Page 711 of One More Kiss

Chapter4

To most people,The Underground was nothing more than a scarred green door on the corner of Jefferson and West. But to a select few, it was a private society of its own. A place that welcomed embraced outcasts, geeks, and hackers.

We’d been trying for more than a year to work our way in to no avail.

Or so we’d thought.

The scent of empanadas from the street vendors filled the air while we waited. The hint of normal colliding with the twisted unknown only added to the cognitive dissonance screaming through me as the world I knew morphed over and over, ever-changing, pieces revealing themselves for what they’d always been—but I just couldn’t see.

We hovered at the edge of an underground world. Occasionally brushing against parts of the inner sanctum that kept everything moving. The warped components hidden in the shadows, chugging away, keeping the beautiful pieces shining in the spotlight.

The door cracked open and a skinny guy with a scruffy beard and stained T-shirt glared at us through the crack. “What?”

“You Gunnar?” I asked.

“Depends,” he said with a grunt.

“We need to get to the hive.”

He looked me up and down and shot a glance over my shoulder at Lexi and Talia. “Well, why didn’t you say so.”

We stepped into the dank light when he opened the door. The minute it clicked shut, he twisted the deadbolt and punched in a code. Turning to us, he tipped his head and glanced at our bags. “Hand over the electronics.”

“Fuck, no.” I gripped my bag tighter and kept my eyes on him.

“Okay, well, I seem to have forgotten where to find the hive so you can go.” He moved toward the door and I slid in to block him.

“We’re not leaving. River told us to meet her at the hive and we’re going to meet her at the hive.”

The only sound filling the stagnant air was the sound of our breaths as we stood off with one another. Gunnar, a stickler for the rules, and me, brewing for a fight.

His lip twitched and he scratched his beard, the movement making what looked like a barbecue stain dance over his nipple. Shoving his hand in his back pocket, he pulled out a key. “Put them all in the trunk over there. You take the key.”

I snatched the metal from his hand. “Now give me the second key.”

“What second key?”

“There’s always a second key.”

He heaved a sigh and pulled another key from his other back pocket. “You’re good. Listen,” he said with a shake of his head. “We don’t want your equipment. We just haven’t cleared it yet for the hive.”

“And River’s is cleared?”

“Two months ago,” he confirmed.

“Fair enough,” I said as I opened the trunk and we all laid our electronics inside. “Gunnar?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m going to need that third key now.”

He let out a gruff laugh. “I like you.”

“I wish I could say the same, but I’ll get there.” I held my hand out and wiggled my fingers. “The key?”

With a cheeky grin giving me a quick peek at the careless boy he’d likely once been, he popped open his jeans and yanked down his zipper.

Talia choked on a laugh next to me as he reached in and pulled out a warm silver key and dropped it into my hand.

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