She gave him a trembling nod, then disappeared inside.
Theo scooped Hannah in his arms, praying she didn’t have a spinal injury. He saw a thick stream of blood trickle down her hair. Goddamn you, Evan.
By the time Zack reached the ninth floor, Amanda’s brain felt like it was wrapped in barbed wire. David wiped sweat and blood from her forehead.
“Hold on. Just a few more seconds.”
“I can’t hold it . . .”
“You can, Amanda. You have to. You’ll never forgive yourself if you let him drop.”
With a final scream, she raised Zack to eye level. David grabbed his arms just as the tempis vanished. He pulled Zack over the railing, then checked his vitals.
“He’s okay, Amanda. You did it.”
Amanda fell back onto the one chair that was left standing, her face drenched and white.
Theo turned around in the doorway and looked to David. “You think you can carry him?”
“Yeah. I can get him to the van.”
With a loud grunt, David hoisted Zack into his arms. Amanda cast a shaky palm.
“Be careful! He could have a broken neck! They could both . . .”
Now the images in Amanda’s head turned melodramatic, a theater in a crowded fire. She pictured Zack and Hannah as paraplegics. Her fault. Her hands. Her tempis.
“Oh my God. I did this . . .”
David gritted his teeth. “Amanda, we don’t have time.”
“He’s right,” said Theo. “I know you’re drugged and I know you’re hurting, but you need to pull yourself together. We have to go right now.”
Wincing, she struggled to her feet. “Okay. Okay.”
They turned their gazes to the airy distance, at the sound of approaching sirens. Now Theo’s future howled. There was no way they’d make it to the van without being spotted. There was no hope of making it out of Evansville without another chase.
—
Zack came to life on the way to the elevator. Hot knives of pain stabbed his chest while his body bobbled and dangled in David’s arms. He raised a weak gaze.
“David . . . ?”
Amanda rushed to his side. “Zack! Are you all right? Can you feel my hand?”
He fought a cracked and addled laugh. I think we all felt your hand, honey.
“I’m okay. Anyone else hurt?”
“Hannah. She’s unconscious. I don’t know how bad it is yet.”
As Mia jabbed the elevator call button, Theo checked the progress displays above all four doors. Two of the cars were on their way up, one from the first floor, the other from the fourth. His thoughts flashed with images of six security guards in the lower elevator.
He pointed to the north-side doors. “This is going to be close. We need to jump in that thing the second it opens.”
“Put me down,” Zack said. “I can walk.”
The moment he touched the ground, he winced at another painful chest stab. Amanda held his arm. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m all right.”
The elevator was two floors away. Theo shifted Hannah in his arms. “We’re never going to make it through the lobby. Not like this . . .”
“We have no choice,” David said. “We’ll have to fight our way through.”
Amanda eyed him with dark concern. “There has to be a better way.”
“Here it comes . . .”
As she lifted her knapsacks, Mia felt a familiar twinge in the back of her mind. Oh no . . .
The doors opened to an empty elevator. “Come on!” Theo yelled. “Hurry!”
They rushed into the lift. Mia dropped her bags and propped a door.
“What the hell are you doing?” Theo asked.
“I’m getting a note!”
A small bead of light floated a foot above the carpet, an arm’s length outside the elevator. Theo looked to the display across the hall. The other elevator was at Floor 7.
“Forget it! We don’t have time!”
“It could be important!”
“Mia, I’m almost positive there are six security guards in that other elevator . . .”
“We wouldn’t be in this mess if I’d seen my other note! I’m not making that mistake again!”
David pressed the hold button. “I got this. Move your hand.”
Mia pulled her arm inside. David ghosted a pair of closed elevator doors just as a chime issued from across the hall. The Silvers stood frozen behind their illusive cover, listening to the gruff voices and heavy footsteps just ten feet away.
The clamor quickly moved down the hall. David breathed a whisper at Mia. “Be careful.”
She dropped to the ground and crawled through the ghost doors. Once she plucked the note from the carpet, she glanced down the hall. Theo was right. Six armed guards now stood outside the Baronessa Suite. They didn’t bother to knock before keying into the room.
With a deep exhale, she backed into the lift. The real doors closed over the ghosted ones. Mia read the note with bulging eyes, then pressed the emergency stop.
“What are you doing, Mia?”
“We can’t go down. We have to go up.”
David blinked at her. “Are you insane?”