Page 78 of Static/Cling

“It’s because I don’t know for sure if they have that lift monitored. We might set off an alarm or something if we try touse it. It requires a swipe card, which we don’t have, so I’m going to have to override that, and it might set something off. I’d rather you were closer to your destination if that happens.”

“Right. So why did you send us up here in the first place?”

“I hoped we wouldn’t need you. I had hoped Rufus could deal with it and that floor was the best place to keep you out of sight.”

“But Rufus only placed his brother in danger instead of trying to get him out of it.”

“I don’t know what’s going on with him. He’s gone dark on me, so we do it ourselves.”

“Okay. But I’m having a word with this guy about not being an asshole to the family he’s lucky enough to have.”

“Later.”

“It’s on my list,” he said.

“You ever go anywhere without a plan?”

“No.”

“Fair enough.”

“So stairs to the basement, then elevator.”

“Yes. Nice it works out that you don’t have to get into it until the basement. Less time to get stressed out.”

“That is true.”

“Be really careful, yeah?” Sal said. “The elevator is the only way to get into the sub-basement other than the outdoor tunnel. If you short it out trying to get on, we’re screwed.”

“Shit.”

“Get down there, first. One bridge at a time.”

“Right.”

The stairwell he took was empty for the first few flights, and there was no sinister creepy-crawly air to skitter over his skin, like there had been in the back stairwell.

At the main floor, he heard voices on the other side of the door and had to scramble back up to the landing above wherehe held his breath and prayed the two people who entered were going down and not up.

They did neither. They hurried up half a flight, forcing Bjorn to retreat further, while also being grateful he hadn’t put his boots back on, since his socked feet were silent on the concrete steps.

“What’s going on?” Sal asked.

Bjorn eased his head over the railing to peer down.

One of the people had their back against the wall, bracing them as their legs were raised and wrapped around the other’s waist. Both of them were naked from the waist down.

“Really?” Bjorn muttered, nearly silent. Not that the two people fucking each other’s brains out below would have heard him, with all the panting and grunting they were doing.

“B?” Leif asked.

“Wait,” he whispered.

“Waiting. But why?”

He didn’t dare talk anymore. The last thing he needed was to be overheard, and he didn’t expect the scene down there was going to be a long one.

He was right.

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