Calling by Kelley Armstrong

Author:Kelley Armstrong
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Harper Collins, Inc.
Published: 2012-04-10T04:00:00+00:00

TWENTY

DANIEL OPENED THE trapdoor leading into the crawl space, then prodded us inside, whispering “Move, move!” Sam and I burrowed past the boxes. Corey was right behind us. Then the front door opened, bell jangling.

Daniel jumped in, still holding the broken latch, and closed the trapdoor as one set of footsteps circled the shop. They stopped at the storage room door. Daniel tensed, ready to leap if the trapdoor opened.

“Clear!” Moreno yelled.

The steps crossed the store. The bell sounded again.

“Get in farther,” Daniel whispered. “We need to hide better.”

“Didn’t you hear him?” Corey whispered. “We’re clear.”

“They’ll look outside some more. Then they’ll come back in.”

The guys shifted the boxes, then we crawled in behind them. It was far from an ideal hiding spot. The crawl space wasn’t even three feet deep. Dirt floor. I didn’t want to think about what else was alive—or dead—down here. I twisted around and stretched out on my stomach. Sam huddled beside me, hugging her knees.

The guys wiggled backward to us, as they moved the boxes and cases of beer, stacking them so we were hidden.

How long should we wait? That was the question. Finally Sam asked it out loud

“Until we think it’s safe,” I whispered.

“Then twenty minutes more,” Daniel said. “To be sure.”

When it finally seemed as if anyone searching for us had to be gone, I told Corey to check his watch. He was just doing that when I heard the sound of the front doorbells.

Footsteps followed. Still only one set. Again they circled the shop.

“Definitely empty,” Moreno said. “They’ve got to be out there.”

A voice came through his radio. Then the door bells jangled again.

“They’re trying to use the dog.” It was Antone. “But she’s not cooperating. She just lays down and growls at anyone who touches her.”

Good girl.

“Well, there’s no one in here,” Moreno said. “What we really need is the Enwright witch’s sensing spell and a werewolf tracker.”

“Preaching to the choir, buddy. I’ve been hounding head office for two days now. They finally agreed to send the witch. No chance on a werewolf, though.”

The door to the back room opened.

“What have we here?” Moreno murmured. A creak as he opened the trapdoor. Light filtered past the stacked boxes.

“Got something?” Antone called.

“Nah, just storage for the booze.”

“Well, check it out.”

Moreno chuckled. “Happy to, boss.”

We held our breath as he pushed aside a beer case. I glanced over at Daniel. He had his eyes closed. Sweat shone on his forehead. His lips moved as he tried to mentally persuade Moreno that he’d looked hard enough.

Let it work. Please let it work.

Moreno hesitated. Then he backed out and yelled. “Just boxes. You want a beer?”

I didn’t hear what Antone said, but Moreno laughed and let the trapdoor fall shut. The bells over the door jangled a few minutes later. Daniel checked his watch. After twenty minutes, he helped me crawl forward, open the hatch, and listen.

“Nothing,” I whispered.

“Give it another five minutes.”

We did. Then I insisted on going first to check. I crept to one of the broken front windows, listened hard, then peered out.

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