approached and stepped right up next to me, leaning in and breathing into my ear so his words wouldn't be caught by Cain. "Where is she?"
"The tunnel," I mouthed and his eyes widened as he stepped back, a fearful glint in them.
Everyone else seemed to catch on and a ripple of anxiety ran through the group as we waited for the blade of fate to fall on our heads. Cain shot back in front of us, looking from face to face with a scowl etched into his brow.
"Where's Twelve and Twenty-Four?" he growled dangerously.
"They were working with us over in the far corner," Sonny said immediately, pointing towards the opposite end of the library to where the hole was.
"No, the hound was with me. Though that was perhaps a while before she joined you. Or perhaps it was after..." Pudding pointed to another corner of the room away from the tunnel and Cain's scowl deepened.
"Plunger was stacking books that way too," Claud said, nodding.
"Twelve! Twenty-Four!" Cain bellowed. "Come here, now! You have five seconds. Five - four - three-"
"It's very muffled over there, voices don't really carry," Sin cut him off and everyone nodded their agreement.
"Doesn't carry at all," Gustard said.
"Perhaps there is a muffling spell on that area of the library," Pudding said thoughtfully.
"There's no such thing," Cain hissed, glaring at us all but then he shot away toward the far corner.
I was running before I could stop myself and Ethan was at my side as we raced back to where we'd been before. Sin started singing Sex Bomb by Tom Jones at the top of his lungs, covering the noise of our footsteps as we raced toward the bookcase.
I nodded to Ethan as I took one end and he took the other and we swung it out half a foot. Rosalie and a very naked Plunger spilled out of it and we quickly shoved it back into place. Sin's singing grew even louder and the others started heckling him, telling him to shut up so their voices filled the whole library.
Plunger swiped up a paint brush, splashing some of it over his naked flesh, abandoning his jumpsuit which was folded beside the bookcase as we all sprinted back towards the front doors. I grabbed Rosa's hand in mine, squeezing firmly and she squeezed mine back before I released her again. We rounded the corner, coming to a halt just as Cain shot back in front of us and his brows lowered even further as he spotted Rosa and Plunger standing behind me and Ethan.
"Shut the fuck up Eighty-Eight!" Cain barked at Sin and he fell quiet, grinning wickedly.
Cain muscled his way through the group, his eyes raking over Rosa before shifting to Plunger's hairy naked flesh.
"Why the fuck are you naked?" he demanded.
"It's how I express my inner crea-tiv-it-ai," he said innocently. "I need to be free of clothes when I paint, it is my way, sir."
Cain grimaced then looked back to Rosa while fear pounded through my limbs. If he figured out something was up, we were so fucked.
"What were you doing? This lot said you were over there," he growled, pointing to the section of the library he'd just searched.
Rosa batted her lashes. "I went to see how Plunger was getting on. He's slowing down our work by trying to use his dick as a paintbrush."
Plunger shrugged like that wasn't unusual behaviour. "It is the way of my crea-tiv-it-ai."
“It’s creativit-tee,” Cain growled irritably as he looked between them then whirled around to face the rest of us. "You've had plenty of time to finish this job. Why is it taking so long?"
Rosa hurried forward and caught his arm, giving him a serious look. "Can I have a word with you? Me and Roary need to tell you something." She glanced at me and I frowned, but quickly schooled my features as Cain glanced my way and I nodded, matching her expression.
A muscle worked in Cain's jaw as he considered that then finally nodded, making relief spill through me even though I had no idea what she had planned. Rosa headed off into the stacks and I followed with Cain in tow until we were out of earshot of the others.
"What is it, Ro- Twelve?" he corrected himself last minute and I cocked an eyebrow at that. He shot me a glare that said he'd rip my tongue out if I mentioned it though.
"It's Plunger," she whispered, sharing a frown with me. "He takes his time with