Page 85 of Ramshackle
I take a calming breath.
Right.
I trust Jackson. He’ll help me make my dreams a reality.
His smile sharpens, and his hand wraps around my ponytail. He jerks it back, then kisses my throat. “Let’s play a game.” His voice is soft. Dangerous.
“A game?” I repeat in a breathless whisper.
“I’m going to count to sixty, and you’re going to run. If you make it out of the bunker before I catch you, then you can demand anything you want from me.”
I open my mouth, but he presses a finger to my lips.
“It can be something fun, silly, and I can’t refuse.”
Oh. I see. He would already do anything I asked of him for fighting GE or things more serious, but he’s looking to keep this more relaxed. What can I ask him to do that he wouldn’t do already?
“And if you catch me?”
He licks my pulse. “Then I get to do whatever I want with you.”
A shiver snakes around my spine and settles in my core.
“Five minutes,” I counter.
Jackson draws back. “Two.”
“Four and a half.”
“Two and a half.”
“Jack! You move twice as fast as me. Five minutes.”
He smirks. “As you wish. Five minutes. Go.”
“Wait, right now? I’m supposed to meet Kellan to train—”
“Four fifty-four,” he counts aloud. “Four fifty-three.”
Shit.
Sorry, Kellan. I’ll be a few minutes late.
I take off, running to the door and down the hall. Thankfully, Aiden gave me a tour a few days ago for the major areas. Including how to get to the security room that leads to the tunnels to exit the bunker at different points around the city.
The stairs to get there slow me down. I curse them and my fucking knee, knowing full well Jackson will likely fly past them.
I should have asked for ten minutes.
I shove the door open to the security room and everyone turns to look at me. I wave, having just met them a few days ago. “Everything’s fine. Which door leads to the Tower?” At least that building is secure if I make it there, rather than winding up at a random public building in the city.
One of the guards grins and points to the left. I’m not sure what she thinks is so funny, but I don’t have time to hang around and ask. As I’m leaving the room to get to the room full of doors, another guard calls out, “Does Aiden know you’re leaving?”
I let the door closing behind me act as my answer, then take the first door to the left. I remember this tunnel. It’s long asfuckand dark.
He may not see me, but he’ll definitely hear me with the hollow echo of carved dirt and stone blended with steel reinforcements. At least Aiden had his phone flashlight when we’d walked this path before.
I run for so long that I think I must be near the thousands of stairs I’ll have to take to get above ground. My knee aches, pain sharpening with every step. All I can hear is my harsh breathing and feet crunching the dirt. If this game winds up being more of a marathon than a sprint, then it’s only a matter of time before Jackson catches up to me.
