Page 35 of V is for Valentine
He gave a small laugh. “I guess I’m what you might call a protective rival.”
And he wanted to get Sandra to her apartment so that he could get back to the school and free Felix from Bertha’s evil clutches.
*
It took afreaking eternity for Danny’s steps to sound on the basement steps.
At least she hoped they were Danny’s footsteps. Thirty-five minutes alone in the confines of the furnace room had played havoc with her brain. Even if it wasn’t Danny, what would it matter? She was safely locked in the furnace room. No one would be getting her there.
She only hoped that Dannycouldget her out. If he couldn’t, then she figured he could drop tools through the small window, and she’d pound out the hinge pins. He might have to break the window to get the tools to her, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
And she was feeling desperate. She’d never liked small spaces, and this one seemed to be getting smaller by the moment. The footsteps stopped just outside the door.
“Felix?”
Was that a note of concern in his voice? She’d expected a healthy dose of “I told you so.”
No doubt that was coming.
“Yes,” she said dryly. “I’m here. Still.”
“You okay?”
“I’m not clawing the walls yet. But it’s not far off.”
The key was in a little worse shape than it had been before. She’d tried turning it once too often and now she was afraid that if she turned it again, it would snap.
“I think you may have to break the window outside and drop in the tools I need to take care of things on this side.”
“Okay.”
She heard him sliding his key into the exterior lock, but before she could tell him not to bother, he jiggled it a couple times and then she heard the distinctive sound of the hasp sliding free.
Heat washed over her as he pushed the door open.
“Honest. It was stuck.” She held up her key, which was legit bent at the top.
“I believe you.”
“Can I see your key?” she asked, flummoxed at why his had worked and hers had not.
He shrugged and handed it over. “I’ll just stay safely outside.”
“Good idea.” She slid the key into the lock and tried to turn it. She shouldn’t have felt so stupidly relieved when it didn’t turn, but she did. She pulled the key out.
“Want to try?”
He took the key and repeated her actions.
“This is a problem,” he said when the key once again refused to turn.
“You think?” She let out a long breath. “What say we exchange phone numbers, you know, in case something comes up in the future?”
“Good idea.”
They pulled out their phones and tapped in numbers, then pocketed them again. Felicity shifted her weight and looked past him. “Thank you for the rescue. I need to go home.” She’d had enough of the old building for one day.
“Do you think it’s time?” he asked dryly.
