The Lofties (The Echelon Book 2) by Ramona Finn (no david read aloud .txt) 📕

Lights whirled around us as Lock spun me out. I’d kissed Ben in a room full of stars, gypsum flowers blossoming all around.

“I’ve got you.” Lock dipped me, and the blood rushed to my head. He lifted me and spun me, and I felt my breath go still. My feet skimmed the floor, trailing comets behind them, and sparks pulsed through my veins. Lock was smiling, eyes sparkling, so close I could’ve kissed him. So close I felt him breathing, our hearts racing in tandem. He pressed closer still, till his lips brushed my ear, and his whisper raised goosebumps down my neck.

“If tonight’s our last night, if we can’t pull this off—” He spun me again and caught me in his arms. “—I wanted to tell you, I...”

“Yeah?” I pulled back, just enough to catch his eye. Lock was blushing.

“I’ve loved our time together. All of it. From the radio to the toy shop.” He dipped his head, eyes hooded. “You’re—you shook me awake when no one else could. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”

I held him close, clung to him. “You did that yourself,” I said. “I couldn't have made you see if your eyes weren’t—”

“Prium Lazrad.” Lock’s grip tightened on my shoulder.

“What?”

“Behind you. Don’t look.” Lock spun us, and I saw him. He stood alone on the stairs, all done up in silver and lace. My scalp prickled where he’d once pulled my hair.

“When I let you go, grab Ona.” Lock’s eyes had gone dark, pupils blown wide.

“What?”

“I’m gonna take him. Make him show me her stash. You get Ona outside.”

“No.” I dug my nails into Lock’s shoulder. He was trembling, whip-tense, crushing my hand in his. “Even if he shows you, what are you going to do? Stamp on millions of nanobots? They keep them in those canisters, like when you get your shots. You’ll never get them out.”

“I won’t need to.” He nodded at his phone. “I’ve wired it to melt. The heat’ll destroy ‘em, right through their shells.”

“And then what? You’ll die.” I felt my chest tighten, my heart pounding in my ears. “They’ll shoot you like a dog.”

“So, live for me.” Lock turned his head, and I knew I’d lost him. He let me go and I stumbled, scattering constellations at my feet. Ona spun past me, but I hesitated. If I grabbed her, if I ran—

My phone chirped at my wrist. I glanced at it, gasped, and I lunged after Lock. I caught movement, too late, a swirl of red and gold, and some drunk blundered into me, driving me to my knees. I heard laughter, the shuffle of slippers. Someone stood on my hand. I clawed my way upright, catching elbows, shoulders, cloth. Lock was barreling toward the stairs, head down, shoulders bunched. I gulped a huge breath and screamed at him, over the music, over the crowd—

“Lock!”

He flailed to a halt. Caught himself on the banister. He lurched toward Prium, and for a moment, I thought I was too late. Then he turned, pale in the bright lights, eyes wide with surprise.

“What?”

I drew a thick, stuttering breath. We’d gone from the sideshow to the main attraction, every head turning our way. Even Lady Lazrad was glaring at me, eyes boring straight through me. I swayed, off-balance, gaping like a fish. Chatter rose, sharp and snide—are they going to fight? What’d he do, cop a feel?

I shivered and swallowed, croaked the first thing that sprang to mind—“Really? With my sister?”

Ona gasped. “I did not!”

Lock’s jaw went slack. He glanced at Prium, then me, and he seemed to make up his mind. “She’s drunk,” he said. He jogged back toward me, elbowing through the crowd. “Sorry—sorry. It’s her first time having champagne. She’s confused.” He seized me by the wrist and practically dragged me off the dance floor, out through the fire door, into a quiet hall.

“What are you—”

“Where’s the bathroom?” I shook him off and peered past him, blinking in the gloom.

“The bathroom? What—?”

“Reyland.” I held up my phone. “He’s here.”

“In the bathroom?”

“No. In here.” An unmarked door swung open, revealing darkness beyond. “Come with me, quickly. Don’t say my name again.”

We plunged after him into pitch blackness, bruising our shins on unseen furniture. Our feet scuffed on tile, and I smelled coffee. I caught up to Reyland, plucking at his sleeve.

“Where were you? We waited—”

“Outside with the comms crew. I just got back this morning.”

The flooring changed to carpet, and an EXIT sign buzzed overhead. Reyland stopped underneath it, and I saw he was exhausted. His lips were cracked from the desert, his eyes dull and hollow. “I’ve looped the cameras up ahead,” he said. “Security won’t spot you, but stay quiet all the same. There’s people working. Don’t draw their attention.”

“Where are we going?” Lock groped for my hand and squeezed it, pulling me to his side.

“You’ll find three elevators at the end of the hall. Ignore the first two. The third goes to fifty, straight to Lazrad’s suite.” He glanced over his shoulder, eyes red under the EXIT sign. “Now, this is important. That elevator’s secured. It’ll do a retinal scan on fifty, but only if it’s occupied.”

“So, what? We—”

“Don’t interrupt.” Reyland hustled us on, breath ragged in my ear. “The sensors have a blind spot, directly underneath them and three feet off the ground.” He thrust a flashlight into my hand. “Have this on when the doors open. It’ll knock out the light strips for about a second, while they adjust to the glare. Use that second to jump in the blind spot.”

“Three feet off the ground? How are we supposed to—”

“There’s a railing. You’ll perch on it, brace yourselves on the walls. You can pull that off, right?”

Lock nodded. “Yeah, but how about getting off? Won’t the sensors catch us, then?”

“Use your flashlight again. Just shine it straight up. I’ve tested it. It works.” He grabbed my wrist and bumped our phones together. Mine chirped twice. “That