Page 62 of Bound By Fire
13
Ridge
Robyn finally pulls up to an apartment block I recognize. It looks different during the day. It’s only around five stories high, with palm trees at the front entrance.
Her indicator blinks on, and she steers down a ramp at the side of the building, into the underground parking. I watch her dark blue Audi disappear into the mouth of it. There’s a boom gate at the bottom, a small black panel mounted on a steel post, and her brake lights flare for two seconds. She lowers the window, and her hand comes out. Then the gate lifts and she’s gone.
I note that there doesn’t seem to be a guard at the entrance, but perhaps there is one patrolling inside.
I pull into the visitors’ parking out front. Then I jump out, clicking the lock key as I walk away, eager to get to Robyn.
I’m feeling a little on edge since the incident at the store. I go down the ramp and through an unlocked pedestrian entrance into the underground parking area.
I don’t like it at all.
Although there are plenty of cameras down here, I note that there are too many blind spots here as well.
A sedan beeps three rows over, and a woman in heels makes her way to the resident’s door at the far end of the level. I stand in the middle of the lot and watch her. She doesn’t look at me once. She walks straight to the door, puts her thumb on a small biometric reader on the wall, and the door clicks open. She’s inside in less than four seconds. The door shuts automatically behind her.
This is a little better.
Robyn gets out of her car. She’s pulled into a bay near the back, the one closest to that same resident door. She’s lifting her grocery bags out of the trunk, two in each hand, and she’s got that small frown going.
I cross the lot toward her, and she jumps as I get closer.
“Sorry,” I tell her. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s fine.” She blows out a breath. “How did you get down here so quickly? I was about to come out and find you.”
“The pedestrian gate is unlocked.”
“Oh, yeah.” She nods. “It’s unlocked during the day and is normally locked at night.”
“Normally?” I lift my brows.
“They sometimes forget.”
This building is a shit show.
“We don’t get much trouble.”
I make a noise that – I hope – conveys my irritation.
I take the bags out of her hands.
“I can manage.”
“I’m sure you can. Show me how you get to your apartment from here.”
“Sure thing.” When we get to the resident door, she puts her thumb on the reader. There’s a small green flash. The lock disengages.
She pushes the door open, and I pull it closed, putting my thumb to the reader. It makes a beeping sound and goes red.
“Happy?”
“Marginally,” I mutter.
She uses her thumb to unlock the door again, and we go through.
