I stopped once we reached the bottom of the staircase. “Stay here,” I said to her.
“Why?”
“I need to make sure there aren’t any paparazzi.”
“Seriously?”
I nodded, frowning. “Seriously. The rats follow me around.”
“Okay. Be fast.”
I grinned at her and then pushed through the door, moving fast and low toward the first car I saw.
I stayed there for a few minutes, taking in the parking garage. There was no movement that I could see, and the cars all looked empty. At least there was nobody rushing to try to take my picture just yet. I stood up to get a better view.
Still empty. I turned and pushed open the door. “Come on.”
She followed me back out into the parking garage and we followed the wall, sticking away from the center aisle, trying to stay in the shadows.
She did a good job keeping up with me. I was hustling, moving fast, trying to minimize our chances of getting caught. It felt like a mission again, and I loved the adrenaline racing through my veins. Although, if we got caught, our punishment would be photographs, whereas my old missions were all life or death.
Still, it felt good to be sneaking around again, putting my training to use. We moved down the wall and slowly wound our way upward toward ground level.
I paused and held my hand out, stopping Selena. I looked around the corner and saw the entrance to the garage just ahead, with the street beyond.
That was our chance. Once out in the street, nobody was going to find us. We’d grab a cab or an Uber and get the hell out of there.
Except standing right next to the garage entrance were two paparazzi. They thought they were being slick by hiding their cameras, but it was obvious what they were. They stood there in too-plain clothing, smoking cigarettes, with huge cups of coffee next to them. Normal people didn’t drink tons of coffee late at night and hang around parking garages.
I turned to Selena. “The two guys up there are paparazzi, so we need to get around them.”
“How?” she asked.
I frowned and began to work on it. The garage had only one entrance, and we couldn’t just go up through the lobby. There were absolutely paparazzi lingering up there.
And then I had an idea.
“Nobody knows you yet, right?” I said to her.
“Sure.”
“Go upstairs into the lobby. Poke your head out the door, look back inside, and yell something about seeing me.”
“What?”
“Go act like you spotted me on the street. Then walk fast away from the building. Hopefully that’ll draw those guys away long enough for me to slip out.”
“Where should we meet?”
“There’s a bar right around the corner called Sabrina’s. Meet me there.”
She frowned. “I don’t know if I can do this. What if everyone ignores me?”
“Then head back here and we’ll think of something else.” I looked at her seriously. “You can do this.”
She nodded. “Okay. See you soon.”
I watched her leave, heading back toward the stairwell. I turned back to the paparazzi standing at the entrance and waited, keeping myself calm.
A few minutes slipped by. I began to wonder if she hadn’t just walked away from the whole thing, giving up as soon as things got a little hairy. Maybe it was a mistake to drag a normal girl into this. Maybe I really did need a crazy actress or someone like that.
And then I heard some shouting from the street. I watched with a delighted smile as the two paparazzi assholes began to walk away.
I took my chance. Silently, I moved from the spot and kept to the wall. The men disappeared from view, and so I walked fast, slipped out behind them. I glanced up the sidewalk and noticed them walking slowly up the hill toward the entrance.
I turned around the corner and was gone.
I laughed the whole way to the bar. Selena had done it; she really had.
Maybe this was going to work out better than I thought.
I found the bar and pushed the door open. Sitting on a stool was Selena, looking flushed but grinning like mad.
“What happened?” I asked her.
“I started yelling about a man stealing my purse.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “Smart. That was a good call.”
“I can’t believe that happened. I just walked away as soon as people started coming over to me. I pointed down the street and then walked away.”
I grabbed her hand, squeezing it. “Good job. You did good.”
She grinned back at me, and I felt a thrill run through my chest. The girl was impressive, absolutely amazing.
“Thanks,” she said. “I can’t believe it.”
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s get a cab.”
I kept hold of her hand, pulling her along as we went back out into the street.