Chapter 8: The Sealed Exit
Carrying Elena against his chest, Adam pushed out into the corridor. The main elevator doors had slammed shut, their indicator screens completely dark.
Victoria had triggered the facility's remote failsafe.
"Think, Adam," he muttered to himself, navigating the crimson-lit hallway. The weight of his wife in his arms felt impossibly delicate, as if any sudden jolt might break her fragile hold on life.
He located the auxiliary fire stairs at the eastern wing. The heavy door was equipped with a manual panic bar, but it was magnetically pressurized. Gathering all his momentum, Adam threw his shoulder against the steel bar.
With a deafening groan of metal, the seal popped open, exposing the concrete staircase leading up to the ground-floor loading dock.
He carried Elena up the steps two at a time, his lungs burning with exertion.
As he reached the ground floor exit, he heard the faint sound of tires screeching through the gravel outside. Looking through the wired glass pane of the service door, his heart dropped.
A sleek black town car had arrived at the gate, blocking his SUV.
Victoria stepped out into the rain, holding an umbrella in one hand and an encrypted tablet in the other. Flanking her were two private security contractors in dark rain slickers, their hands resting on concealed holsters.
"Find them," Adam heard Victoria shout over the rain. "Do not let that car leave this perimeter."
May you like
They were hunting him. And Lily was still inside the vehicle.
---
