"It's locked, Maya. If you can get out, go."
"Not without--"
"Go. We're fine."
I tried again, but the door wasn't opening and every second I hesitated was another second to get caught. They were fine. Not happy. Not free. But safe enough. Safer than Daniel. And weren't they all better off if I was free and looking for a way to get them out?
"Go, Maya. I'm fine and I'll take care of Kenjii."
I hesitated only another moment. Then I tiptoed to the top of the stairs. As soon as I reached it, I picked up voices below. I strained to hear what they were saying, but it was too far. I took one careful step down. If no one knew the system had malfunctioned, I might be able to get past--
I caught the words "Nicole" and "security," and stopped. The voices grew more urgent, one man whispering harshly to the other to find Nicole before anyone discovered she was missing or their asses would be on the line.
I backed up and looked around.
The roof. I jogged barefoot down the hall. It was only when I reached the door that I remembered Rafe had to buzz down to be allowed out. I turned the knob. It twisted, the door opening.
It's a trap.
Or the system is malfunctioning.
What if Nast is watching me right now, rubbing his hands as he gathers evidence of how uncontrollable I am? How I need to be in a secure cell where I can't escape, can't collaborate with Rafe, can't cause any trouble? And can't be subject to any "deal" they'd made with Antone. . . .
I was so lost in my confusion that I didn't hear footsteps until I caught a flicker of movement and turned to see a security guard cresting the landing. He saw me and stopped dead. A split second of shock crossed his face, then both hands sailed to his belt, one grabbing his gun, the other hitting a button on his radio.
The wail of a siren jolted me to life. I yanked open the door and raced up the steps. I kept my gaze fixed on the door at the top.
Please be open. Please be open. Don't trap me here in this--
I turned the handle and almost fell through as it opened. Behind me, the guard barked into his radio.
I flew through the door and onto the roof. I blinked against the darkness. The sky was overcast, pitch black. After a moment, my night vision kicked in, fueled by lights below. When I could see, I realized why the guard wasn't racing up the stairs after me. Because there was no place for me to go.
Logically, I'd already known that. In my race to escape, I hadn't stopped to be logical, though.
Boots clomped up the steps. I looked around. There was nothing higher than the balance beams. I took a running leap and vaulted up. I was crouched on the beam when the door banged open. I turned to see the guard, gun raised.
"There's no place to run," he said. "Just come back down--"
I ran along the beam. He swore and fired. The dart zoomed past me. I saw the end of the beam coming and realized there was no way I could jump onto the wall. It was too high.
A second dart snagged in the folds of my shirt. As I measured the distance to the wall, the guard shouted that I was just going to hurt myself, halt now before--
I backed up and took a running leap. I didn't try to jump onto the wall. Too dangerous. Instead, I caught it with both hands, the stone scraping my bare forearms, shoulders wrenching before I swung my legs up and scrambled onto the wall.
The guard lifted his gun. A figure shot from the doorway and knocked him aside. I saw dark hair and thought "Rafe," but that hope lasted only a moment, while the two skidded across the roof. Then Antone scrambled up, gun in hand.
"Are you mad or just incompetent?" he snarled at the guard, who was pushing to his feet. "You're going to shoot a tranquilizer dart at a girl on a seventy-foot-high wall?"
I looked down and when I did, my breath caught. As I'd seen earlier, the house was built on a mountainside, and they'd put the rooftop courtyard at the front of it, meaning I was looking down at a drop of at least twenty meters.
"You can't jump that, Maya." Antone advanced on me, gun lowered. "You know you can't."
I looked over at the roof. It rose steeply beyond the wall.
"That won't work, either," he said. "They were very careful when they gave you this exercise yard."