There had to be a mess hall somewhere, she thought. And support staff, workers whose sole job was to feed the others. The logistics were overwhelming—
The knock on the door by the wall was loud, and as she startled, she dropped the phone. Fortunately, the thing landed in her lap, but as the way in opened, she couldn’t put the cell in her pocket without being obvious. She slipped it under her thigh and then made a show of stretching her arms over her head.
“He’s still sleeping,” she said to Mayhem. “Is all that for us? We didn’t finish the first load.”
The guy had another big tray in his hands, with more of that bread and the same cheese on it, along with some Coke and Sprite in cans.
“Figured you’d appreciate some backup grub before you leave.” He put the meal right on the table, on top of the documents. “It’s not much, but it’ll fill your belly okay. Underneath is a bag you can put it all in.”
“Thank you.”
As Mayhem turned to check on his friend, she uncovered the bread with one hand and forced the phone into her pocket with the other.
“I’m not fussy,” she said as she tore off a piece and put it in her mouth. “Oh . . . wow. Still warm.”
“Fresh from the ovens.”
“God, you guys have everything here, don’t you.”
“Enough to keep going, at any rate.” Mayhem smiled at her. “You’re an excellent nurse. He’s looking better already.”
“Is he?”
“Yeah. Aren’t you, Lucan.”
“Is that his full name?” she asked when there was no response. As the guy just shrugged, she glanced at the back door. “You realize I’m not going to leave until he’s better.”
Mayhem nodded. “I figured. And he’s going to want to say goodbye to you.”
“How are things out there? Is everything . . . okay?”
“We’ll find out very soon. The sun’s down now and things are getting busy. Don’t worry, we’ll keep everyone out of here. Besides, you know the code on that back door. I saw you watch me put it in. If shit gets bad, let yourself out and run like your life depends on it. Because it will.”
She cleared her throat and cracked open one of the Cokes. “And this is cold. Funny what you think of as gourmet, huh.”
“Standards change depending on where you are. Well, I’m going to go back out there.” The man retraced his steps across the space and then looked over his shoulder at her. “You holler if you need us.”
“Actually, I was thinking I’d go check outside to make sure the fire is extinguished. What’s the code to get back in again?”
Mayhem’s eyes shifted up a little so that he was still staring in her direction, just wasn’t meeting her eyes anymore. And then she felt a headache coming on—or maybe it was more like the one she’d had before was returning. Either way, she cursed and rubbed her temples.
“Yeah, you let me worry about that,” Mayhem said in a low, serious voice.
“The fire could attract attention, though,” she muttered through the discomfort. “I mean, the whole point of not working during the day is to make sure there’s no activity, right?”
“You’re good. It’s not a problem.”
“I just thought I’d help—”
“Listen, I really appreciate what you’re doing for Lucan. And Kane, too. I mean, seriously, it’s amazing—plus, it’s clear you’ve got guts and you’ve done us a favor with the Exhibitionist. But I’m not giving you the code to entering the building at large. I’m sorry. I can’t do that.”
“It’s totally okay.” She put her hands up. “I honestly am just restless and looking for something to pass the time before he wakes up properly. Totally fine.”
Mayhem nodded once. “And remember—no matter what happens, the people out in the rest of the building can’t get in here—and they can’t burn you out, either. The wall is flame-retardant. Same is true in the back. This space was designed to be a kind of fortress.”
“Thanks.”
There was a moment of quiet. “Rio. That’s your name, right?”
“Yes.”
“Nice name.”
As he disappeared through the door, a shiver went through her. Something was not right about this, she thought. Something was . . .
Shaking herself, she looked over at Luke on the bed. “Paranoia is not going to help here.”