Inborn (The Birthright Book 1)

Chapter 15

Kenji, however, was still there. I had to get out and call my parents.

A groan from the elevator startled me, and I waited, holding my breath. A piece of the elevator ceiling disappeared and Bryce jumped through the hole. He saw me and dashed forward, then his sneakers squealed on the floor as he slid to a stop when he saw Kenji.

After taking it in, Bryce turned away from me, leaning one hand on a nearby bookshelf, his breathing coming in short, shallow gasps.

"Are you okay?" I walked closer tentatively, unsure what to do if he had some sort of panic attack.

He nodded fervently. "We need to get out of here and get backup," he said between breaths.

"What about Lachlan?"

"Gone. By the time I got to my flashlight." His jaw clenched.

"All right. So how do we get out?"

"Elevator shaft."

That had been my plan, though I now realized you had to somehow climb up it. "So how do we get out of the shaft then?"

A few minutes later, we'd climbed up a rope hanging from the first elevator drop off. Then Bryce took a launch device and from the top of the elevator, he shot it to the top of the shaft with a rope attached. It secured the rope for us. Using the wall for support, and taking breaks at the elevator stops, we climbed to the top of the shaft and Bryce blasted through the brick with some sort of laser weapon.

We stood on the roof, fresh air never feeling so wonderful. With the rope, we rappelled down to the ground. I grappled for my phone and it worked again.

Bryce wandered toward the river in back while I talked to my mom. The real one this time. Bryce had his phone to his ear, and I assumed he was calling Hayden. I wasn't sure what to say–or think. I was alone when I found Kenji and had the encounter with her murderer. It could have been Bryce or Lachlan. I had no way to know.

So I kept my distance until my parents and Hayden showed up. My skin prickled at the sight of my mom running toward me, and I had to stop myself from shrinking away when she threw her arms around me.

"We were looking all over for you," she said breathlessly. "What are you doing in this place?"

"I–um–" I was trying to piece together what to say. Apparently Bryce didn't tell them I was in trouble, and I couldn't tell them what had happened yet. Not until I knew more myself. "I came with Bryce–to investigate something. And I found her–in the basement."

Mom cupped my face in her hands. "Okay. Can you tell us where to find her?"

"Elevator. Take it all the way down, I think. It was a storage room."

Dad pulled off his black wool coat and wrapped it around me. It was warm and smelled like his aftershave. He kissed my forehead, and they joined Hayden near the back entrance. Bryce was still by the river, so I went over to sit with him. When I sat down on the grass, he wiped his face with his shirtsleeve, his eyes moist.

"I'm sorry," I said. He shrugged a shoulder. "Look, I told my parents I came here with you to investigate, in case they ask you."

"Whatever you say." He didn't even look my way.

"How did you know where to find me?"

"Your phone. GPS. I got your signal before it blanked out."

"Right." I fidgeted with the zipper on my jacket. "Are you mad?"

"About what?"

"That I left when the lights went out."

He pulled his knees into his chest, hugging his legs. "Either that or when I found you, you were alone with Kenji's body." He finally looked at me, his eyes vacant. "You're keeping your distance because you don't know if you can trust me, but I don't know right now if I can trust you either."