Let's Hunt Her (Book #2)

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Sehun sticks his fingers up under the edge of the crossbeam on the ceiling, gently lowering a hatch. When he has it about halfway down, a rope ladder falls to the floor. We all look at one another and it's one of those moments when everything comes into sharp focus; one wrong move and we're dead.

"Everyone do a quick check for you knives and for you blow darts. And hand over your phones," Rosé whispers, and we do. "No mistakes, no fumbles."

Sehun and Rosé grind out SIM cards into the floor and snap our phones in half before stashing them in some old boots. The four of us share a look, affirming that everything is in order. Sehun places his lit candle between his teeth and climbs upward, while Lisa snuffs hers out, slipping it back into her jacket pocket.

I follow Sehun up the rope ladder with Rosé and Lisa right behind me. As soon as I reach the ceiling, I pull myself up into a small circular room about the size of a walk-in closet that has nothing in it except a stone staircase. Sehun waits with the candle while Rosé and Lisa hoist themselves into the room, and after closing the hatch, the four of us start up the steep staircase together.

The stone steps are worn, suggesting that the Tiger estate is an old building-possibly a traditional hanok castle or manor house. I run my fingers along the uneven stone wall, sending a silent pleas that the braided lock of hair Sejeong gave me will bring us luck.

Sehun stops in front of an arched door. He loads a dart tipped with Angels' Dream into a blowpipe and we follow suit. When we're all ready and braced, he grabs the door latch and snuffs out his candle. For two seconds we're cast into complete darkness, a circumstance that caused me to panic an hour ago but that now feels a million times safer than whatever is on the other side of the door.

Sehun cracks the door ever so slowly and a small silver of light appears. Without hesitation he sticks the wooden pip through half inch of space and blows on it. He throws the door open and in one fluid motion runs for the stumbling guard, catching him right before he hits the ground. The three of us emerge from the staircase and I help Sehun lower the guard silently to the floor.

We scan what appears to be an extensive wine cellar, blowpipes in hand. There are no other guards in sight, which strikes me as odd. Why only one guard? Are the Tigers so confident that no ones would have the guts to break in, or that their door is so well hidden that most people wouldn't find it? Sehun and I make eye contact and I can tell he's wondering the same thing.

We move methodically across the room between the rows of wine barrels, pausing intermittently to listen, but the cellar is unnerving quiet. I keep hoping I'll spot a pathway that will lead us to another part of the basement and to the dungeon itself, but no such luck. There are only wine, stone walls, and one flight of stairs. Lisa takes the lead, creeping upward with grace.

She stops at the door at the top of the stairs, crouching on the ground to peer under it. Four seconds pass and she stands back up, holding up two fingers, which I'm assuming means there are two guards. She taps her blowpipe and points to her right, then she taps Rosé's and point to her left, mapping out a plan of execution.

She lifts the latch slowly, careful not to let the metal creak. The instant the latch unhooks, she throws the door open. Lisa and Rosé bolt through and a half a second later I hear the whizzing sound of two darts. Sehun and I are right behind them and we each run for a guard. I barely got ahold of mine, swaying under his weight, and place him silently on the floor. My pulse sounds in my head and my temples throb.

We pause once again to assess our surroundings. We're in what I would consider an antiqued version of a mudroom. There are iron hooks on the wall with hooded cloaks hanging from them, wooden shelves containing gloves and hats, and winter boots lined up against the wall in varied sizes. Everything is black and matches Strategia aesthetic. I gulp. The number of items in this room suggests a large household and I'm willing to bet that this isn't the only entrance or the only mudroom in this place.