Page 81 of Revenant

“We can backtrack, slip through the tunnels, but it will bring us out behind the property.” Gunner glares at the elevator like it personally offended him. “The delay will cost us time and allow them a chance to flee with Rue. Not to mention we would have to break into the asylum without raising the alarm. The last thing we want is to be arrested before we can reach her.”

“So we use the stairs,” James mutters, already spinning on his heels.

“The stairs are out.” Ellis rubs his temples, his expression distracted. “There is no route to them that isn’t engulfed in flames. Same with the tunnels. Even if we do reach them, there is a fifty-fifty shot of the ceilings being caved in. If the tunnels haven’t collapsed yet, they will soon.”

I purse my lips, tempted to go after Rue anyway. While I’m confident the flames won’t touch me, I’m uncertain how much resistance I have to a full blaze. Nor do I like the idea of us splitting up. Leaving the guys is a risk, one that I’m not willing to take.

“Our options are limited.” I rest my hands on my hips and glance at the others. “Suggestions?”

“I’m trying to reconnect the power to this section of the building, but something is blocking me.” Ellis swipes at his nose, and his hand comes away smeared with blood. I fucking hate pushing him. Unfortunately, we don’t have a choice, not if we want to rescue Rue in time. So as much as it bothers me, I bite my tongue and stay quiet.

Ellis presses his hand against the elevator, his eyes falling closed, and a furrow appears between his brows. “No matter how much I push electricity into the mechanisms, the engine refuses to engage. The current is getting stuck somewhere along the way.”

“They cut the cords,” Jace mutters, crossing his arms as he studies the metal doors with a peculiar expression on his face.

That’s when I realize he’s not watching the elevator, but something beyond it.

“Ghosts?” I tilt my head, then squint, thinking I could see them if I concentrate hard enough.

“Bitch girl is sticking her head through the door.” Jace smirks for a second, but his humor falls away. “The power cables are cut.”

“Fuck,” I swear under my breath, my head dropping to my chest. “That means he is at least partially aware of what we can do. Maybe not how we can do anything yet, but it’s only a matter of time.”

That information can’t get out.

“I don’t see the problem.” James carelessly drops the girl he’s carrying, her body hitting the ground with a thump, then he stretches his arms over his head. “The guy is dead for touching my pookie. He won’t survive long enough to use the information.”

“If I can gain access to a computer connected to the network, I can hack into the mainframe and wipe the system of any mention of us or his experiments,” Ellis says confidently, and I have no doubt he’s telling the truth. “No one will carry on his sick experiments after he’s gone.”

I grunt in agreement, more than a little relieved he’s on the job. The man is thorough. He will ferret out every mention of this place and eradicate it. No one will ever find his research. And if I know Ellis, he’ll set a trap for those who try.

“We just need to catch the doctor first. To do that, we need to head topside.” I rub my hands along my jaw. “The fastest way to the surface is the elevator shaft.”

I stride toward the elevator, wedge my fingers into the gap, and grunt as I slowly pry the creaky metal doors open. Gunner chuffs behind me, then reaches over my head, slips his hands into the crack, and wrenches back with all his strength. Metal screeches in protest, the edges of the door crumble a bit, and it peels open as easily as crushing tinfoil.

Since we’re on the ground floor, the bottom pit of the shaft is a ten-inch drop to bare stone. Not waiting for the others, I jump into the shaft, then tip my head back, searching for the access ladder.

Much to my shock, I do find a route topside. It’s not much, just a simple stick ladder, but it’s more than I was expecting. Without hesitation, I head up. Gunner follows next…only to have the first rod he grabs bend under his grip.

He steps back with a scowl, hands on his hips, his eyes narrowed as he peers up the elevator shaft. After a few seconds,he sighs and heads toward the open doorway. He’s so large, he casually reaches up and begins climbing up the fucking walls. He barely has to stretch between the different floors.

“Damn, man, you’re climbing the side of a building, like in that movie where the giant ape kidnaps the girl,” James mutters in admiration, looking ready to follow him, when Jace nudges him toward the ladder.

“Play later,” he mutters, Crystal’s body draped over his shoulder this time. “Rue first.”

All interest in play vanishes, and he dutifully obeys.

Not surprisingly, Gunner reaches the top level first. He doesn’t even break out in a sweat when he braces himself in the doorway, the tips of his toes perched on the minuscule ledge. The vertical shaft isn’t big, maybe fifty feet max. When I glance down, I’m greeted by a bottomless black pit waiting to swallow us whole.

I grimace, and the muscles of my body quiver, threatening to lock up tight.

Fucking heights.

The only thing that has me prying my fingers off the ladder and climbing higher is knowing Rue is waiting for us. I won’t allow anything else to happen to her, not when I can stop it. When I reach the top, my fingers ache from my brutal grip. I nod for Gunner to open the doors, then allow flames to flicker to life. If anyone is waiting for us, they will regret it.

It’s almost anticlimactic when Gunner pries the doors open…and nothing happens. No one is waiting. Gunner cautiously leans forward and peers into the hallway. After a moment, he signals the all clear before stepping out of the elevator shaft.

I swing over, then heave myself through the doorway. Leaving Gunner to help the others, I head toward the end of the hallway and guard our position. It doesn’t take long for my team to extract themselves, the small jaunt no more strenuousthan our other jobs. The two girls and their men take longer, but they’re eager to be free of this place, so it keeps them motivated.

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