Free Sanctuary by Joshua Ingle Page B

celebrity. “Crystal. Hi.” Crystal reluctantly shook his hand, then Virgil turned to greet Lover Boy. “Cole. A pleasure to meet you. And Brandon.” Virgil crossed the distance to Brandon, but Brandon just stared icily and refused the proffered handshake, so Virgil backed away to address the whole group.
    “I’m sorry for my… my entrance. I am—I’m here to save you. I apologize for not getting to Heather or Virgil in time, but three of you are still here, and alive, and I will find a way to save all of you. That’s a promise.”
    “You need a fucking straightjacket,” Brandon said as he moved toward the kitchen sink to clean off his face.
    Again Virgil ignored him. “I need you all to tell me a little more about yourselves. What sorts of things have been on your minds tonight? Have you recently made any significant, um, choices?”
    Scratch .
    All heads turned toward the windows, where the noise had originated. It sounded like a shoe dragging on the sidewalk, but muffled by the windows. Probably the patio furniture falling over in the wind. The gusts were strong tonight, sending the balcony screens quivering.
    Scratch .
    The second noise came from the far kitchen windows, beyond which lay… empty air. Huh? A third and a fourth noise grated outside, and then a steady cacophony joined in, from all directions except the screened-in balcony. Crystal and Cole looked horrified, but Brandon was just sick of whatever game Virgil was playing.
    “They’re trying to dig through the walls,” Virgil said. “Don’t worry though. They couldn’t even break a window. We’re safe.”
    The chorus of scrapes shifted, leaving the immediate area and moving toward the walls outside the study and the master bedroom. Virgil gingerly walked to the oak doors of the study and peeked inside.
    Brandon left the kitchen, followed him, then spoke as if to a child, mocking him. “Virgil, is there something dangerous outside? Maybe we could all escape if you jump out a window to distract it.”
    Virgil paused at the study entrance, then entered the room to examine it. “No, don’t worry. The windows and the balcony door in here are closed.”
    Apparently the man was deaf to sarcasm. Brandon slammed the doors on him, sequestering him in the study.
    “Cole, you got a rope or something?” Brandon called across the room. Wrapping a rope around the lever-style door handles would effectively lock Virgil inside the area encompassing the study, the master bedroom, and the balcony. Virgil pulled hard against the doors from the opposite side, and Brandon barely held firm.
    “Uh…” Cole abandoned his protection of Crystal to help Brandon out. Good man. He paced to the curtains and unstrung the tie that held them open.
    “Hey! Let me out!” Virgil yanked against the doors again as Cole arrived with the thick curtain lace.
    “Will this do?” Cole asked.
    Brandon snatched the tie. “Yeah. Get the door to the bedroom.”
    Cole grabbed a second tie from another curtain and started tying. “The balcony door out here is locked too. He’s stuck in there.”
    This is working out great. If Cole saw Virgil as a greater threat than Brandon, getting to Crystal would be much easier. Assuming Brandon could find a way around the cops, that is. The fact that Cole was still loyal to Brandon in spite of Cole’s earlier threats began to renew Brandon’s confidence in their friendship, and in their future.
    •
    Crystal paced through the short hallway to the service elevator, texting her mom.
     
    Hey I’m at the condo 4 a modeling gig. Need a ride. Pick me up?
     
    In all the hubbub, Crystal was pretty sure she’d slipped away without being noticed, but she suddenly realized that in her eagerness to leave, she’d left her purse back in the living room. Dammit. Too late to go back for it now. She could get it back from Cole sometime when Brandon wasn’t around.
    Her mom responded right away.
     
    Can u pay for gas? Is it boy prblms?
     
    Mom