Page 68 of One Shattered Crown
“Have you worked for Justice long?” I ask, rubbing the back of my neck. My eyes are scratchy. I sneeze. Darn it. I’m catching a cold from all the running through forests. I definitely need sleep.
“My whole life. We’re distant cousins.”
That’s dedication. So I can’t get out of here by flirting or bribing. Good to know. “Does he usually trap women in penthouses without a television?”
“Nope,” Wynd says cheerfully. “I can honestly say you’re our first penthouse kidnappee. I stocked the kitchen for you. If there’s anything missing, you let me know, and I’ll make sure you get it.”
“Gee,” I drawl. “You kidnappers are so kind.”
“We try.” He steps back into the elevator and partially turns, revealing a gun under his jacket. I’m sure it’s not the only weapon on his body. “I also bought the books. If there’s another one you want, let me know.”
Isn’t he accommodating? “Someday I’ll come into a lot of money. Is there any chance you’d let me go for a hefty amount?” Might as well ask.
“Money doesn’t do me any good if my head’s removed from my body.” He’s still cheerful. “I also have a girlfriend, so don’t embarrass us both by trying to seduce me.”
I wouldn’t know how. “Your girlfriend can’t like your job.”
“My girlfriend thinks I work for a social media company as a security consultant, which is mostly true. She doesn’t know the rest of it.” His blue eyes are earnest but knowing. Somewhat hard. “I should let you know that there’s a lot of chatter coming out of Aquarius Social right now about your location. Searches being conducted. You might want to start practicing your breakup speech to Wesley Whisper. He’s a decent guy, a good hacker, and I’d hate to see him floating in the ocean.”
I gulp. “What in the—”
“I’ve known Justice a long time. He doesn’t share.” The dog lopes into the elevator and it closes.
What in the world did that mean? Justice can’t be considering a long-term thing with me. The very idea lights my body on fire, and if I felt like being nicer to myself, I might allow a daydream or two. But why go there? I return to the book and read another chapter until Wynd comes back with a happily winded Leo.
“I’ll see you in three hours,” Wynd says.
“Whatever.” I don’t look up from the book.
The second the door closes again, I move, rubbing my eyes.
I already have the copper wire stripped from the lamp.It coils warm in my palm as I drag a chair under the smoke detector and climb up. The plastic cover pops off easily.
Most people don’t look at a building as a living thing. I do, and everything is connected somehow. “I have a plan, Leo.” The dog just looks at me. It’s a good plan. “I’m going to find a cure to the darn computer code I created, make it available to all four of the families, and then Justice can have the code. It’s a win-win for everyone.” But I need time and space to do that. Then maybe I can cure him, too.
Inside the smoke detector is a small board with two sets of wires. One pair feeds it power. The other ties this detector into a larger circuit that runs through every sensor on this floor and down to the fire panel in the basement. That’s how the system keeps watch—one long loop of signals. If one detector stops talking, the panel just logs a fault. No sirens. No strobe lights. No warning to the men guarding the building.
I hold my breath and twist the copper onto the terminals, shorting the connection. The detector dies under my hand. The line goes silent.
Man, Justice is going to be pissed. Triumph filters through me. I know this isn’t a game. But if it is, I’m winning. Kind of. Maybe for now.
That silence is all it takes. When the system loses contact with a unit, it frees an elevator for inspection. It’s a built-in service feature, a way for a technician to ride up without triggering alarms. A loophole hiding in plain sight.
I climb down, my pulse steady and sharp. Then the elevator dings, soft and polite. The doors slide open and I rush inside, motioning for Leo.
He follows, panting happily, looking at me like we’rein for a great adventure. I swear, this dog has human qualities.
I laugh. Okay, this might be a game and I might be having fun. Justice shouldn’t have said he was punishing me, and he should’ve left me with a laptop, at the very least.
Let’s see him find me now.
Inside the cart, the buttons glow, waiting for me. Normally they’d be locked behind a keycard, but in service mode, the restrictions vanish. I press the button for the third floor since I’m sure there are guards on the bottom floor, and the car begins to descend silently. The guards down below have no clue.
The doors open onto an empty hallway, and we hurry out, headed straight toward the exit stairs. The stairwell door handle turns under my palm because the building codes require it. I step inside and jog down, each flight taking me closer to the street, closer to freedom.
Anticipation lights through me. Yeah, I’m challenging Justice, whether I admit it or not. Might as well be honest with myself. I broke his cage with nothing but copper wire and stubbornness. I guess he needs to know the real me, because I’ll always be a challenge.
But I have to succeed this time, because I can’t take another spanking. I just can’t.
