Page 192 of Make Us Yours
He shakes his head. “No. Just get us home.”
I give him a curt nod and step on the gas once more, going over the speed limit and praying we don’t get stopped. Apparently, luck is on our side because we make it to the underground garage in no time, without being pulled over by the cops. Except the second I shut the engine, the whole garage goes into blackout mode.
“What the hell?” Gabe steps out of the car, looking around as I do the same.
It takes a few seconds for the backup generator to kick in, and small lights along the walls light up, giving us a dim view of our surroundings. Gabe and I quickly head over to the elevator, but it isn’t responding.
“Shit, the power’s out. Try the other,” I tell him as he jogs over to it and presses the call button, but nothing happens.
“Noh…” Gabe starts.
“I know. Let’s take the stairs.”
We hurry to the stairwell, skipping steps as we make our way up to the twentieth floor. “I have a bad feeling, Noh. This… I remember this from my dream.”
“Let’s just hurry up, we’re almost there,” I say, feeling the muscles in my legs burn the higher we climb.
We’ve just reached the seventeenth floor when the worst happens. A loud explosion sounds above us, violently shaking the walls and ground, making us trip on the stairs.
“FUCK!”
VERONICA
I finish placing the dishes in the dishwasher and start it up, then look over at my phone and notice a message from Gabe. A smile spreads on my face as I pick it up and read his text.
Husband #1
Practice canceled. On our way home. Love you, baby.
It’s dated ten minutes ago, so I don’t bother replying since they’ll be here soon, and I’d rather tell him I love him in person.
I’m just about to put my phone down when the power goes out. It was pretty gloomy outside this morning, so I kept the blinds shut and turned on the lights around the penthouse, not wanting to see the depressing weather outside. But now that all the lights have gone out, it’s dark.
I quickly turn on my phone’s flashlight and walk over to the breaker in the laundry room, trying to see if maybe something jumped. But everything’s still on, which means it’s either a power outage or the whole building that went off.
My phone shrills in my hand, and I jump out of my skin, heart pounding in my chest. “Jesus,” I mutter as I look at who’s calling.‘Ricky’flashes on my screen, and I hurry to answer it. They probably noticed something and want to check on me.
“Hey, Ricky.”
“Miss Masters, are you all right?” His deep, rough voice filters through the phone as I switch him to speaker, making my way back into the kitchen.
“Yes, but I think the power went out. Nothing’s working up here.” I try the switch on the wall as I say it, making sure I’m not going crazy.
“Yes, we’re aware. We just entered the lobby. We’ll try to find out what’s caused the outage. Marcos will come up to stay with you until it’s back on.”
“Oh, there’s no need. I’m fine, and everything is locked up here. No need to come up.” Then I chew on my bottom lip as a thought pops into my mind. “Are the cameras in the penthouse still working?”
“Yes, they work through cellular data, just like your phone, sothey weren’t affected by the power going out. We’ve already informed our boss of the situation at hand, and he assured us that someone is monitoring the live feed as we speak,” he reassures me, and some of the tension in my muscles relaxes. “Now are you certain you don’t want one of us up there right now?”
“No, it’s fine. Just let me know what you find out,” I say, remembering that Noah and Gabe should be back soon.
“All right, but the minute we find out what’s going on, we’ll be up to make a sweep. Just to be sure.”
“Okay.” We hang up and I put my phone down with a sigh, keeping the flashlight aiming upwards as I look over at the curtains covering the floor-to-ceiling windows.
“Stupid automatic curtains that only work with a remote. How the hell am I supposed to open them now? Didn’t think about that, company, did you?”
I shake off the icky feeling creeping up my spine and turn toward the living room, ready to try and pry them open somehow. But stop dead in my tracks with a gasp when I spot someone already standing there, someone I prayed I’d never see again.
