Chapter 6 - Before the Dawn
"Leave?" I looked from the glowing tablet to the sofa where Lily was still fast asleep, her fingers curled tightly around the gray rabbit's ear. "She hasn't slept more than three hours straight in three days. Moving her now will break her."
"Staying here breaks both of you permanently," Diane said, her voice dropping an octave, carrying an absolute, unyielding certainty. She reached into her blazer pocket and pulled out a pair of heavy brass keys attached to a plain black fob. "The service elevator at the end of this hall leads directly to the subterranean loading dock. There's a black sedan waiting in bay four. The plates are clean, registered to a shell catering company that clears customs twice a week."
I looked at the keys resting in her palm. The metal caught the amber light of the desk lamp, glinting dully in the quiet room.
"Whose car?" I asked.
"Mine," Diane said simply. "Or rather, the company's. But right now, my interests and your survival happen to align. Arthur wants the ledger closed, and the only way that happens is if you and the girl drop off the grid before the morning shift change at the precinct."
I walked over to the sofa, kneeling beside it. I slipped my hands gently beneath Lily’s shoulders and knees, lifting her slowly so as not to break the fragile architecture of her sleep. She stirred slightly, letting out a soft, murmuring sigh, her face pressing into the wool of my gray sweater. Her fingers tightened around the stuffed rabbit, holding it against my chest as I stood up.
Diane watched us, her expression softening for a fraction of a second before the professional mask slid back into place. She turned toward the door and unlocked it, pulling it open just an inch to check the empty hallway.
"The service corridor is clear," she whispered over her shoulder. "Bring her."
May you like
I followed her out into the cold, quiet hallway, the heavy oak door of Suite 1412 clicking shut behind us. As we walked toward the service elevator, I glanced back once down the long, carpeted expanse. The bruised red roses we had left in the bronze wastebasket were already out of sight, buried under the sterile debris of a room that was no longer ours. We stepped into the steel car, the doors sliding shut with a muffled hum, carrying us down into the dark before the dawn could find us.
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