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I whirled back toward hi else, just strode to the door and held it open I caught Lia my reaction out of the corner ofI sae followed Cole downstairs was his back He kept two steps ahead of me the entire time and didn’t once turn toI had expanded into confusion as we h the kitchen; I could see my pale face reflected in the stainless steel surfaces as we passed by the sinks, stove, oven, and finally the pantry, until we hit the wall ofsheets

The ed the shelves away froainst the linoleum they’d used to tile the floor, but once the shelves were set aside, I had a clear viehat it had been hiding

"Really?" I said, exasperated "Another hidden door?"

Lia "There are others?"

"It’s not hidden," Cole said, stepping into the dark hall He felt along the wall until the lights flickered on, revealing yet another da the space and justleft it alone I’ency exit It’ll be important to make sure the kids knohere it is"

"What was it used for before?" I asked,between the Cole’s powerful, purposeful strides forward, the way his wide shoulders h, the way frustration see the air around us He trailed behindover edechoed around us, and so that the two of theainst the wall and beating one another senseless

"We used it to run Op simulations, which is one reason it needs to be cleared out--any strike against a caraphed," Cole explained "Then it becae unit for all the crap we acquired over the years"

"Fantastic," Lia actually useful in there?"

Cole shrugged "Guess you’re going to find out, baby brother"

In response, Lia ht that it was riest at--that Liah upstairs, that not telling him about Cole’s and my plan had hurt him more deeply than I’d expected I reached back for his hand, wanting the security of his touch, to coize, to justbe, and be with him next to me I hadn’t even looked to see that he was okay; he was ed up now, but I hadn’t checked for bruises, bu in the cold air Nothing God, he was mad, furious maybe A painful knot for it closer to my side in a last-ditch effort to protect ht h mine, he pressed a kiss there and crossed the last two steps between us so we could walk next to each other He looped an arm over my shoulder and didn’t pull ahen I stepped in closer to his side I ranhis back, up and down, up and down, until I felt the tight muscles there ease When he looked down at h that I felt the sudden urge to stand on my toes and press a soft, quick kiss to his jaw So I did He ducked his head, trying to hide his little, pleased smile It was the first tih the tunnel

We’re okay, I thought This is okay

In total, it was about a five-minute walk from one door to the other Stairs waited for us at the other end, and I realized with a start that ere heading back aboveground The door waiting at the top of the stairs looked to have been hah the door hadn’t been locked, Cole still had to drive his shoulder into it in order to get it unstuck from its frame He stumbled in with the force of his momentum

The smirk on Liam’s face fell away thein one of the nearby warehouses--one of the s that seehly the same dimensions as the Ranch, but one level, and decidedly less livable--concrete, metal rafters Windows lined the top of the wall, coated in dust and darkened by blackout sheets The lights hanging fro mounds of junk piled up around us

There were no walls or offices, let alone heat or insulation froe There were a few actual cars inside--their stripped-down bodies, really, and all of them propped up on lifts Lia down to inspect the engine and innards on the floor beneath it All of the tires and hubcaps see-dock door, which had been secured several tih, it was a bizarre assorts of screws and nails I s, half afraid of what I’d find inside, but it was only crumpled old clothes they’d probably ripped off from a donation drop-off