Page 37 of Kiss Across the Universe
Kit didn’t flinch. He pushed on the door handle and opened the door, then looked out carefully. He tugged Alannah forward.
She stepped out and began to tremble. She was out of the room. It took concentration to overcome the high-noted aria in her mind, built by dizzy relief, but she remembered to turn to the right and then right again, to push on the fire escape door. Kit held the door open. She moved forward stiffly, gripped the cold iron railing and forced herself to hurry down the concrete steps as swiftly as her feet could manage.
He kept pace with her easily.
The next floor landing had a big white sign next to the door, and a red number.2.
One more flight to go. She stumbled down the first half, gripping the handrail, and was very glad that Kit was supporting her. They turned at the landing and moved down the last set of steps. She was three steps from the bottom and the door into the corridor with a big“1”on it, when two floors above them, the fire escape door was thrust open so hard that it slammed against the wall.
Shoes scraping on the concrete.
Alannah’s heart shot into her throat, making it hard to breathe. She almost levitated down the last three steps.
Kit put his finger to his lips.
She nodded.
He eased open the door and she slipped through it. Her legs were cooperating more now she was on a level surface.
Kit brushed past her and turned to the right. The corridor ended right there, with a glass door that revealed a barren landscape of white dirt, with a concrete path that took a turn to the left beyond the door.
Kit pushed the glass door open. It clicked electronically as it swung open. Alannah moved through it and shivered at the touch of the cool air. It could only be about fifty degrees, but the fresh air smelled heavenly.
Kit hurried past her. “Can you run?” he asked over his shoulder, then took off in a loping sprint that covered the ground faster than it should have.
Alannah tried, but her hips and quads protested. She shuffled after him, but a ninety-year-old could have lapped her.
It didn’t seem to bother Kit that he was leaving her a long way behind. He dug keys out of his jacket as he ran and tripped the lock fob. She spotted his truck when the tail lights blipped on for a second, and understood then that he was going to get the truck going, then pick her up. It was up to her to stay ahead of the man, who would burst out through the door at any second.
The thought added speed to her feet. She hurried as best she could, feeling her legs and joints easing with each step.
The green truck backed out of the bay and around in a sharp curve, as Kit hauled on the wheel. Then he worked the steering wheel the other way and tromped on the gas, bringing the truck skidding around in her direction.
Alannah moved to the left, so she would be on the passenger side of the cab when he stopped.
He skidded to a halt and looked past her.
Alannah heard the glass door sigh open and footsteps on the concrete path. The sounds gave her strength. She tore open the truck door. It felt as though she levitated into the seat, although she must have put her foot on the step and boosted herself up. She couldn’t remember gripping anything and hauling herself up. Just falling into the seat.
She reached for the door, but Kit took off before she could close it. The door swung shut by itself, propelled by the sudden acceleration.
Alannah gripped the padded dashboard, horror building in her throat when she saw the man standing in the middle of the narrow access out of this section of the parking lot, into the bigger section beyond and the front of the hotel.
The man looked as though he had no intention of getting out of the way even though Kit gunned the engine.
Alannah held her breath, fear spearing through her.
“Hold on!” Kit cried and jerked the steering wheel to the right. The truck lurched in that direction, and bumped up over the concrete curbing, into the soft white sand that separated the two sections of parking lot.
Alannah let out a wordless exclamation, gripped the handle on the doorframe and hung onto the dash with her other hand. The truck bounced over the white sand, the left fender taking out a spindly sapling that still wore a nursery tag. Something thudded loudly underneath the truck, giving a deep boinging sound. Alannah sucked back her startled cry. But the engine didn’t cut out and a touch of relief trickled through her.
The truck rocked over the other side of the divider onto the dirty tarmac, the engine howling. The back tires slipped on the dirt, then bit into the curb. The truck jerked forward.
Then they were racing for the entrance to the hotel, which Alannah could see just ahead. Across the road from the entrance was a lot filled with weeds and baby trees. Then houses behind their fences. It looked normal. Peaceful.
Kit glanced in the mirror and swore softly, as he wheeled the truck into the street and tromped on the gas once more. The truck rattled down the road, heading for a busier street. Alannah had no idea where they were, except that she could tell by the shapes of the mountains on either side that they were on the north side of the town. Kit was heading east, toward the highway.
She twisted on her seat to look through the back window.
