Page 89 of Hidden Raphael
She shrugged, then stood with her feet wider apart. "I can hold my hand steady, and next time you'll teach me."
He kissed the top of her forehead and shook his head. "No. Keep this room locked. I need to get Mica out, and then I'll come right back for you."
She was going with him. His gun meant he'd not be able to carry his sister by himself.
He stripped the blankets off his sister and lifted her in his arms.
He turned to leave, and she placed the candelabrum on the table. "I should help you. You take one side and I take the other, so you have one arm free."
"No."
She waited until he half turned around. "The last time they caught you."
He waited at the door. "It won't happen here."
She wasn't going to wait around for someone to save her. Raphael might get hurt, and she'd not let that happen again. "Michaela will weigh you down. I am going with you."
He shook his head. "No."
One-word answers were not helpful, but she kept that comment to herself. "I am going."
"You'll follow me, won't you?"
For the first time, she smiled at him. "True. I will."
A sigh escaped his lips like he'd accepted his fate. Good. He then picked up his rifle. She took Michaela on one side as he lifted his sister. "Fine. Do what I say every second, and we'll move fast if we both carry her."
His sister was heavier than she appeared. Kimberly held Mica and fought to keep her every breath silent. He opened the door and they slipped out. He then closed the door behind them and whispered, "I'll lock this door."
“Why?” Kimberly licked her lips and glanced around the hall.
He whispered, “They’ll think someone’s inside if it's locked.”
Everything in the middle of the night was black, and her eyes couldn't adjust with any light.
Raphael took the lead. She held her head high, as he led her down the stairs. She had to stop being afraid, and Raphael was her friend. It wasn't his fault that she'd fallen hard for him, or else she'd have not been so mad.
Halfway down the stairs, he shoved her hard against the wall. Then he pushed his sister in her hands entirely. She winced, said nothing, and held Michaela up against the wall with her. Then Kimberly's ears burned. She heard footsteps. Roger and Harry had found them. Her heart rose to her throat.
With her grasp on the other woman so tight, Kimberly's foot slipped on the step, and she banged her heel on the stone.
Footsteps raced up the stairs, and there was more than one set. Both Harry and Roger?
Kimberly gripped her Taser in one hand and held Michaela behind her with her body. Raphael stood in front of them both. Kimberly wished she saw in the dark. Then she'd shoot straight. Raphael's rifle had a laser on it.
“Stop!” he yelled.
All she could do was press Mica’s head against her hands to protect jer from the shot he fired.
Something slumped on the floor. Her heart raced so fast.
Then he shot again. Nothing fell in that nanosecond, and Raphael grunted. "Harry ran. Stay close."
First he took his sister's side while Kimberly lifted the other. Then he took a step down the stairs, and she followed. This wouldn't be her plan at all, but she held back her usual questions, as right now she was unable to speak. He sped up, and on the third step he pushed her and Michaela into the wall, again.
Her stomach was rock hard, as she expected something to be launched at both of them. Then the wall moved.
She held back her scream as Raphael pushed them into the dark secret passage. He slipped in past her and then bolted something with an echoing click.
