Series: Cobalt Empire Series by Krista Ritchie
Total pages in book: 234
Estimated words: 226965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1135(@200wpm)___ 908(@250wpm)___ 757(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 226965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1135(@200wpm)___ 908(@250wpm)___ 757(@300wpm)
I shake my head, scanning the ceiling. Unsure. It’s not an alarm attached to the wall either. No lights are strobing.
Eliot is talking but I can’t hear.
Same with Tom.
Harriet grabs the two slips of paper off the floor. The riddles. If we can solve this, then maybe we can shut off this ear-splitting noise.
“IS THIS PART OF THE ESCAPE ROOM?!” Tom screams at the top of his lungs.
Eliot tries to respond but his words are drowned out.
“I CAN’T HEAR YOU!” Tom yells.
Charlie goes to Harriet, which has me striding protectively toward her. He rolls his eyes at me, then glances point-two seconds at the slips of paper like I do.
We’re missing the last piece of the riddle. The tin box—we need to figure out how to open it.
WEE-WOO! WEE-WOO!!!!! Fuck, shit. I grimace as sharp pain stabs my ear. Is it getting louder?
“YOU OKAY?!” I shout at Harriet.
Her face is one giant wince. She’s abandoned the papers just to cover her ears again. I encase my palms over her hands to help muffle the sound.
Her brows knit together in confusion. I read her lips. What about you? She jerks her hands, trying to pull mine off her.
I don’t let her. “I’M OKAY!” I yell, trying to ignore the piercing noise. All I care about is her. All I care about are my brothers. I don’t care what happens to me. I haven’t for a long time…maybe…maybe for my entire life.
She settles down, letting me help her.
Tom and Eliot have resorted to banging their fists on the door. Tom is screaming against the wood. “LET US OUT, YOU FUCKERS!! YOU’RE GOING TO BLOW OUT MY FUCKING EARDRUMS!!”
Even though Tom is a musician, I’m ninety-nine percent sure he wears earplugs on stage, so he’s not used to this violent sound either.
“TOM, STOP!” I yell at him. “JUST COVER YOUR EARS!”
He doesn’t hear me. He’s screaming at the door.
Eliot slams his foot against the wood, trying to physically break it. Beckett has the tin box and tries to crack the lock with a paperclip.
Harriet kicks my shin, stealing my attention. I bend down to her height, and she murmurs into the pit of my ear, “Snake, bat, vampire.” The riddle. She’s trying to decipher the riddle.
I uncover our hands from her left ear and cup my palm around my lips. Whispering back, “Were there any books about animals on the shelf?” I shield her ear again while our gazes veer to the bookcase. A key could be inside the pages.
Just as we set our sights on the bookcase, Charlie yanks open drawer after drawer in the desk until he takes out a stapler. He pops it open, and where there should be a row of metal staples, there’s a slender skeleton key.
He found it.
“THANK FUCKING CHARLIE!” Tom screams in glee, shaking Charlie’s shoulders, practically jumping on his back. Our eldest brother ignores him as he fits the skeleton key in the door. It easily swings open.
The answer was a stapler. I would’ve never guessed that, but I’m just glad the alarm suddenly stops.
My ears ring like I’ve just vacated the front row of a heavy metal concert. I drop my hands off Harriet. Her breathing seems shallow, her neck splotchy with flush, and I recognize we’ve been touching each other a lot more tonight than usual.
“You okay?” I ask again, having trouble even hearing my own voice.
“I’m not the one who just withstood ear-splitting decibels.” She bounces up to her tiptoes, trying to peer into my ears but not getting anywhere close.
A smile toys at my lips. “Trying to give me a check-up, Dr. Fisher?”
“Just making sure you can still hear me, Friend.”
My smile softens on her while she falls flat on her feet. “I can still hear you.” My voice is almost a whisper. Her guards drop, her eyes clinging to mine, and I think about pulling her into my chest. Until she diverts her gaze and gives Charlie a once-over.
Her brows furrow in frustration. “I can’t believe he cracked that without the third clue.” The one from the tin box, she means. We never even opened it.
Charlie isn’t gloating, but Harriet’s scowl has reformed. She even crosses her arms.
“Wish you figured it out first?” I ask.
“A little bit…okay, yeah. It was an easy riddle.” She cringes at herself. “I was thinking about it too literally.”
“I’d still give you a solid A,” I tell her. “And not just because I think you’re cute.”
Her brows spring, and her lips part. A groan rumbles in my chest. She’s fucking adorable, and the thought quadruples when her grouchy disposition returns. “I’d give myself a B minus, and I’d give you an A only because I think you’re hot.”
I laugh hard. “My good looks are really pulling through for me.”
“You are very blessed, Cobalt boy.”
It’s too difficult not to put my hands on her now. I slide my fingers through her bangs, just to see her beautiful stormy eyes fastened on mine. A smile teases her pursed lips. I just slide my hand farther through her choppy blonde hair, then hold the back of her head and bring her into my chest.