Beating Ruby by Camilla Monk Read Free Book Online

monitored—then there’s a vent in the north hallway, but—”
    “Excellent,” I announced, clasping my hands together.
    He crossed himself and we huddled in front of the fifth floor’s surveillance screen, hidden behind the lobby’s desk like conspirators.
    “I don’t have it on-screen because cameras usually point at the doors, but the vent is here, somewhere to the right,” he whispered when a cop walked past us, showing me a blank wall. “Here.” He pointed to a set of low metal doors encased in the opposite wall. “You got the freight elevator. No cops around there. I’m the one who’s supposed to watch over this part of the floor from here, so I’ll be able to monitor your progress. You’ll have to be quick. If anyone comes in, we’re both screwed.”
    “Roger that.”
    “Once you’re inside the vent, just crawl straight ahead. This one ends up directly in the clean room. Be careful when you open the grid. I think there’s some kind of filter you have to remember to put back.”
    “No problem.”
    “You’ll also need this—” He contorted to reach a drawer on his right and opened it, retrieving a red screwdriver. “The air vents have these special star-shaped screws so people won’t just go and open them.”
    I took the precious tool and stared at the screen for a few seconds, the fingers of my left hand drumming on Prince’s cluttered desk. This could cost me my job. But then again, Thom had given me that job in the first place. I needed to find out what had really happened to him.
    “Okay. I can do this. Take me to the freight elevator.”
    He risked a peek at the cops in the lobby. They were chatting with one of the security guards. No one would notice Prince’s absence if we were quick enough. He gave me a fearful nod and maneuvered his large body out of the desk. I followed him, and we both kept our shoulders hunched as we tiptoed to a service door a dozen feet away.
    Prince led me down a narrow hallway whose concrete walls were painted a dull gray. Soon we were standing in front of a set of low brushed-steel doors similar to the ones I had seen on the security footage. The freight elevator was normally used as a fast means to deliver small equipment and packages such as computer screens, mail, or catering without moving your ass. Of course I had sometimes wondered what it’d be like to ride inside it. I mean, who wouldn’t?
    Near me, Prince whined as he used his key to unlock the elevator. “Oh God, this is such a shitty idea!”
    He pressed a big green button on the concrete wall to call it. A few seconds later, the car stopped at our floor with a creaking sound. I won’t lie—when the doors slid open with a faint chime, I did consider chickening out. God, it looked dark in there. And cramped. I took a deep breath and folded my body to climb in. Notwithstanding the fact that this looked like the premise for some terrible B-horror movie, I was, indeed, small enough to fit in.
    I contorted a few times until I was sitting in a crouching position. Prince looked at me questioningly, his hand lingering on the elevator button while drops of sweat beaded on his forehead. I answered his worried gaze with a vigorous thumbs-up gesture; he pushed the button.
    Funny how it was only when the doors closed that I truly got scared. I was suddenly engulfed in complete darkness, my only bearings the faint sounds of metal scraping against metal and the feeling of my stomach heaving a little as the car sped up. After a few seconds, I felt the elevator slow down. It stopped with that same faint bell sound, the doors sliding open to reveal a white and silent hallway.
    The bright light bursting into the tiny space proved equal parts blessing and curse. It was marginally better than crouching in that pitch-black shoebox, but I was now terrified that the floor might not be empty after all, and someone might see me exit the car. In my jeans’ back pocket, I felt my smartphone vibrate. I extracted it