Page 60 of Red Zone Awakened

CHAPTER24

Keiko stayedin the safe room while Mace hunted for a way out of the apartment that would get them to the security hub safely.She didn’t like him going without her, but as he pointed out, he’d move faster alone, and she was certain he wouldn’t leave her behind.He was far too protective to abandon her.

When he returned, his face was a little green, like he’d eaten something that didn’t agree with him.Keiko thought it might have been the chili.That hadnotbeen good.He also stunk of bleach.

“Um, why do you stink of cleaning products?”Keiko asked.

“I was dousing the window we broke in the stairwell to kill any DNA I left behind when my, I mean a stupid bat appeared and freaked me out, and I splashed bleach on my favorite jeans.”He pointed to the white dots on his thigh.

“You don’t like bats either, huh?”

“I really hate this one.”Mace jerked as though something had pinched him.“Come on, I found a way out.”He indicated for her to follow him up into the apartment.

He led her through to Miriam’s office, where he pushed on three raised dots halfway up the wall in the corner.Keiko looked up to see if another crawl space entrance would appear.Instead, the wall slid back to reveal a tiny private elevator.

“You found me an elevator that works.”Keiko beamed up at the mountain of a man beside her.

“How do you know it works?”

Silly man.“You wouldn’t have brought me here if it didn’t.You checked it right?”He blushed and nodded.Big softie.She nudged him with her shoulder.“Most romantic gift ever.”

And she wasn’t joking, either.The thought of walking down about a million flights of stairs to get to the security hub while dodging people out to kill them gave her hives.

The man actually blushed.It was adorable.“It was your idea, really.You’re the one who told me about the dots.Plus, it’s just an elevator.”

“Aprivateelevator.”She bumped her shoulder against Mace as she teased him.“One that’s hidden in Miriam’sspecialapartment.This is not just any ordinary elevator.”

Although, she did wish it were slightly roomier.His bulk barely fit inside it.On top of that, it went to only one location—the first-level subbasement, where the private parking garage was located.But it was an elevator, and it worked.So, in Keiko’s eyes, it was better than a platinum bracelet.

Mace brought up the building’s floor plan on the panel inside the elevator.“As far as I can tell, this will bring us out close to the service stairs that run from the basement parking garage to the lobby.Which is good because those stairs don’t have as many cameras on them as some of the others.”

“So we’ll head up from the subbasement to the security hub and disable everything we can?”

“That’s the plan.”

“It’s not a brilliant plan, is it?”

He cocked an eyebrow at her.“You got a better one?”

She kept her mouth shut, and he just smirked at her.

As they descended, Keiko looked up at Mace.“I don’t think I like Friday.”

He threw back his head and burst out laughing.

Huh, not the reaction she’d expected.

The back of his shirt gaped as he moved, revealing part of a tattoo she hadn’t noticed before.It was mostly obscured by his shirt, so it was hard to make out.

“I don’t recall seeing that tattoo earlier.”She wanted to pull down the neck of his shirt to get a better look.

“It comes and goes,” he said as though that were normal.When she just stared at him, he shrugged.“Experimental temporary tattoos.It’s supposed to be there when you will it, but this one only appears when it wants to.”

“Oh.”Keiko nodded.That made sense.Years ago, someone had tried to develop something similar with makeup.

It seemed to take an eternity for them to descend through the building.But at last, the elevator came to a halt in the subbasement.Mace held up a hand and motioned for her to wait while he checked the corridor.Cautiously, gun first, he peeked out and then signaled for her to follow.

They made their way along the corridor to the stairwell, where he repeated the whole “peeking through the door to check if it was clear, then signaling for her to follow” routine.Slowly and silently, they made their way up the stairs to the ground floor.Well, Keiko tried to be silent, unlike Mace, who actually was.If she hadn’t been right behind him, she wouldn’t have known he was there.