Page 51 of A Little Bit More

“I’m okay,” Julia reassured her, although that was straining the truth.

“I was talking to myself,” Isobel said, stepping so close she was plastered up against Julia’s side.

A flashlight flicked on, and Rachel waved it around. “Use the lights on your phones,” she said, as though they were all a little on the dull side.

“I don’t have mine.” Isobel looked up at Julia. “Do you?”

She shook her head.

“Here.” Ryan ferreted around in his jeans’ pockets. “Use mine.”

Isobel took it gratefully, and a few seconds later, there was more than enough light for them to see by. But it didn’t make Julia feel any better. They were still in a silent building, with no electricity, and strange things happening all around them.

Julia wanted her husband. Joe would know what to do. Joealwaysknew what to do. And if, for some strange reason, he didn’t, she could just hide behind him.

“Ryan, stay here and watch the women. I’ll check control.” Harvard’s voice was low, confident, calm, and Julia decided that, after Joe, she liked him best of all.

“No!” Isobel’s hold on Julia tightened, and she knew that was going to leave a bruise. “I’m not staying here with Rachel and Ryan. If they don’t kill each other, Rachel will probably shoot me by mistake, and Ryan will get hungry, because his stomach has a twenty-minute timer, and then I’ll be the only available snack. I’ve seen this movie too. Only it was a plane crash, not a building crash. I’m coming with you.”

“For the love of Gucci, someone needs to stop you from watching television,” Rachel snapped. “Nobody is going to turn cannibal when there’s a perfectly good kitchen upstairs and about three million restaurants just outside the front door.”

“Rachel,” Harvard said, “if you have a weapon, give it to Ryan. I’m with Isobel on this; I’d be a whole lot happier if you weren’t armed. You haven’t spent any time at the range, and no practice makes you dangerous.”

“But it’s my gun. I don’t want his sweaty paws all over it.”

“Rachel,” Harvard drawled. Just that. One word.

There was a moment’s silence, and Julia held her breath.

“Fine,” Rachel said with obvious bad grace. “Here’s the gun.” She thrust it at Ryan.

“Keep your finger away from the trigger,” Ryan said. “I don’t want you putting a hole in me while you hand it over… Got it. Well done. Nobody died.”

“Okay,” Harvard said. “We’re going in. Stay to the right. We’ll skirt the sparring area and head for the control room. Hold up your phones to light the way.”

No one said a word as they followed Harvard into the room. The space was eerily silent, the darkness impenetrable beyond the light from their phones.

“Why are you tiptoeing?” Isobel whispered to Julia.

“Why are you whispering?” she replied.

“Why did I come down here with all of you when I could have taken a taxi to Sloane Square and gone shopping instead?” Rachel said—definitelynotwhispering.

There was a series of loud clicks, making everyone freeze in place.

“Ryan,” Harvard said, “check the door to the stairwell.”

Ryan jogged back to the door. “Locked. The automatic system’s shut them down.”

“Or someone using it has,” Julia said.

“I don’t like Gremlins.” Isobel curled her hands into the back of Julia’s blouse and held on tight. “Nasty little buggers. I think we should get out of here. We should, shouldn’t we? Get out of here? There has to be an exit somewhere. Where’s the exit? Does anyone know? Oh, dear stars above, let there be an exit!”

“Stop it,” Rachel snapped. “Do youwantto be a female cliché? Get a grip on yourself and calm down.”

“I’m pregnant; I’m allowed to get hysterical when we’re trapped in a basement during a blackout.” She took a deep breath, whether to carry on shouting or to scream, Julia wasn’t sure.

Rachel slapped a hand over Isobel’s mouth. “I will gag you, if I have to. Now, are you going to behave?”