Eye for an Eye (Take a Chance #2)- Lisa Helen Gray Page 0,15
a low tunnel that leads to the manhole. It could be covered though; he isn’t sure. He only has the blueprints that were made from the original layout.”
The lights beside us begin to explode one by one, causing my heart to stutter and glass to rain down on us. Lily screams, and I turn, helping Jaxon when her legs give out.
“It’s okay. It’s okay, babe,” he soothes, helping her stand.
She draws in a breath, opening her eyes. “It will be okay,” she whispers, her bottom lip trembling.
With a firm nod from Jaxon, I keep going down the stairs, struggling to catch my breath when the smoke thickens. My throat becomes raw. It’s like a wave, following us, surrounding us, like it was called to do it. And it won’t stop until it suffocates us.
“I can’t get any fucking signal,” Reid snaps from the back of the line.
“Now is not the time to be calling one of your booty calls,” I snap back, coming to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. I shine the light to the floor, making it safe for the others.
“Yes, because that’s exactly what I’m doing when I’m about to die. Call someone for a fuck,” he mutters dryly.
“What else would you need a signal for?” I ask, arching an eyebrow—not that he can see.
“I’m trying to reach Eli. He should be arriving back soon.”
“Shit,” I growl, running a hand through my hair.
We can’t even warn him about what he’s coming back to. They could ambush him, and he’s alone, since we let the others go for their break.
“Yeah, shit,” he bites out.
“I’m not even going to ask how you two found this tunnel,” Jaxon mutters as we head down the corridor.
“Oh God, is it a dungeon?” Lily asks, her body jerking forward as she reaches for Jaxon’s phone. “Don’t move the light away from you. I need to see you.”
I stop at the sound of fear in her voice. She’s keeping it together, more than I thought she would, but as the light from my phone shines over her face, it’s only half true. Silent tears stream down her cheeks. The jacket Reid wrapped around her slips down, showing her pale complexion. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone look so pale, and seeing her utterly petrified has me stepping forward, placing a hand on her shoulder. She’s become a sister to us all, and we love her like one too. We understand now why the Carter’s were so protective of her.
“Lily, it’s going to be okay,” I promise her.
I grimace at the sound of something crashing above us, dust falling in sheets around us.
“Move,” Jaxon urges, pushing through the next door.
Reid slams it shut behind him, before I lead them in the direction of the next set of stairs. Even with our phones on, darkness swallows us. The only light in the pit of darkness is coming from the little streams shining from the torches on our phones, but even they are struggling.
I begin to choke as I take the first step down, dust and smoke clogging my throat. Webs and roots line the walls and pathway, and I try to brush away as many as I can.
“Come on,” I yell when I reach the bottom, before covering my face with the sleeve of my top.
Jaxon was right. It doesn’t go down far, not as far as it seemed when Reid and I looked down there. It only looked like a bottomless pit of darkness.
Stopping at the edge of the tunnel, I survey the area. It will be tight but it’s the only option we have right now, and I’m not about to let my brothers and sister-in-law turn to ash.
After coming to the decision of the best way to do this, I turn to the others, getting close and shining the light on my face so they can see me.
“We’re gonna have to crawl. It’s gonna be a tight fit and it’s covered in crap and cobwebs.”
“Spiders?” Lily squeaks, pressing into Jaxon.
Reid gulps. “How big are the spiders?”
“It’s going to be fine,” Jaxon soothes, stroking a hand over Lily’s hair.
“I know it’s going to be fine. You’re with me,” she tells him, sounding stronger now.
“C’mon, let’s get this over with,” Reid urges.
I bend down to my knees, keeping the hand with my phone in up in the air whilst using the other to guide me through the tunnel and swipe away any cobwebs. The ground is damp, and in some places, puddles have