Free Gods and Monsters by Felicia Jedlicka Page B

him to stop, drop, and roll as children are taught in school. Of course, no one ever tells you that it’s going to hurt like a bitch when you do.
    The nurse leapt over the counter and pushed the doctor down. Cori was nearly discovered twice. Once by the woman patting down his leg in front of her—only a slight turn of her head would have put Cori in her peripheral. The second time she nearly ran into the other nurse’s legs when she whipped around the counter announcing that she was going to get a burn kit.
    Cori crawled apelike to the front entrance and slipped out, worming her way by the windows until she was completely out of view. She debated on the elevator, and decided that the stairs were always the wisest option; or at least the most reliable. Stairs were not her favored method of transport, but the elevators had a mind of their own and found it unnecessary to make fast ascents or descents during any crisis.
    She took the single flight with ease and peered out the window to the main level. She didn’t see anyone. The cafeteria was closed for the night, and the dock would have minimal staff if any. Assuming Danato was not in his office for a late night, and Ethan wasn’t in the gym working out, she was in the clear to get to the prop room without any impromptu interruptions.
    She snuck down the hall, passed the darkened gym, and into the prop room. She flicked on the humming fluorescent lights that might as well have been night lights with as much illumination as they offered. She slipped through the piles of valuable, powerful, dangerous crap until she reached the area she had been in when the lamp got disturbed. She searched with her eyes, being careful not to disturb anything else. She found the snow globe, but no lamp.
    “Shit, where is it?” She whispered to herself.
    “Looking for this?” Danato’s voice shocked her erect and she bumped the snow globe off its pile. She caught it before it could break and add more trouble to her to do list.
    Danato stood at the doorway with the lamp she was looking for hanging carefully by the crook of his finger. She gripped the snow globe like a baseball. The fleeting thought of throwing the decoration at him passed and she replaced it on the pile carefully.
    If Ethan or Gypsy had stood in the doorway she might have attempted a grandiose battle or at least a heated negotiation for the return of it, but she couldn’t fight Danato. His strength was the obvious deterrent, but she just couldn’t bring herself to disrespect him in that way.
    Danato seemed to recognize that. The glower that should have been painted on his face changed to calm indifference. Whether he was actually calm or just back building for a proper explosion, she wasn’t sure. He lowered the lamp. “We moved the lamps while you were occupied with Gypsy and Ethan. We suspected you would try this.”
    Cori bit her lips back and nodded. She continued to under estimate Danato. The safety of the prison was always his first priority, and that would never change. “Of course,” she looked to her feet. She had practically walked right into this trap. Actually, that was exactly what she had done. He was testing her, and she failed.
    “Come to my office when you’re done. Don’t forget to shut the lights off.” He left shutting the door behind him. Cori looked around the room for a hole to crawl into, but since one was not readily available, she decided to go collect her punishment.
    No one jumped her outside of the room. There were no guards in the foyer to make sure she didn’t escape. Danato expected her to comply with his request. She wanted to believe it was because he was starting to trust her, but it was more likely because he knew he had what she wanted and she wouldn’t leave without it.
    She raised her hand to open the door, but she decided to knock. Danato waved her in barely looking up from his paperwork. The lamp was sitting on the edge of his desk as if it was a bowl of sweets universally