Chapter 4
Within a minute, the vault felt smaller.
I dragged the folding desk under the dead vent and climbed onto it.
Four screws held the iron grate in place.
The utility drawer gave me a short screwdriver with a split wooden handle.
The first screw did not move.
The second tore the tool out of my grip.
My palm hit the grate.
A rusted edge opened the skin below my thumb.
Blood ran over my wrist.
"Maren."
Gabriel's voice came through the speaker.
On the monitor, he held up a brass override key.
"I can open the door in thirty seconds. Give Sloane the binder."
Gabriel could close a city block with one phone call.
He could not walk down one flight of stairs without making me surrender first.
"The binder first," Sloane said from outside.
Gabriel looked toward the lounge door.
He waited.
I climbed down and wrapped my hand in the torn lining of my blazer.
The fire alarm could release the electronic lock.
My father had made sure every magnetic door opened during a fire, even the ones the Ruscettis preferred to keep closed.
Above the wine rack sat one heat detector and one sprinkler.
I pulled a bottle of overproof bourbon from the shelf.
A long lighter stayed in my pocket on event nights for birthday candles and chafing dishes.
I tore another strip from my blazer, dropped it into a metal wastebasket, and wet it with bourbon.
The alarm would bring the fire department and close the hotel until an inspector cleared it.
Saturday's bride had paid for her reception in three installments.
Friday's payroll was already tight.
Then I pictured a Ruscetti car parked outside Elaine's son's home because his address had come from my binder.
I clicked the lighter.
"Maren, stop," Gabriel said. "I'm coming down."
He still did not say he would open the door.
I lit the cloth.
The detector flashed red.
Sirens tore through the hotel.
On the monitor, men grabbed coats and guns.
Victor left the betting napkin behind.
Gabriel remained in front of the camera until the feed turned red with emergency lights.
The sprinkler opened over me and crushed the flame under brown water.
Beside the door, the magnetic lock released.
I pushed.
The steel moved one inch and stopped.
Through the gap, I saw a new chain pulled tight across the outside frame.
The electronic lock had never been the real trap.
Sloane had built a second one.