Free Senshi (A Katana Novel) by Cole Gibsen Page B

my knees wobbled so violently that I collapsed against his chest. His cologne was spicy and warm, something only a grandpa would wear.
    He patted my back awkwardly. “Do you want me to call an ambulance?”
    “No. I’m okay.” I pushed off of him to see if I could support my weight. I teetered to the side before righting myself. “Just … maybe call someone about that elevator? It’s a deathtrap waiting to happen.”
    He nodded and let his hand slide from my shoulder. “I’ll call right now.” He hesitated. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
    Before I could answer, the shrieking cry of metal against metal pierced my ears. We both turned back to the elevator in time to see it drop from view, leaving only a dark empty shaft. The crash that followed shook the ground beneath our feet.
    “Sweet Jesus!” the doorman yelled. He grabbed my arm and scrambled backward, dragging me with him. “I don’t understand. How—”
    “Bad cables?” I offered, even though I knew it was anything but.
    He shook his head. “That’s impossible. The elevators were just inspected today. They all passed.”
    I jerked my head away from the empty shaft. “Today?” I thought about the Whitley look-alike I’d seen only ten minutes ago. “Was the inspector young? Did he have long blond hair?”
    The doorman scratched his chin. “No. There were three of them. Here before lunchtime. Two guys and a gal—all of them with dark hair. They were fairly young. But thorough—spent a lot of time poking around.”
    “Uh-huh.” So, not Whitley. But they possibly fit the description of the ninja from the alley attack. Which got me thinking, if the ninja kept popping up every time I had a Whitley sighting, that couldn’t be a coincidence, right? But was I ready to believe that Whitley was alive and working with the ninja? I just wasn’t convinced … I’d left Whitley pinned and burning. How could he have gotten away? “Just to play it safe, I think you should call the inspectors back. Different inspectors. And it’s probably best to keep everyone off the elevators until they get the all clear.”
    “Yes. That’s probably for the best.” He paused, his brow wrinkled into lines of confusion. “Do you think the inspectors had something to do with this?”
    I answered him as truthfully as I could. “I’m sure they were just doing their job.”

14
    G od, I hate ninja.
    I opened the stairwell door and stumbled into the hallway. There was nothing like climbing twelve flights of steps after a near-death experience to put a little wobble in your step. I crossed the hall and leaned against my condo door for a moment to catch my breath. Between the fireball at school, Kim ditching me, and the elevator attack, this day had to be a top contender for worst day ever. At least I was alive. That, coupled with the fact I would never ride another elevator for as long as I lived, thus giving myself great thighs, was all that mattered.
    See? I could find the silver lining.
    But as soon as I opened my condo door and caught sight of who waited for me, I wondered if this really was an improvement from the hijacked elevator.
    “Rileigh!” Dr. Wendell smiled at me from the couch with his arm around Debbie. A reality cooking show played on the flat screen across from them. “Just the girl I wanted to see.”
    “That’s funny.” I marched past him without a glance. “You’re just the guy I wanted to avoid.”
    Debbie made a choking noise behind me. “Rileigh Hope Martin! That is no way to speak to an adult.”
    I wanted to argue whether someone who looked and dressed like the lead singer of a boy band could actually be considered an adult—but I decided not to press my luck.
    “It’s all right, Deb,” Dr. Wendell said. “It’s normal for teens to act out when their parent brings someone new into their lives.” He raised his voice so that it followed me as I trudged down the hall to my room. “Children thrive on consistency. Everything will work