Page 17 of Release You

Russ bounced in place. “God, Henry. ’Bout fucking time.” He pulled the blueprint holder over his head. “I told you I’d come in handy. Didn’t I say that?” He took out a blueprint, walked to the new tunnel, and switched on the light. “Electrical already goes through here. I took some liberties.” He beamed at me.

“Thanks.” I squeezed his shoulder.

He laid the blueprints on the ground and pointed to the labels. I recognized the overall design. It was a drawing of Cavalier Manor, with my great-grandfather’s signature at thebottom of the page. The only difference was the title. It readThe Speak Softly Shop. Unlike the drawings for the manor, this design had every tunnel marked.

During the Prohibition Era, staying a step ahead of the police had been the main priority. Tunnels had been shut down and rebuilt as needed for a better part of the decade. At least that was what Grandad used to say. At the age of thirteen, he’d been an active participant in the family business. Prohibition ended, and along with it, the need for secret tunnels and clandestine bars.

This tunnel led straight to the manor. According to the drawings, it went all the way up to the coat closet in the Cavalier Hotel, Nikki’s side of the hotel. Had she chosen that side because she knew or because she was being nice and wanted me to have the bar? Not fucking likely. She knew about the passages in the Cavalier Hotel and how this one in particular connected to the Cavalier Manor. She must’ve used this tunnel to sneak into our house the night I found her stealing Mom’s money.

“You’ve gone through it?” I asked.

Russ shook his head. “Electrical only runs for about a quarter mile. Beyond that, I couldn’t get the guys to keep working without answering questions that, well, are for you to answer. This tunnel gives you direct access to Cavalier Manor. What now, Henry?”

Finally, a step in the right direction. A flush of calm settled in my stomach. I should be running to Cavalier Manor. I’d been waiting for this moment for months. I had the answers right in front of me, but for the life of me, all I wanted to do was run upstairs and tell Nikki about it. Would she come with me if I asked her? Or would she turn me down once again? I rubbed the side of my face.Get her out of your head already.

“As they say, let’s see how deep the rabbit hole goes.” I stared at the passageway in front of me.

“Left a couple of suits and light equipment in here, just in case you were up to the task.” Russ flashed me a grin and went into the tunnel. “I would’ve been so disappointed if you’d said you wanted nothing to do with all this. Unlike your uncle, you sure know how to live up to the Cavalier name.” He chuckled.

“Yeah. I’m the boy who ran away to a different country, scared out of his wits, remember?” I donned the gray suit he offered. It fit tight around my thighs, but the arms had plenty of movement when I squeezed them together to test it out. After I zipped it up, I picked up an ax off the pile of tools Russ had brought.

“You can’t blame yourself for that, Henry. You were only sixteen. But now you’re here. And you finally have the chance to make things right.”

“Let’s hope you’re right.” I nodded.

Past the half-mile mark, the tunnel got narrow, veered right, and dead-ended. According to the blueprints, this tunnel led all the way to Cavalier Manor. The wall blocking our path wasn’t supposed to be there. After all these years since Prohibition ended, why had someone taken the time to close it off?

I gripped the pickax and started chipping away at the concrete, along with Russ. The muscles in my arms burned from the effort, but I couldn’t make myself stop. Not until I was through to the other side. A good half hour had gone by before Russ stopped and slumped next to me. I let go too, falling to my knees.

“Fuck.”

“I know it doesn’t look like it, but we made progress.” He braced his hands on his knees.

“Damn. Looks like they just poured cement directly in here.” I glanced up.

“Someone was in a hurry.” Russ stared at the rubble around us. “How about we pick it up again tomorrow?”

I fixed my gaze on what was left of the cement wall. Nikki’s face appeared, all blonde hair and bigger-than-life smile. Things seemed so easy when she was around. How did she do that?

Wiping my brow, I reached for the pickax and stabbed at the wall again. Again and again. I’d been mad at Nikki all these years for not showing up to our meeting place. We’d made a promise to run away together. Yeah, she hadn’t shown, but I never went looking for her either. I let her down too. I broke our promise too.

My arms were on fire, but nothing mattered. I’d left this place once empty-handed. No way I was letting that happen again. My goddamn life was on the line. Another blow, and the ax went through the cement like butter, taking me with it. I fell in among the rubble as I gasped for air.

“Fuck, Henry.” Russ placed a hand over his mouth and coughed against the puff of dust in the air. “I think we’re through.” He climbed over me and got to work on removing the debris.

“Are you sure?” I couldn’t move a muscle.

He chuckled. “Yeah, come take a look.” He tossed more chunks of cement out of the way.

I got up and followed him through the small opening. On the other side, the tunnel continued. My whole body trembled while my hands throbbed, raw and bleeding. What was waiting for us on the other side?

“I have to keep going.” I swallowed against the dryness in my throat.

“I’m coming with you.”

We walked in silence the rest of the way. The closer we got to Cavalier Manor, the more I realized I didn’t have a plan forwhatever was waiting for me there. But turning back now wasn’t an option. I had waited long enough to come home.

“Okay.” Russ pointed up the steel ladder. “The blueprints show this manhole is about fifty yards from the house, off the manor gardens.”

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