Chapter 23: The Alarm Pierced Through the Darkness

The alarm pierced through the darkness. Emergency lights flickered to life. Clara Whitmore squinted, tracing the evacuation map on the wall in the dim glow.

She hurried past the second checkpoint. The distant clamor of panicked voices grew louder. The exit was jammed with terrified tourists, packed like sardines.

A sudden surge of bodies shoved her sideways. Clara crashed into the rough cave wall, the jagged surface scraping her back. Someone stomped on her toes. She gasped in pain.

Then she felt it—a scorching gaze burning into her.

Her eyes locked with Grant Holloway's obsidian depths. The impeccably suited man stood like an island of calm in the chaos. His brow furrowed as his gaze swept over her.

"Grant?" Paige Lawson tugged his sleeve, eyeing Clara with suspicion.

Clara turned away, pushing into the crowd.

A scream shattered the air. Metal screeched overhead. A wooden prop sword teetered precariously from the ceiling.

Grant's pupils contracted. He shook off Paige, plowed through the mob, and yanked Clara against his chest just as the sword crashed down.

The impact reverberated through the cavern.

Clara's pulse roared in her ears. Grant's warm palm still pressed against her waist, his familiar cedar scent enveloping her.

She shoved him away. "Thanks."

Grant stared at his empty hand, eyes darkening. "That's it?"

"What else?" Clara braced against the wall to stand.

"Why block me?" He stepped closer, voice gravelly.

She laughed coldly. "Exes delete contacts. Common sense."

"Add me back." A command.

"Pass." She turned to leave, but Grant seized her wrist.

"Enough games." Anger simmered beneath his words.

Paige suddenly wedged between them, clinging to Grant's arm. "It's terrifying here...let's go..." Her red-rimmed eyes resembled a frightened rabbit's.

Staff began directing the crowd. Clara slipped free and strode toward the exit without looking back.

Grant shook off Paige and gave chase, only to lose her at a turn. He watched helplessly as her slender figure vanished into the light. His fist smashed into the stone wall.