dressed. In an act of chivalry, I pull her close against me, adding, “Shared warmth. I don’t want you catching anything before the main event.”
She remains silent, but her expression reflects her gratitude for the gesture as she shifts a little closer, grateful for the heat I share with her.
“Now what?” She asks, as she shines her torch to the end of the passageway.
“This is where it splits. There are five tunnels. Four lead to nothing, one to the river. This is where many escapees met their damnation because this–” I shine my light on an iron door set into the stone. “This is where the centurions were hiding. They used it to watch which tunnel the prisoner took and unless they selected the one to freedom, they merely waited for them to reappear. If they took the correct one, the centurion gave chase immediately, effectively preventing the escape.”
“Unless the prisoner was faster, of course.” She snaps and I shake my head.
“You’re forgetting the prisoner was weak. This was the final step to hell because by now he was tired, starved of food, air, and water. He must have been here for several weeks and his limbs would be slower. The centurion had the advantage and would capture him easily, using his strength to disable the prisoner and drag him back to the chamber.”
“So, in your challenge, do you wait here and do the same, or do you play fair and retrace the footsteps of whoever you are chasing?”
I push against the door. “See, this door hasn’t opened for generations. We can’t find the key and despite our best efforts, we have been unable to pick the lock. There are no unfair advantages in The Claiming, Cassie. It’s a challenge in which victory is earned fair and square.”
She glances at the tunnels.
“I can see why you limited the number of competitors. I can’t imagine what it will be like with ten people down here.”
I shrug. “Not all of them will make it to this point. Many of the girls are using it as an excuse to be exclusive. The guys won’t be interested in anything other than what The Claiming involves. Only the determined will reach it this far, and I’m hoping you are one of them.”
“Of course.” She glares at me angrily. “I don’t want to play your stupid game for any other reason than proving I am better than you.”
“Who said I was taking part?”
I drop that into the conversation and the shock on her face makes me laugh inside. Outwardly, I remain disinterested and she gasps, “I thought–”
“You assumed, Cassie.” I head toward her and, lowering my lips to her ear, I whisper, “And that is a basic mistake. Never assume anything. Always plan for the unexpected. I thought you knew that.”
I sense the fury coming off her as she hates knowing I’m right. Cassie will be angry with herself. I already guess that and she sighs, pulling away as she returns her attention to the tunnels with a sharp, “Here’s hoping you aren’t involved.”
I dim my smile because we are aware what a lie that was. She can fight it all she likes, but Cassie wants me as much as I want her and there will only be one outcome from this and we both know it.
The atmosphere shifts as she attempts to regain control and hisses, “Okay. I’m choosing the fifth tunnel.”
“For what reason?”
I’m interested in her judgment and she says with thoughtful consideration.
“The air is less stifling coming from it, which tells me there is more oxygen in the air. The wall inside the entrance is cooler than the others, telling me there is more moisture.”
I’m impressed by her deduction. “Then off you go. I’ll follow you.”
She says nothing and as she holds her phone in her mouth, she crawls into the tunnel, her ass waving like a written invitation in front of me and with a shit-eating grin, I set myself behind her, knowing that following her will be a pleasure I wasn’t expecting today.
It doesn’t take long before a shard of light hits us and she stops, retrieving her phone and shining the light on the opening at the end of the tunnel. “I was right.”
Her triumphant declaration is accompanied by a shocked gasp. “Oh my God, it was easy. You were right.”
I am close behind her and a little sad that this pleasant escapade has ended and reply, “I told you it was easy.”
She laughs softly as she scrambles toward the light at the end of the tunnel and, as she pulls herself out onto the soft grass, she jumps up just outside the entrance.
As I join her, she stares at the river separating freedom from imprisonment and sighs.
“The only way out is to swim.”
“Of course.”
She stares at the river that is wide enough to be a challenge and yet enticingly close to freedom.
“So, you have another choice. Crawl back the way we came, or swim to the other side.”
She shivers and I’m interested to hear her answer.
As she turns, she regards me with a fresh challenge, causing me to chuckle inside.
“I’ll swim. It will wash away the dirt from the tunnel.”
“Are you sure? It’s not the warmest of days, and the river will be cold.”
“I can deal with that. Can you?”
She returns the challenge to me and I shrug, leaning down and removing my sneakers. Tying the laces together and slinging them across my shoulder.
“I’m up for that.”
For a second, I detect admiration in her eyes and then she does the same, both of us knowing there is no chance in hell of keeping those sneakers dry, but it will help our swimming when they don’t weigh us down.
I nod toward the river. “After you, sweetheart.”
She hesitates before she turns to the river and, taking a deep breath, poises on the edge of the riverbank.
“Have you swum in this before?” She asks, her hesitation strangely endearing.
“Of course. It’s perfectly safe.” I reassure her and as she turns, her smile momentarily stuns me. I have such an incredible urge to pull her into my arms and kiss her stupid. As far as I know, she’s the only person I’ve ever felt that way about.
Then her gaze softens and she whispers, “Thank you, Frankie. I mean that. I appreciate the tour, but it changes nothing. I’m still intent on winning.”
“That makes two of us.”
I reach for her hand and as we stand on the edge of the river, I growl, “We’ll go together.”
“Together.” Her eyes shine as we turn to the river and then, with no more words spoken, we jump as one.