Page 59 of His Enemy's Daughter
“Found it!”
“Go.” I fire three more shots down the hallway, keeping the advancing guards pinned. “I’m right behind you.”
“Not without you.” Her hand finds the back of my jacket, pulling with surprising strength. “Either we both make it out or neither of us does.”
The stubborn courage in her voice does something complicated to my chest. “You’re a pain in my ass, you know that?”
“And you’re an overprotective idiot.” But she’s already moving into the tunnel, ledger clutched to her chest like a lifeline. “Come on before the gas kills us both.”
I fire one last volley, then plunge into darkness after her. The section of wall slides shut behind us just as smoke starts hissing from vents in the vault—poison gas, designed to kill anyone who got past Sabino’s other defenses.
Close. Too fucking close.
The tunnel is narrow, barely wide enough for us to move single file. I can’t see Regina in the absolute darkness, but I can hear her breathing—fast, scared, but controlled.
“Where does this lead?” My voice echoes off close walls.
“Based on the direction we’re going, it should exit near the service entrance on the north side.” She’s moving fast, one hand trailing the wall for guidance. “Assuming I’m correct.”
“Assuming.”
“Do you want reassuring lies or honest uncertainty?” Her laugh carries hysteria she’s fighting to contain. “Because I’m fresh out of comforting platitudes.”
“Honest uncertainty.” I reach forward, finding her shoulder in the darkness and squeezing gently. “Always honest with me, Regina. Even when the truth is we might die in a tunnel under your father’s house.”
“We’re not dying.” Her voice firms with determination. “I refuse to die before watching Sabino’s empire burn. So we’re going to reach that exit, and we’re going to escape, and we’re going to use these ledgers to destroy everything he built.”
The conviction in her words steadies something in my chest. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Don’t ‘ma’am’ me when we’re fleeing for our lives in absolute darkness.”
“Would you prefer ‘boss’? ‘Commander’? ‘Terrifyingly competent woman who nearly gave me a heart attack when guards showed up early’?”
“I’ll take the last one.” Her hand finds mine in the darkness, squeezing with gratitude and fear combined. “And for the record, you nearly gave me a heart attack when you put yourself between me and armed men. Very heroic. Very stupid.”
“That’s my job description.” The tunnel starts to slope upward, suggesting we’re nearing an exit. “Heroic stupidity in service of keeping you alive.”
“Your job description is watching my back, not being a human shield.” But there’s warmth in her voice beneath the protest. “Though I’ll admit, watching you handle those guards was... compelling.”
“Compelling.” I can’t help but smile despite our circumstances. “That’s one way to describe efficient violence.”
“I was going to say arousing, but that seemed inappropriate given the fleeing-for-our-lives context.”
The admission makes heat flare in my chest despite everything. “We survive this, I’m going to explore exactly how arousing you found it.”
“Promises, promises.” But her breathing has gone faster, and not from exertion.
Light appears ahead—faint, but unmistakable. The service entrance Regina predicted, barely visible in the tunnel’s gloom but growing brighter as we approach.
“Almost there.” She picks up speed, and I match her pace, hand still clasped in hers like a lifeline.
“Once we’re outside, we sprint for the tree line. Car’s hidden two hundred yards north. Keys in the exhaust pipe.”
“You stashed a getaway car?”
“I stashed three getaway cars in different locations,” I tell her. “I’m thorough.”
We burst from the tunnel into cool night air that tastes like freedom and pine. Behind us, alarms are shrieking—Sabino’s estate lit up like a Christmas tree, guards swarming like angry hornets.
