Page 93

“Everyone already knows they’re part of a book. It’s just…buried down deep. We have to convince them she’s not listening in right now. That’s the only way they’ll open up and share their thoughts with me.”
“And how do we do that?”
Good question. “We get a superhero outfit,” I said suddenly, grinning at Kate. “We give him the choice of whether or not to put it on. That has to help in some way.”
“It might, but it’s not enough.”
“Then we’ll have to go with it and see who else we can pull to our side.”
“Your side,” she pointed out. “I’m still not sure this isn’t all one big delusion.”
“Then why are you helping me?”
She frowned, shaking her head. “I don’t know. It’s this gut feeling, like…like I’m not who I normally am,” she grinned, looking back at me. “That’s what we go with.”
“It won’t be enough for everyone.”
“It doesn’t have to work on everyone. We just need to convince a few people. From there, we should be able to make some headway.”
I was so grateful that she believed me. I was beginning to think I was going to be drugged and stashed away for the remainder of my life. After making sure the coast was clear, she helped me out of bed and tossed some pants at me.
“We don’t have a lot of time. Everyone’s heading home.”
“I’ll take five minutes if that’s all I can get. It’s now or never.”
She pulled the door open and we ran down the hall, her shoes clacking as my bare feet smacked against the flooring. She hit the button for the elevator as I hid to the side. If anyone was watching and saw me attempting to leave, this could all be over before we had a chance to get away.
“Let’s go,” she said, tugging my arm.
We stepped in and she punched in the code, but just as the doors were closing, a hand slammed against the door, stopping it with a jerk. When it opened and I saw Knight’s face, I knew we were screwed.
He glared daggers at me as he stepped inside. “Rob.”
“Hey, Knight,” I said jovially.
“Going somewhere?”
“Just for a walk. Kate thought the fresh air might help to clear my head.”
“She did, did she?” His eyes slid to Kate’s and I thought it was all over, but instead, he pressed his hand to the scanner. “Then I guess we’d better get going.”
I held my breath as we descended to the parking lot level. Everything inside me was screaming to run, but that wasn’t possible. I could take care of myself, but Knight was another beast, and with his wife in the same elevator, there was no way I’d escape with my life.
The doors opened and he stepped aside, holding out his hand for me. I took my first step out, sure I was about to be killed. When nothing happened, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Like in a creepy horror movie, all the characters from Giulia’s Reed Security series stepped out of the shadows of the parking garage. I swallowed hard, only moving forward when Kate nudged me.
“What’s going on?” Hunter asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “You have something you want to say, Rob?”
“Actually…” I looked around, swallowing hard. “Yeah, I do.”
“Rob, we can help you,” Becky said, her eyes pleading with me to take the help.
“I don’t need help. What I need is for someone to understand what’s really happening here.”
“Hunter said you’re hearing voices,” Derek said. “We’ve all been there. Battle wounds have a way of?—”
“It’s not battle wounds,” I cut him off. “I know what you all think—that I’ve lost my mind. But think about it. When have I ever been in a battle with you guys? When has anything ever happened to me?”