Deathtrap (Crossbreed #3)(46)
“My vote is for calling a cab.”
He laughed darkly and turned in a circle, arms wide. “Do you really think cabs come out to the Bricks at night? If you want to stay alive, we need to find shelter.”
I scooted off the ledge, and he caught me, lowering me to the ground. “Let’s go back to the subway.”
“We weren’t alone in those tunnels.”
Now there was a creepy thought.
Christian’s brows knitted as he held a distant look in his eyes. “I only saw one motel… but we’re interlopers. We’ll attract attention. People around here are curious when they see a new face, and the welcoming committee isn’t so receptive.”
“Maybe I don’t know the Bricks, but I know the streets.” I smiled and took his hand in mine. “Come with me if you want to live.”
Chapter 14
We walked alongside a dilapidated fence behind a row of buildings, careful not to attract attention. What we needed was a way to climb up to one of those rooftops without having to enter the building. Christian hadn’t exaggerated about how dangerous the Bricks were. We’d witnessed a murder not fifteen minutes after leaving the park.
Our pace slowed as we approached an unoccupied building that looked like a casualty of war. The back wall on the third floor was blown open, leaving a cavity that allowed us to see the desolation within. I pointed up at the hole.
Christian gestured toward the first-floor window, and I shook my head.
“And why not?” he asked. “The entire building is as barren as your womb.”
I gave him a cursory glance. “We have a better chance of escaping or defending ourselves up there if someone decides to drop in. The third floor buys us time, whereas on the first floor we’re just sitting ducks. Why do you think I spent so many nights on rooftops?” Before he could open his mouth with a retort, I jumped up to reach for the fire escape. “Can you give me a hand?”
Christian climbed on top of a trash bin and pulled down an old metal ladder. I cringed at the racket it made but decided there was no better security alarm. While I climbed up to the third floor, Christian pulled the ladder back into place and continued his ascent.
I crawled over the crumbling brick wall.
“Watch your step,” he said. “There might be holes in the floor.” Once he reached the top of the ladder, he jumped inside and walked ahead of me.
The roof was still intact, but most of the back wall was blown out. Twisted pieces of rebar stuck out from the broken chunks of the wall. It could have also been a Vampire fight that caused it. Or a meteor. Snow dusted the floor near the gap, so we moved toward the center and looked around.
“All clear,” Christian said. He disappeared behind a pillar and moved around in the darkness. He finally strode toward me and wearily scratched his jaw. “One staircase is blocked with debris, and suffice it to say that no one will be taking the elevator.”
I felt better knowing the ladder was the only way in or out. With my teeth chattering, I scoped out the room for the safest spot that would get me the hell out of the open. A large row of filing cabinets in the back looked accommodating, so I checked out the space behind them. The nook would shield us from the bitter wind, but it was too easy for someone to corner us.
“Christian, can you pull the cabinets away from the wall so there’s a gap?”
Without argument, he began pulling the first sectional, which was about five feet tall. I closed some of the open drawers until they clicked shut while Christian dragged the second one to meet up with the first. Dirty papers littered the floor, but they were adequate protection against the cold concrete.
My foot slipped from beneath me when I sat, and I came down hard. Not that it mattered. My body was aching with exhaustion, and my depleted core light made me shiver with unwanted cold. Leaning against the wall, I drew up one leg and kept the other straight.
Dried clumps of blood were stuck to my chin and lip. I glanced up at Christian. “You wouldn’t happen to have a handkerchief, would you?”
He removed his black coat and draped it over my legs. Then I watched him rip a large piece away from his shirt before kneeling next to me. “Let me have a look.”
“I think there’s a big clot in my nostril. Do you think it’s okay to blow it out?”
“Are you sure it’s not your brains jammed up in there?” He licked the material and gently wiped at my cheeks and upper lip. “A broken nose is a good look on you. It fills in your face.”
I reclined my head and closed my eyes. “We didn’t even get his name. I’m not sure if that pisses me off more or that we lost him twice. Why didn’t you tell me there was a bomb? Maybe if I’d known that, I would have stolen his computer.”
His hands deftly cleaned my chin. “I didn’t know until he looked at the speakers before jumping out the window. I’d guessed the music was a way to tip off his Vampire friend that there was trouble, but he was damn determined to dive out that window instead of fighting a woman.”
“There you go again, assuming a man can beat me because he has a penis between his legs.”
A smile touched his lips. “It’s not what I think that matters. That’s how most men think, and most wouldn’t run from a woman. Something lit a fire under his arse.”