Page 149 of Smoke Screen
“Combination is twelve, thirty-two, eighteen, four,” Zeke blurted.
Phin squatted, quickly spun the dial, and tried the lever.
Nothing.
He dipped his head, forced his mind to order.Breathe. Work the problem.
“Try again,” Maddy said. “Maybe you missed a number.”
Lifting his head, he zeroed in on the dial, spun it again, making sure to hit each digit exactly. He tried the lever again. No dice.
“Well, I didn’t miss a number that time.”
Fuck it.
Phin reached in, grabbed the safe from the bottom, planted his feet and … heaved. The safe however, went nowhere.
How much did the damned thing weigh? He scooted sideways, giving Zeke room to squeeze in behind the desk. “It’s gotta be over three hundred pounds. Help me.”
They both squatted. Phin leaned in, throwing some weight into pushing the top of the safe sideways. Zeke took hold and Phin gripped the bottom.
“On three, we lift,” Phin said. “One, two, three.”
Upsy-daisy. They pushed up, bringing the safe with them.
“The hand truck!” Maddy said from her spot in front of the desk. “Downstairs. I’ll get it.”
Phin shot a look over his shoulder. “Be careful. Just get it to the bottom of the stairs. We’ll carry this down.”
If it didn’t possibly contain priceless jewels, he’d toss the safe over the rail.
A click sounded in Phin’s ear. “Your guard is getting back in the SUV,” Rohan huffed, his voice breathy.
Running.
“We gotta haul ass,” Zeke said.
Moving together, they worked their way around the desk to the door, where they stepped onto the metal landing of the staircase. “I’ll go first,” Phin said. “One step at a time.”
“Got it.”
One by one, they descended the stairs, checking their footing—step, step, step—each time and going way slower than Phin would have liked.
His chest thumped, his pounding pulse begging him to go faster, and his mind went to war with his body. One of them tumbling ass over elbow would turn this into a total shitshow.
Step.
Step.
Step.
“I’m here,” Maddy said. “Got the hand truck.”
They reached the bottom, Maddy swung in with the hand truck, and they lowered the safe.
“Hello?”
Everyone froze and Phin’s internal war went to DEFCON one.
