I catch a glimpse of the small smirk tilting his lips before I turn toward the door. I’m twisting the doorknob when his low, syrupy words trickle along my nerve endings. He mutters them from the shadows, but I hear them like he yelled them into a megaphone.
 
 “Bet you don’t last the night.”
 
 My shoulders hitch, and a familiar thrill coasts down my spine. “Bet you twenty bucks I do.”
 
 “Bet you fifty.”
 
 I run my tongue over my teeth, hot, bitter annoyance swelling inside of me. “Yes, sir.”
 
 The lure of freedom and an orange glow wash over me as I open the door to the bridge.
 
 “Penelope.”
 
 My lids flutter shut. So close.
 
 “It’s yes, boss.”