We follow along behind Hank, ducking in the shadows and hugging the wall like super-spies; mimicking his every movement when he comes to a screeching halt. We breathe as one as we listen to the men on the other side.
“The package was supposed to be here today! What happened? Do you think it’s been intercepted? I never should have trusted Randy with it. He’s probably holed up somewhere with all of them. They’ll probably be damaged goods by the time they get here.”
Another man’s voice breaks in. “Shut up, Toby. Did you forget that Silas went with him? He’ll make sure Randy keeps his hands to himself.”
Another man laughs. “Yeah. I don’t think he’ll have any issues with temptation. They’re not exactly his type.”
“Shut up, Beau. You don’t know anything! Silas is one of us, and don’t you forget it.”
“Crap. I think he’s coming this way. Fall out, men. He can’t see us together.”
Hank turns to Austin. “Make-out mode. Now. Make it look good.”
That’s the only warning I get before Hank is on me, and Austin turns to Jenni. If Hank could push me through this cement wall, he totally would. His body covers mine, and his hands are everywhere. I can’t think. I can’t breathe. He brands me with his scent and his hands. He jars my senses as his teeth knock into mine. He backs off slightly and turns his head to meet a hot Austin head on.
“Time’s up, Hank. They’re gone. Let’s go find that game room.”
Austin grabs Hank’s wrist that leads to his hand that’s still on my chest. My face flames. Austin yanks Hank’s hand away before releasing him. Austin’s dark eyes stare into mine, daring me to look away first. I release the handful of Hank’s shirt I’m clutching. “I’d like to see the game room,” I choke out.
Hank stalks down the hallway ahead of us, and we follow along behind silently. I glance down to see Jenni’s hand in Austin’s. I feel alone. We walk a while, and I stare at the floor.
“Look around, Amy.” Austin’s words wake me up a little. I steal casual glances here and there to figure out the setup without being obvious.
Hank ducks into another side room and we follow. Rows and rows of computer monitors fill the space, but there’s no one here.
I look over at Hank. “Can I use one?”
He nods. “Yes.”
I turn it on and wait for it to boot up. It takes a bit of time, and when it finally does, it asks for a username and password. Hank stands in front of me. He blocks my screen as he types in the information. Another screen pops up in front of me. I go to Google to search my e-mail, but it won’t come up. “Hank? I think there’s something wrong with your connection.”
Austin appears and leans over me. He lays a hand on my shoulder and grazes my skin. What is he doing? Why are his lips at my ear? “It’s not the connection.”
Hank barrels toward us. His eyes are on fire as he stares at Austin, who stands beside me. He turns toward Hank, who looks ready to tear Austin apart with his bare hands. “Get your hands off her.”
Austin stares coolly back at Hank with a hand still on my shoulder. “I will touch what pleases me.” I bite my lip to keep from smiling at Austin’s making fun.
A boy peeks in the doorframe. “Hank? What are you doing here?”
Hank turns back around. “Simon.” Why does he practically spit out the boy’s name, and why does he hate him so much?
Simon smiles back at Hank in obvious adoration. “Dad said you were gone for good, but I knew you’d be back. I’m going to go tell him.”
Hank looks over at Austin and then back at Simon. Austin answers. “You’d better go catch your not-so-helpful brother.”
Hank races out the door after Simon. Austin turns to me and Jenni. “It’s not the connection. They’re monitoring everything that everybody does, which tells me Hank did not meet your aunt in a chat room. They would have caught him before it went that far. Do not drink anything in excess or eat anything in excess while we are here. I don’t trust them not to drug us. The next thing they’re going to do is either take our phones or make it so we cannot charge them. We’ve got to be careful and we’ve got to get out of here within three days, or I don’t think we ever will.”
He turns to Jenni. “I touched Amy to make Hank mad. That’s all. When you make Hank mad, he can’t think at all.” He turns back to me. “I’m sorry, Amy.”
I shrug, though I feel anything but indifferent. “No problem, Austin. I totally get it. Whatever will get us out of here the fastest is fine with me.”
Jenni stares at the two of us. “How are we going to find your aunt, dead or alive?”
I look sideways and will some kind of answer to come to me, but nothing does. “I have no idea.”
Austin grabs her hand and mine and pulls us to the floor. “Hide! There’s voices coming this way!”
We belly crawl under the desks. I feel like I’m in some sort of classroom shooting drill. I ignore the carpet tearing into my elbows as we reach the closet and pile inside. Austin reaches up and grabs the doorknob. He swings it shut—quiet as a mouse. The voices get louder. I think they’re in the room. We hover over the metal vents at the bottom of the door.
“You can’t take over while he’s here, Toby. It won’t work.”
“You don’t know that, Beau. All we have to do is wait for him to let his guard down. The others are getting restless. They don’t like that he’s become more relaxed lately. They want a more present leader, someone who will be close by. He’s been taking too many vacations on our dime. They see everything. They know he’s taking advantage.”
“Yeah, but what about Hank?”
“What about him, T.J. Whose side are you on?”
“I’m on your side. You know this. I’m just saying, if something happens to his father, Hank’s next in line here. Not you, not me. And, Hank’s got the popular vote. The kids like him. The ladies definitely like him. I’ve never seen Ruby go for someone’s throat like she did with that last white Russian we got in. I thought she was going to kill her.”
Someone else chuckles. “Yeah. That was so hot.” My stomach clenches and I think I might puke. I hope I never see Ruby.
There’s a throat clearing. “So what’s the plan?”
“We wait. We wait until the time is right.”
“And when will that be, Toby?”
There’s more silence and I think they’ve left. “I don’t know, T.J. I’ll know when it happens.” More silence. “We’ll all know.”
“In the meantime, we’ve got to handle the three musketeers. Those orders came straight from the top. I don’t know who Hank thinks he is, bringing in unauthorized visitors. We’ll have to neutralize them.” I reach over and grab the hand beside me and squeeze it tight.