Page 79 of Tell Me Why
With a nod, she follows me out into the hallway. I start heading toward the study, but stop cold when I hear the low murmur of male voices coming from behind the double doors. Christian and the other Sacred Sons are no doubt plotting whatever ritual nonsense they have planned for tonight.
“This way,” I whisper, motioning to the music room instead. It’s usually locked and rarely used. I open the door, checking inside before leading her through, then close it behind us.
“Okay,” I say. “What did you find out?”
Skye pulls the keys out of her pocket and places them in my palm. “Well, the guy at the Key Office was super unhelpful. He’s one of those suspicious, by-the-book kind of guys.Sofucking annoying.” She rolls her eyes. “When I struck out there, I stopped by the Security Office and they weremuchmore helpful.”
I lift my hands and flash her a frantic look. “Okay, and…?”
“The Humanities building,” she says proudly, like she’s just single-handedly deciphered the Voynich Manuscript.
“And the other key?” I ask. It must open an office in that building, but which one?
She shakes her head. “He only had the codes for the buildings, not the offices. But it’s something, right?”
I flash her a smile. “You’re awesome. What would I do without you?”
She returns my smile, that look crossing her face again—Sadness? Guilt?—I don’t know. Maybe she’s conflicted about betraying her new society.
“So, what’s the plan for tonight?” she asks.
“When everyone leaves for the ceremony, can you hang back and distract one of the guards while I slip out?”
“Yeah, sure,” she answers. “I can find a reason to come back to the house, like I forgot my jacket or something.”
“Lowe is super nice, and he’s usually stationed at the back door. He’s into Buddhism and stuff like that. He’ll talk for days about it,” I say, guilt settling like a stone in my stomach. Using what I know about Lowe against him feels wrong on so many levels, but desperate times…
Skye nods. “Okay, got it.”
We go over a few more details, then we say our goodbyes, and I quickly make my way back upstairs before Christian returns to the bedroom and finds me missing.
When I get back, I grab the decoder from the vase and slip both it and the keys into my dress pocket. Then I step in front of the standing mirror and smooth my hands down the soft cotton fabric, checking every angle to make sure nothing bulges. Perfect. No one would even know the dress has pockets, let alone that I’m carrying keys.
Climbing onto the bed with my psych textbook, I open it to some random page and lean back. I read several passages, but my mind doesn’t absorb any of them. I’m too anxious. My heart is pounding, my mind working through all the possible things that could go wrong tonight.
A while later—I don’t even know how long—there’s a soft metallic scrape of the doorknob, and it turns slowly, then the solid oak slab swings open to reveal a familiar silhouette. Christian. My eyes dart to my textbook, and I try to look casual, but my heart is racing.
“Hey,” he says, walking straight to the closet.
“Oh, hey,” is my breathless reply, likeOh, I forgot about you.
When he steps out of the closet a few minutes later, I swallow hard.The casual guy from thirty minutes ago is gone, replaced by something darker, more dangerous. He’s wearing black slacks and a black dress shirt, the fabric stretching across his broad shoulders, the buttons fighting a losing battle against his pecs. He looks like sin personified, and it makes every cell in my body purr in response.
Damn.
I bite back an appreciative whimper. He hasno businesslooking this hot.
None.
“Let’s go,” he says, buttoning his cuffs, his eyes avoiding mine. It’s almost like he can’t look directly at me, for some reason.
I sit up a little straighter. “Where?”
Maybe he wants to grab something to eat before the ceremony?
Lifting his gaze, his eyes meet mine for the first time since walking into the room. There’s a coldness expression that wasn’t there before he left, and it takes me by surprise. What’s going on?
“The ceremony,” he replies flatly. “It starts in a few minutes.”
