Free Stone Guardian by Kassanna

after she’d tied the ends together. She needed to get back to the hotel to put on her own clothes, but first she needed to write a note and find a hammer so she could nail it to his chest.
    She rolled her head on her neck. He was probably on the roof. She walked to the kitchen and pulled open the refrigerator. Cold air drifted past her, empty and pristine, as if it had never been used. She opened the cupboard next to the appliance and stared at a pile of dishes. There had to be food somewhere in the apartment. She slammed that door and opened another. More plates? Really, he was one man, how much damn tableware did he need? She turned around and looked at the other side of the room. The cold tile chilled her bare feet, making her shiver. She stomped to the other cabinets and yanked them open. Canned goods stacked three high lined the shelves.
    Her stomach grumbled and she looked down, talking to it as if it was a separate entity. “I’m working on a meal. It’s not my fault he’s better prepared for a disaster than an actual guest.” She lifted her head, read the labels, and chose a tin of soup. Leaving it on the counter she went on the hunt for a can opener.
    Several searched drawers later, the kitchen looked as if it had been ransacked. The growls her belly emitted were louder. She sighed. Who the hell has canned foods and no tool to open them? Ember rubbed her temple. Her shoes were on the roof. She’d have to get those. Catch a cab to the hotel and order room service to soothe her hunger pains. Decision made, she nodded, pushed off the counter she was leaning on, and walked to the elevator. Maybe she could find a chisel with that hammer somewhere in the garden’s tool shed. Then she could leave a note in his facade. Ember thought about it as she stabbed the up button. Was there a tool shed up there? Good gracious, she couldn’t focus on an empty stomach. The tones chimed but the cab never came. Ember stared up at the numbers above the doors and noticed the L kept flashing every time she pressed on the console.
    If Timur locked her in the basement, she’d break off one of his appendages. She bumped her forehead against the steel door. He had to have some sort way to get the hell up out of there in an emergency. Grunting, she looked one way down the hall then turned her head and searched the other direction. She trotted along the passage, running her hand along the wall. It seemed Timur liked to hide things in plain sight. She detected an indentation in the surface of the wall and skimmed her fingers up and down the faint gap. No knob. When she got a hold of him they were going to have a long talk about his paranoia. Ember went up on her toes when she felt the small ridge above her head. Dropping down to her feet she went on her toes and tried again. And felt the latch square in the middle of the protrusion.
    She curled her fingers and her nails scraped the metal. Twisting her hand she heard the snick and felt the waft of stale air across her face. She leaned forward and the hidden door moved forward easily on its hinges. Ember poked her head into the space. Bare concrete walls and steps with a black railing that went up as high as she could see. She eased into the space and allowed the door to swing shut behind her. When she glanced behind her it had melded seamlessly into the wall, giving the appearance of a dead end. With no other option than to go up she started trudging the stairs. Her belly grumbled and she let out a slew of curse words that would make any sailor proud.
    The first door she came to at least had a handle. She glanced at the plaque embedded in the wall. ‘Lobby.’ She sighed. Six flights of stairs and she’d found an exit. Beads of sweat dotted her upper lip and she swiped her palm over her mouth and wiped the moisture off by sliding her hand down her pants leg.
    Ember wrapped her fingers around the metal knob and pulled. Compared to the dimness of the corridor the foyer was blindingly