Page 34 of Harmless
That sounded like an off-limits conversation to me, so I grabbed his hand and laced my fingers through his. “Want to search for them together?”
There was that smile again. I swore just touching him, talking to him, validating him in any way, made him happy.
And that made me happy.
“It’s a date.” Santos brought our connected hands up and kissed the back of my palm.
“Hunting for an enemy together, so romantic.” I grinned at him. “Let’s check with the others and see what areas have already been cleared.”
Some of the Chasing Death guys had found hidden corridors to a maze of underground garages. Santos asked one of them if they’d seen Devin, and the man pointed down a corridor they hadn’t cleared yet.
We headed in that direction, our path illuminated by security lights in the ceiling and along the walls in a vast tunnel reinforced by concrete pillars.
“Did you know any of this was here?” I asked Santos.
“Not a clue,” he said.
“They really cut deep into the rock here.” I turned to glance behind me. “This whole place must have taken at least a decade to build. It’s amazing no one found out.”
“If they did, they were probably paid off,” Santos muttered. “Or captured or killed. Any of those seem likely—whoa.”
We stopped at the same time. The tunnel had opened up into a flat expanse of steel and concrete. A parking garage.
“Holy shit.” Santos walked up to one of the few cars that remained, a sleek red sports car that looked as though it could barely fit two people. “I used to watch street races of these things. Never thought I’d see a real one up close ever again.”
“The guests must have panicked and piled into the bigger vehicles when we showed up,” I mused. There were only a handful of other cars in the garage, all compact and flashy. The air had a slight burned-rubber smell, and dark tire tracks criss crossed all over the concrete floor. A bunch of guests definitely left in a hurry. Good fucking riddance.
Santos cupped his hands around his mouth. “Devin! You in here?” His voice echoed off the ceiling and floors in the mostly-empty garage.
Something prickled along my senses on the left side, like fingers skimming lightly down my arm. I looked in that direction, seeing only a bright blue car before swinging my gaze in the opposite direction.
The prickling only intensified, and then I heard Astarte’s voice.Look closer.
A flash of movement caught my eye and drew my attention back. All at once, my instincts roared.
“There!” I sprinted toward the blue car just as Nella took off, running away from it.
She ran hard but not fast. It seemed she’d been running and evading someone for a while because she was clearly gassed, breathing hard in her effort to get away. I pumped my arms and legs, gaining on her quickly. She had a head start, but I’d be caught up to her in seconds.
I was so focused on catching her that I’d forgotten about Santos’ friend, Devin.
“Devin, don’t!” I heard Santos yell.
Something bright silver flashed in my vision, and then with a cry, Nella went tumbling down. I had so much momentum that I nearly tripped over her, but I was able to jump over her crumpled form instead. When I turned back to her, Nella was clutching her leg where the handle of a knife stuck out of her calf muscle.
Devin emerged from a dark side corridor, as silent and deadly as his gladiator name, the Ghost. His face was stony, determined, with a knife in each hand at his sides.
“Devin.” I stepped in front of Nella, blocking his path to her. “Listen to me, I can’t let you kill her.”
“Move.” His voice carried a dark edge of calm. “I have every right to kill her.”
“I need her alive for information.” I extended a hand in an attempt to calm him. “If she dies, so do the secrets of Mystic Canyon. They’ll be able to start up again, somewhere else. We need to shut the whole operation down for good, and we can’t do that unless she talks.”
Despite her stab wound and the fact that she must have been in extreme pain, Nella let out an indignant snort. Without taking my eyes from Devin, I said, “Santos, secure her, will you?”
“You got it.” I heard his footsteps, a scuffle, and then a screech of pain and the sound of him dragging Nella across the floor. Hopefully it was by her injured leg.
“Look, I don’t dislike you,” Devin said, which seemed to be a high compliment coming from him. “But you don’t know everything she’s done to us, to me and him especially.” He nodded at Santos. “And I’m really fucking sick of taking orders from women. So, no offense, but she’s not leaving this garage alive.”
