Page 91 of Silver Secrets

“Actually, I’m almost all caught up, if you can believe it. I’ll just take them into my office and open them. Thanks though.”

“No problem. I need another hour or two in order to finish up the billing and expenses from this last quarter. I’ll probably stick around until Sage wakes up and then head over to annoy my husband for a while.”

Sloane laughed. “That sounds perfect. Thanks, Lily.”

“Are you sure you don’t want anything from Davney’s?” Gage asked as they walked back into her office. “You haven’t eaten since breakfast and it’s way after lunch time. If you don’t feel like burgers, I can put in an order from Dolly’s.”

“No. I’ll just grab something when we head upstairs…” Sloane slid her fingers into the thickest envelope, her brows drawing together as she brushed over what felt like fabric.

She tugged, bringing the contents of the envelope out into the light. And it only took a second for her to wish she hadn’t. To wish she would have waited until she was up in the apartment with Gage. White powder erupted off the mask, covering her desk and floating into her mouth, choking her.

“What the fuck? Sloane?” She heard Gage’s voice getting closer. But she might as well have been a thousand miles away from him.

Coughing as the powder coated her throat and settled into her lungs, Sloane’s eyes searched the envelope for the sender's name. Something to say it was a joke. Something to say it was a mistake. But when she flipped the envelope over and looked, her chest exploded with panic.

“He knows,” she choked out. “Tell Kimi he knows…“

A thousand dark, cold, frightening miles away.

Back where he took her.

“where I am…”

Back where he kept her captive.

Back where he tied her up and forced her to climb into his open arms for just enough warmth to keep her alive…

“Red!” Warm hands slid over her cheeks, cupping her face. But she knew it was a trick. She knew it was just her mind trying to keep her safe. She wasn’t safe. Not being back in that cave. That was where she was always meant to die. Somewhere in the distance, someone screamed. Her throat felt raw. Maybe the scream even came from her. “Sloane… fuck, Lily! I need you to call an ambulance! Make sure they know it’s some sort of biohazard.”

“Oh, God.” Lily gasped, and Sloane felt a pang of guilt. Her friend was so worried about her. But she shouldn’t be. She was back in the cave. It was always going to end that way.

“Her pupils are dilated. Don’t come in here! There’s some fucking white powder in an envelope she just opened. I’m not sure if this is just from touching it, or if she inhaled some because that shit went flying all over, but you need to stay out of this office until we figure it out.”

Her eyelids grew heavy. He must have drugged her water again. She’d wake up feeling disoriented. Cold. Afraid of what would come next. The devastation that filled her chest broke the darkness open and pulled her under.

* * *

“Sloane? Hey, can you hear me?”

Fuck! Gage had barely caught her as she went down like a sack of potatoes. The only thing keeping him from panicking was the fact that he wasn’t feeling any different after being exposed to whatever that fucking white powder was. If it had been a serious chemical weapon, Gage, and even potentially Lily, would have been rendered unconscious with Sloane.

“Gage. Is she okay?”

His fingers went to her neck, pressing firm against her pulse point.

“Her heartbeat is fast but it feels like it’s coming down, and she’s breathing normally. We need to get going, Lily. Gunner’s practiced this with you, right? What we do if there’s an emergency?”

“Yes, but this seems different… because of the hazard. Oh shit, Gage. I’m going to panic and mess everything up.”

Gage slid his hands under Sloane’s knees and around her shoulders. He set her on the sofa instead of keeping her on the ground. “No. I know it’s scary. You’re doing great. The first step is to hit the panic button, okay? I need you to do that and make sure the doors lock.”

“Gunner…”

“He’s going to freak out, but you need to stop him from coming in here. I know Sage is here, and he’s going to want to break down the door, but you can’t let him. We need to hit that button and get help coming to us, okay? I’m almost certain the powder isn’t anything serious because I feel fine, but I want someone with a lab coat to tell us for sure and I need to stay monitoring Sloane’s vitals for any change.”

“O-okay.” Lily’s voice wavered and he forced himself to look away from Sloane.

“Hey. It’s going to be okay. We’re going to get help here. Keep Sage in her room and make sure Gunner doesn’t crash through the door.”

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