Free Hard to Kill by Wendy Byrne Page B

pulling her behind him. She looked around at the bookcases and immediately began to rifle through the drawers of the desk.
    " What are you doing?"
    " There might be something in here."
    " I already checked. Even the file cabinets have nothing but office supplies—reams of paper, pens, paperclips."
    She blew out a breath. "You sure?"
    " Yep. We've got to get going. Rounds will be back this way in less than ten minutes."
    Reluctantly, she stood behind him while he moved a picture, uncovering a series of buttons.
    "This is when it gets a little tricky," he whispered. He clipped a device to the keypad, and after a series of beeps, he punched in the code displayed. The bookcase shifted open, revealing a passageway. "Try not to use your gun inside the tunnel. If you miss, the bullet will ricochet."
    She grabbed at his shirt, pulling him close . "Don't assume I'll miss."
    " If you do, it might very well bounce back and hit you in the ass. Or worse, in mine."
    " I'll keep that in mind."
    It took her pupils at least twenty seconds to adjust to the dark inside the tunnel. The walls and ceilings were within touching distance, making it feel even more claustrophobic. He reached inside his back pocket and pulled out a folded-up piece of paper and a small flashlight.
    " A map?" She shook her head and laughed. "You really don't know your way out."
    " Nope. But I did know where to find the map." He pointed to a spot on the map. "Some of these lead to dead ends, some circle around underneath the mountain. One, maybe two, will get us out of here."
    " Are there guards down here?"
    " More than I care to think about. But the good news is, most of them are out looking for me right now." He grasped at her arm. "I estimate maybe twenty or so might be milling about down here." His glanced shifted, taking in the scene before them. "We need to be careful."
    " I'm all about being careful." And losing this so-called partner as soon as possible.
    For the most part they both stayed close to the slime-covered walls as they inched their way through the maze. Sabrina didn't want to think about all the critters and rodents residing peacefully in this dark home. Give her a trained assassin and fear didn't even come into the picture. Put her in a room full of creepy crawling things and she was a hot mess. Instead, she focused on getting out of there as quickly as possible.
    Kane had the penlight to illuminate the way. He was in charge, since he had the map. For now, she'd be more than happy to play things his way.
    He stopped s uddenly, shut off the light, and turned, holding a finger to his lips. Seconds later she heard footsteps approaching. Based on the number of voices, she'd guess two, maybe three people.
    She followed his lead, and pressed herself against the walls. When he yanked out his gun, she did the same. She rested the handle against her thigh.
    The men laughed and spoke mostly in German about Marco's predicament with Trinity, confirming what Kane had said earlier. Then they talked about her inferring she must be a witch since she was able to kill Arte with her bare hands. Under different circumstances, she might have found her villain status laughable, but not now.
    Then they said something that let her know their shaky window of safety was about to come to an abrupt close. One of the men was off to relieve Petre. Since Petre was currently lying on the floor of her former prison cell, it wouldn't be long before they discovered her missing.
    S he felt a heightened sense of urgency in Kane as they wound through the hallways. Once the men were far enough away, she put the gun back in the waistband of her pants.
    " They'll figure out you're missing any second now," Kane whispered.
    " We don't have much time."
    Seconds later, an alarm began to pulse. The piercing sound seemed to bounce off the claustrophobic space, making her ears ring. Feet stampeded against the crude stone floor, but it was impossible to decipher what direction they were coming from.