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pulled Bea close. “We won’t leave you
here, I promise.”
    She nodded, not trusting herself to
speak, and he moved away.
    “Okay, give me a hand up,” he said
to Gideon.
    Bea heard more scuffling, then
steps on the roof of the elevator. She wrapped her arms around herself,
wondering how she could go from crazy-aroused to terrified in a few short
minutes. Outside, she could hear some more booms, not as close as the others.
That didn’t help calm her down one bit. She made herself take shallow, deep
breaths, trying to slow her heart rate. It would be stupid to have a panic
attack now, over nothing. She heard cursing, then a deep scraping sound that
shook the elevator.
    “Got it,” Theo called, then he dropped
back down.
    Bea shrank against the wall, not
sure where he was.
    “Bea?”
    “Here,” she said. He put a hand on
her breast and she giggled.
    “Oh, whoops,” he said, amused. He
moved his hand to her shoulder. “Sorry about that.”
    “Sure you are,” she joked, trying
to recapture the flirting from before. Anything was better than this tension.
    “Are you two canoodling down there?
Come on, time to go,” Gideon called down. He was teasing, but his voice also
held a note of worry.
    “Canoodling? Who says that?” Bea
asked, smiling.
    “Gideon does, because he’s just
that weird.”
    “I can hear you,” he called down.
“Stop making goo-goo eyes at each other and let’s get out of here.”
    Bea giggled again, unable to stop
herself. Stress reaction , her
doctor’s brain told her.
    “Okay, I’m going to boost you up.
Gideon will catch you,” Theo said.
    “I’m afraid of heights,” she
whispered. “And I’m too heavy for you.”
    “You’re not even close to being too
heavy, Bea. Trust me. Remember, Gideon pulled me up. You’ll be a piece
of cake.” He kissed her hair. “It’s not that high. You’ll be okay, I promise.”
    She nodded, then realized he couldn’t
see the movement. “Okay.” It wasn’t like she had any other choice. They had to
get out of the building.
    He drew her along the wall, then
crouched down. “Put your foot into my hands,” he instructed.
    She had no idea where his hands
were.
    “Just feel down my arm,” he said,
interpreting her confused silence.
    She did as he asked, then put her
foot in his palms, thankful she wore sensible shoes to work. Doing this in heels
would be impossible.
    “Put your hands on my shoulders.”
    She took a deep breath. He was warm
and solid. As he lifted her, she felt his muscles bunch under her palms. She
tried really hard not to think about how far above them the ceiling of the
elevator was.
    “Reach up,” he said. He didn’t
sound the least bit strained.
    “I don’t know if I can do this,”
she said, gut clenching. She swallowed against the fear. Being in the dark made
it so much worse.
    “You can. Just reach up and Gideon
will be there.”
    “I’m right here, Bea,” Gideon said,
closer than she’d expected.
    She took a deep breath and made
herself do what they said. As soon as her hands went up, Gideon touched her
fingers. She jerked, surprised, but he grabbed her wrists firmly. “Ready?”
    “Ugh,” she said, making him
chuckle.
    “One, two, three.” Together, he lifted
and Theo boosted her out of the elevator into more darkness.

 
    Chapter Three
     
    Gideon pulled Bea up onto the top
of the elevator. She isn’t nearly as heavy as she thinks she is, he
thought, guiding her to the side where she could hang onto the wall. “Just stay
there for a moment while I get Theo. Don’t go into the hall yet.”
    “Okay,” she said, sounding breathy.
    He knew she was frightened, but he
didn’t have time to reassure her. He reached down again, catching Theo’s hands
immediately. He grunted, hauling him up.
    “Dude, time for a diet,” he
muttered.
    “Shut up. This is all muscle,” Theo
retorted.
    Gideon rolled his eyes and moved
back to Bea. “You doing okay?”
    “Yeah,” she said. “I just want to
get out