Page 13 of They Will Fall

“Nah. At least, not this far down. I’m sure some rebellious students from BCA still venture this way, but they can’t get past the vault door farther down, or the one we’re looking at now.”

Maddox returns to the ladder and looks up, before handing me his lantern. “Hold that for a sec.” I take it from him and he climbs up before pulling the door down with a thud. Back at my side, I return his lantern to him. “We can’t risk someone else going into the cabin and seeing the door.”

“And Ridge?” I ask him. “How will he know where to find us?”

“Umm. Yeah, Ridge knows to go to the cabin. He knows about the door. Don’t worry, babe. He’ll be here eventually.”

There’s an unease in his tone that raises goosebumps on my arms. “Okay,” I say because that's all I can say. I trust Maddox, and I know Ridge would cross oceans to keep me safe. “So what now?”

“Now…” he begins, holding his lantern up with his eyes on the door. “We need to get through that door. That’s where we’ll be safe.”

“What about food and warmth? It’s fucking cold down here.”

Maddox pats his hand to his backpack. “I’ve got some stuff to last us for a couple days. As for warmth.” His eyebrows waggle as he slithers up to me. “My body will offer you all the heat you need.” His mouth draws lines on my neck, moving downward. Using his chin, he nudges my sweatshirt and kisses the tip of my shoulder.

I suck in the corner of my lip to mask the nervous energy bubbling in the pit of my stomach. Stuck in a dark tunnel with this sexy man, hell yes. Goes to show that looking on the bright side has its perks, even in a time like this.

“But first,” he lifts his head, before pressing his mouth to mine, “we need to get through that door.”

His backpack slides down his arm and he reaches inside, retrieving some sort of tool. A crowbar, perhaps.

I scoff. “That would’ve been handy when we were trying to get the trapdoor open.”

“I would’ve remembered it eventually had you not been a badass with that screwdriver.” He smirks as he gets to work on the door.

“You know,” I tell him. “If we can get through it, that means anyone else can.”

“Always a pessimist,” he teases. “I told you, baby. I’ve got you.”

Twenty minutes later, and I’m no longer worried about anyone getting through the door—because we can’t get through it either.

With my back pressed against the wall and my ass planted firmly on the cement floor, I try to hide my impatience because I know Maddox is getting as frustrated as I am. The lantern beside me flickers, and I’m hoping like hell it doesn’t extinguish before we get out of here.

Bringing my head back and forth, the clip holding my hair up clanks against the cement wall. Over, and over, and over again.

“Ry,” Maddox says sharply.

My eyes perk up. “Yeah?”

“You’re gonna bruise your head, and my ears, if you keep doing that.”

“Oh,” I grumble. “Is that bothering you?” I repeat the motions, this time with slower, more deliberate knocks against the wall. And while it does hurt a little, I'm too stubborn to stop.

Maddox lets out an exasperated sigh as his forearm swipes across his forehead, wiping up the sweat forming around his hairline.

His hands drop to his sides, still holding the crowbar, and he rests his head back.

Feeling the agitation inside me bubble to the surface, I push harder for a reaction, because like Scar said, I’m my own worst enemy. “Are you planning to get us out of here, or would you like me to do it?”

His eyes slide to mine and the scowl on his face is the reaction I was hoping for because it proves I’m not alone in my misery.

“You think you can get the damn thing open?” He hands me the crowbar, and I’m a bit surprised. I didn’t actually expect him to take me up on my offer. “Have at it.”

I push myself off the floor and snatch it from his hand, and without a word, I begin trying in the same way he was because I have no fucking clue how to open this door.

With the end of the hook in the crack of the door, I pry with all my might, as if the thing is just going to pop open.

I grunt and groan and when I hear the sounds of chuckles behind me, I growl. “As if you were doing any better.”

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