Page 65 of No Escape

I paused, realizing I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I needed to slow down and think things through or we’d never win this challenge.

Before I could come up with a solution, Tito reached around me and picked the skimmer up off the walkway. He waggled it in the air. “How about the hook?”

I took the skimmer from him and slid the hook onto the loop handle of the can at my feet. It fit perfectly. “You’re the man. Thanks, Tito.”

I pushed the second can into the box as Tito watched. “I have to be careful not to dislodge the end of the siphon hose when I drop the can in, handle up, so we can better remove them later.”

The second can sank to the bottom, and we could see the water rise again and then fall as the siphon drained it away.

“Bring me the rest of the cans,” I said.

He brought the rest of the cans, and together we filled them, screwed on the caps, and carefully pushed them into the box. By the fourth can, the water level in the box had stabilized, with the siphon draining off the water about as fast as we could add new cans.

“It’s working!” I said, pumping a fist. “Stefan, how’s the level of water in the hot tub?”

“It’s about a knee-high from the bottom and about one and a half meters below the pool deck,” he replied.

I glanced at the clock—twenty-seven minutes left. “Good. Keep going and donotstop. We’ve got to get as much water out as we can working in tandem.”

This would work. It had to work.

“After ten more minutes, you guys can stop dumping water out of the hot tub,” I said. “Then as you empty each of the remaining cans, bring it to Tito for me to fill and drop into the box. We’re going to need every single one of those cans to make this work.”

“Understood,” Stefan said, not breaking his stride. Everyone was working so hard, even Vittoria, who hadn’t complained once. I was in awe of my family and friends. To say they were incredibly strong and intelligent would be an understatement.

In the meantime, I continued to monitor the water level. I never thought watching water drain could be so mesmerizing. I kept one eye on the clock, relieved the water level in the box had already dropped several feet below the surface of the pool. The siphon was continuing to drain, though it was slowing down. When the ten minutes were up, I eventually added the remaining five cans, pushing the siphon hose lower and lower into the water.

“I think the siphon has stopped,” Stefan said, wiping his brow and leaning against the side of the hot tub. “I’m not feeling any water coming out the hose anymore.”

“Me neither,” said Juliette, perching herself on the rim of the tub next to Oscar as Vittoria sank to the steps leading up to the hot tub.

I glanced up at the clock—fifteen minutes left. “Okay, it’s showtime. Let’s get those cans out of the box.” I pointed to Tito. “Bicep Man, you’re up.”

Tito flexed and then met me on the other side of the box. I pulled the hose out of the box and tossed it into the pool.

Tito knew what to do. He squatted and leaned over the box. Lowering the skimmer down into the box, he slid the hook beneath the handle of the can nearest the top and pulled. The can came up, and he set it on the walkway in front of me. I simply pushed the can into the pool and out of our way. The water level in the pool no longer mattered.

One by one, Tito effortlessly pulled the cans up and out of the water. Each easily weighed thirty-five pounds. I couldn’t help but admire the muscles in his back. He was working like a machine. I was sincerely grateful he was on our team.

Finally, Tito pulled the last can out of the water, revealing less than a foot of water above the float. Tito sat up, stretching his back. “That was fun,” he said. “Now what?”

“Well, one of us has to slide down into the box, grab the float, and pull it and the weight up and retrieve the disc. Then we have to figure out how to haul the person back up and hand the disc over to the gamemaster.”

Tito peered down into the box. “Sorry, Lexi, it won’t be me. I’m too big. Plus, you’re going to need me here to help lower down and haul up whoever goes in. I think there is only one person suitable for this job.”

I looked at the rest of the team. Stefan and Oscar were also too large, and Vittoria was seven months pregnant. That left me and my mother-in-law. No matter how scared I was, I wasnotgoing to ask her to take my place. Plus, Tito was right. Physically, I was a good four inches taller than Juliette and, according to my calculations, height would be an important part of this challenge.

Unfortunately, I was also the absoluteworstperson for this part of the challenge because…can anyone sayunderwater glass coffin?

I swallowed the panic that rose in my throat. The team wanted me to drop down into a glass box surrounded by water and not hyperventilate and pass out? Just the thought of it terrified me.

But there was no time to wimp out. Inhaling a deep breath, I maneuvered myself into a sitting position on the side of the box, my feet dangling into the box. “Guess I win this lottery.”

Tito leaned forward and gave me a peck on the cheek. “I’ll lower you down as far as I can. Don’t worry, you can do it. We’ll be here to make sure you stay safe.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You’d better, or I’m going to tell Slash about that kiss.”

He laughed. “If he hadn’t already married you, I would have challenged him to a duel for you. And you can tell him that, because he already knows. Now, come on and let’s do this. We have only ten minutes left.”

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