Graceful Deception

17. I Meant To Behave, But There Were Too Many Other Options

Chapter 17

I Meant To Behave, But There Were Too Many Other Options

 

 

“Have I told you how much I hate you lately?”  I wanted to scream it at the top of my lungs.  But seeing as I was hanging onto the side of the Élysée Palace, security down in the courtyard around the corner, it wouldn’t have been a very good idea. 

“Not lately, no,” John grinned as he made sure my ropes weren’t twisting, slowly lowering me down just another inch.  “But I love you, too.”

I didn’t say a word, but my glare was enough for him to start grinning again. 

“Guys, shut up!” Ren said from just a few feet below me.  He was leaning out the open window.  “We’ve only got a limited amount of time before Stella’s going to come looking for us.  Not to mention, all of security when the security system’s back online!”

It was his turn to feel the heat of my glare.  “Well, then you shut up and help me inside already.  I’m tired of hanging on the edge of a freakin’ building!”

As John let me down a little more, I could feel Ren grab hold of my legs before guiding me inside the office window.  When my boots finally touched the hardwood floor, I breathed out a sigh of relief, not realizing that I’d been holding my breath. 

In a fluid motion, John was through the window, somehow managing to bring the rest of the rope with him.  He was laughing slightly at the look I was giving him, which wasn’t a nice one either.

“Was there a reason we had to go all Mission Impossible, scaling rooftops and hanging off the sides of buildings?” I asked, looking in between the two of them.  “Because if you did this just to freak me out by making me think I was going to die, you’ve definitely succeeded…as well as making me want to take you down with me!”

“Em, it was necessary.  You know that,” John explained, his grin still blinding, even though there was no light in the office that we’d found ourselves in.  “They’ve hiked up security at all major government buildings in multiple countries because of the string of break-ins.  We had no other choice.”

I muttered incoherently, picking up the backpack that Ren had brought in and slinging it over my shoulder, smoothing back my hair into its ponytail.  I knew he was right.  It had been all over the news for the past few days, about how every government building that had been broken into and others were doubling up on their security efforts.  There was still no word to the public as to what had been stolen from the places broken into and I highly doubted that there ever would be.  Besides, after this break-in, we only had two others, Canada and D.C.

“Okay, whatever.  But I’m still not forgiving you for at least an hour because of that stunt you pulled,” I said, pointing a finger at John specifically. 

He pointed back at himself, a far too innocent look on his face.  “Me?  What did I do?”

“You know exactly what you did.”

Like easing me over the side of the building before loosening the rope, making me fall only a foot, sure, but it still scared the living daylights out of me.  How I’d managed to hold in my scream, I don’t know.

“You guys coming or not?” Stella’s voice whispered from the open office door.  “I’ve been waiting out here for fifteen minutes.  What took you so long?”

“Emmy was being a pain,” Ren grinned, shoving my shoulder before hurrying past her, just so I couldn’t hit him back. 

My lips pursed, I passed Stella, John behind me, and followed Ren down the hallway.  Sure, he was being a butt, but he was one who knew where he was going.