Dangerous Mating (A.L.F.A., #3)(20)

“You didn’t kill him, did you?” she asked.

“It’s his lucky day,” he said. “Now come on.” With her hand in his, he led.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“To the dungeon.”

She pulled back on his arm. “What? The dungeon? Are you crazy?” He yanked her back into motion. From other parts of the palace, he heard scuffling. The guards were on to them.

“I know what I’m doing. They know about us missing.” She didn’t fight when he pushed forward. He was close to the dungeon door. He remembered seeing the familiar painting on the wall. He turned at the corner and saw a couple men down the way. The guards hollered, telling them to stop or they’d shoot.

He snatched a vase off a side table and launched it at them. Being a shifter, the throw was direct and very fast. It smashed into one of the guys’ head, knocking the guard down. He picked up a small, decorative box on the same table and threw it, then grabbed his mate and continued on.

The remaining guard was ready for the attack and ducked under the missile. On the go, Day chucked another vase behind them, hoping to slow them down. Didn’t really work, but whatever. They were at the door.

It was heavy, thick metal and he had to lean his weight into it to open it. A bullet dinged off the door close to his head. He bent forward, shoving his mate through the doorway. From the shelf beside the entrance, he snagged two flashlights and a cigarette lighter. That’s all he had time for. The door opened.

Training instincts kicked in and took out the guard. They were safe for the moment but he felt the floor vibrate from others running.

“I really hope you know what you’re doing,” Kari said. He handed her a flashlight and directed her down the center aisle. So do I, he thought.

“Trust me,” he said.

This would lead them to either safety or their deaths.





Chapter Thirteen




Kari hustled down the aisle in the dungeon. It was like she’d stepped back in time to medieval London. They had to have purposely made the cells so formidable since the palace was modern. The prince was quite the drama queen.

There were a few men among the cells, and they looked like skeletons. When she got out of this, she would make sure they were rescued for this hellhole.

Bryon pushed ahead of her and stopped at the rough-hewn rock wall.

“Now what?” she asked. “Where’s the door?”

He stood looking around. “Not sure.”

Panic zipped through her. Along with anger. “What?” He had to be joking. “You bring us down here not knowing how to get out? Are you crazy?” Her arms slapped down at her thighs. “We’re gonna die. That’s all there is to it.”

He sniffed along the wall. “Hush. Don’t be so overdramatic. That’s not becoming of an agent.”

She straightened up immediately. He was right. She wasn’t being professional at all. For pretending to be a girlfriend who was supposed to only walk around a lot, she sure was busy. And now she was going to die. All because she had to pee. Funny how life sucked.

“Got it.” Agent Day pushed against the rock and she saw a portion slide back. He gritted his teeth and the muscles popped out on his arms. His shirt sparkled in the low light from the dungeon. She would’ve giggled if not in this situation. The dungeon door opened and men’s voices echoed.

“Hurry.” She pushed against the section of wall like she was really helping. She had to do something. Shit. They were going to die! Day suddenly seized her hand and pulled her through a narrow opening. She sucked her belly into her chest. Her boobs were already big enough, she didn’t need this.

She breathed out as a flashlight lit the dark tunnel. Where were they? It looked like the escape tunnel El Chapo used in his getaway. Then it hit her. They were in the infamous tunnels that no one ever escaped. They existed. At least, one did.

Agent Day guided her through turn after turn, sometimes pausing before taking another direction. The tunnel was high enough for her co-agent to stand, and he was a lot taller than she was. The walls were far enough apart to almost walk side by side. The floor was somewhat smooth for being cut from rock. Probably from years of people traveling to and from this area.

Running into another dead end, they backed out. Now that she thought about it, the palace had to be purposely built where it was to have such access to an entrance. She wondered if the Nazis had a previous structure there and used the tunnels to hide things. Holy shit. There could be treasure somewhere down here.

They slid down another narrow passageway and stopped.

“What?” she asked. “Why did we stop?”

“I think we’re safe for a bit. We hit so many dead ends and made so many turns that the guards couldn’t have possibly followed us. You can rest while I search ahead for a way out.”

Once again, she did not believe his words. “You brought us into the fabled tunnels which have had all their exits bulldozed and blocked, and you don’t know the way out?”

He looked at her. “All the exits bulldozed?” he asked.

“Oh my freaking god.” She didn’t care if she was being unprofessional. They were definitely going to die. What was she going to do? She absolutely didn’t feel safe, like he’d thought. Acting in anger, she stomped down the trail and took the first turn she came to.