Page 28 of Reclaiming Chaos
Chapter 13
Ridge
What the hell was I walking into? After stopping to copy the book, we’d parked at a playground about a mile away from the FT building.
The place almost looked harmless. Children played on the swing set with mothers sitting nearby. A uniformed man picked up trash on the other end of the grounds. Still, I couldn’t shake the unease knotting my gut when Carlee said we needed to get out of the car.
The hairs on my arms stood on end because I knew how close we were to the real danger, to someone potentially spotting us.
When I wasn’t quick to move, she left me sitting inside. I cursed beneath my breath and followed her cue. She stepped onto the jogging path and as she walked away from me, she shifted the hoodie over her head, tucking her hair inside. Glancing over her shoulder, she raised a brow as if silently questioning why I was being so slow.
I jogged to catch up to her as she headed toward the trees.
“You meet people here often?” I asked.
She took my arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, leaning the heat of her body into mine as though we were an intimate couple. “If anyone is looking, they won’t be looking for a couple, and yeah, I guess you could say we meet here often. Normally on Friday after hours to discuss everything that’s happened during the week. It helps us see the bigger picture.”
She stepped off the path and into a copse of trees, moving out of sight from prying eyes.
“Who is it that we’re meeting?”
“Just fifteen more minutes and you can see for yourself.”
“Fifteen?”
She glanced down at my boots. “You’ll survive and be glad you wore the boots.”
Another five minutes through the trees, she stopped at what looked to be a large grass-covered mound. She brushed the grass aside to show a handle and pulled it open.
“What in the world?” I asked. “What is this, an undercover bunker?”
“Secret tunnels that lead to rooms they used during prohibition for drinking and gambling.” She climbed down the metal steps. I followed her pausing only when she pointed to the opening. “Pull that closed, would you?”
I pulled it closed, and we were thrust into darkness but only momentarily. Carlee turned a light on and shined it at the other flashlights hanging on the wall. “Grab one, and we can go.”
I picked one up, debating on pulling out my gun, unsure where in the hell she was taking me. The concrete structure surrounding us reminded me of drainage pipes or sewers, only without the smell. The white walls had aged and dulled and were covered in dirt and dust. The structure looked reliable enough and was wide and tall enough for two people to walk side by side but not much bigger. It was a good thing I wasn’t claustrophobic.
I aimed my flashlight farther down the tunnel, illuminating as far as the beam would allow. It was a long stretch of the same—nothing even to suggest that it ended.
“I found this place by accident. When Russell handed me a picture of one of my coworkers, I’d seen her come this way.”
“And you didn’t report it?”
“I might have led them to believe the coworker was blocking me.”
My curiosity was aroused. “Can you be blocked?”
She chuckled. “No. If someone wants to see and they’re gifted enough, nothing will stop them.”
I grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. “That means he’ll never stop looking for you, and if he finds someone to take your place, there’s nowhere you can hide.”
“I know,” she said, resting her palm over my heart again. “I really screwed up my life when I entered his trials. Some might say it changed my life forever.” She smiled up at me. “I like to say it put me on a collision course straight to you.”
She started walking again, and I missed the heat from her palm. “Some of the others are going to be skittish that I’ve resurfaced, more so because I brought you. They knew I was going on the run. I guess you could say that some of them saw it coming.”
We’d walked for what seemed like half a mile when the pipe opened up to a larger area. A stout metal door stood at the end. Hooks and flashlights were hanging on the walls.
Carlee took mine and turned it off and hung it next to the others. She opened the door. A splash of light illuminated the area.
