Hideaway (Devil's Night 2)

I laughed as he held the small blade away from his face and fixed me with a snarl.

But I let out my smirk and twisted the point of the blade in my other hand, the one he didn’t see, poking just above his groin.

He jerked back, a little snarl on his face.

“Not only are your ducks not in a row, Michael, but they’re shitting all over the place.” I stuck the blades back in my pockets. “You boys need a role model.”

Slipping to the side, I walked around them and headed out of the basement, hearing Michael’s angry whisper behind me. “What the fuck?”

“I was gonna tell you!” Will whisper-yelled back.

I shook my head.

What a waste of time.

After all the years of grunt work—cleaning, inventorying, drop-offs and pick-ups—I finally had a little respect. Now I was tasked with shadowing Kai and his little crew, watching them fumble to take five steps when they could get what they needed in one.

I pulled the front of my hat down farther, trying to resist the yawn that was pushing its way out.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I pulled it out as I headed up the stairs.

Meet me on thirteen.

Kai. How did he get my number? And then I remembered I’d texted him that morning. Great. Thirteen, and I was in the basement. Shoving my phone back into my pocket, I grabbed the railing and started vaulting up the stairs, jogging and skipping steps as I flew. Reaching each landing, I looked up and took note of the floor number, but on nine I stopped, my lungs now feeling tight and small. Looking upward, I saw the dim flights above me, lit only by the emergency lights.

Taking a deep breath, I jogged a little slower up the remaining flights, coming to thirteen and opening the stairwell door.

A stitch cramped my side, and I swallowed through the dryness in my throat. I thought I was in good shape, dammit.

I stepped into a dim hallway and looked left and right, the gray carpeting with a white filigree design slowly fading into the black voids down each dark hallway.

“Hello?” I called out.

I turned right, switching on my flashlight, but a draft hit my back, and I looked behind me. A subtle wind cooled my lips.

Turning left instead, I walked down the hallway, inspecting each door as I passed and finally noticing one that was wide open. I peered inside, seeing white sheer curtains on the other side of the room whipping in the wind.

The balcony doors must be open.

I walked into the room, looking both ways as I crossed, and finally noticed Kai’s form out on the balcony. Peeling back the curtain, I stepped outside.

“The twelfth floor balcony,” he said, leaning over the railing and turning his head to look at me.

I followed his lead, peering over the railing and looking down. Every floor had a balcony on it, and the one directly below us was no different. Intricate carvings in the stone, a thick bannister, everything wet from the rain…

I straightened, cocking my head at him. The twelfth floor.

Suspicion started to creep in.

“Did you really think I’d help you search The Pope if I thought Damon was hiding here?” I asked. “You’re not buying this hotel because of some story I told you when I was seventeen, are you?”

I saw the corner of his mouth lift in a smile. “A. Yes,” he stated. “I think you’d help me search it, if for no other reason than to point me in the wrong direction.” He pulled himself back up and looked at me. “And B, I’m not sure Damon told you where he was hiding.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because I remember him being particularly possessive of you,” he said. “I think you know he’s in the city, but I think he might be watching you as much as he is us.”

I laughed to myself.