led back toward them.
She scanned the walls with the lantern off.
Cabinets.
Table.
Safe.
No second exit.
Then she saw it.
A vent near the floor behind the filing cabinets.
Not big enough for Buck.
Maybe not big enough for Mercer.
But Lily had been sleeping small for years.
She dragged the cabinet an inch.
It shrieked against the concrete.
The voices stopped.
Lily froze.
“Records room,” Mercer said.
Footsteps quickened.
Lily shoved the cabinet again.
The gap opened.
Four screws held the vent cover.
Her pocketknife turned the
