The Detective's Damsel

iv.

CORINNA'S FINGERS BRUSHED tentatively against the metal door handle, her mind buzzing with a million possibilities. She felt a twinge of guilt about lying to Ivan, but she had followed Knight to this door for a reason. She was going to find out as much information on this agency as possible.

Well, enough information to get her out of it.

As soon as Knight had opened this door, though, sunlight had spilled through it. As in, from the outdoors. Corinna cast her gaze back down the hallway but saw no one. She had assumed that Knight was the person tasked with making sure she didn't run off, but clearly both Ivan and Knight had stronger areas of interest, or possibly weakness when it came to distraction. She probably could have wandered off if she wanted to, but the only place she knew happened to be 435 years in the past. She wouldn't stand a chance by herself.

Corinna bit her lip. The longer she stood there contemplating, the farther away Knight could be getting. Then Corinna would truly be lost.

Sucking in a deep breath, she pushed open the door, squinting into the oncoming sunlight. Blinking away the dots in her vision, her eyes widened at her surroundings. The sun kissed her skin with a dazzling warmth, though she had been expecting the cold bite of the coming winter. From what Knight had told her, the month and the date hadn't changed. She must be so close to the equator that it was warm even when winter was closing in. Where was she? Florida, they had said. Of the United States. She didn't even know there was a United States, much less one named Florida. Trees and shrubs she had never seen before lined a path in front of her, and she could see Knight's silhouette several paces from her, tracking forward at a quick pace. The building she had come from appeared to be part of a long chain of them, and Knight was heading toward the one on the far end. Spurring her legs into action, she followed, her—his—socks fitting strangely into the grooves on the pathway.

Sure enough, Knight stopped in front of the far building, shoving his hands in his pockets and casting a glance behind him. Thinking fast, Corinna ducked behind a nearby shrub, though it was hardly wide enough to hide her completely from view. Her heart thumped in her chest, but Knight hadn't noticed her. Instead, he turned back towards the door and pressed a thumb against a black pad next to the door. With a click, the door unlocked and swung open.

Scurrying along the path, Corinna caught up to the door inches before it shut. Slipping through, Corinna gazed breathlessly at the hallway ahead. Knight had disappeared, leaving an otherwise empty building in front of her. A cart covered in bottles and rags stood in the middle of the hallway in front of a cracked open door. Corinna held her breath, but she heard nothing except for the pounding of her heartbeat through her skull. A look to the right revealed a door, with a sign that read OFFICE in big block letters. A quick peek inside revealed an unoccupied desk and Corinna let out a relieved breath. At least, until something crashed to the floor in another room.

Corinna swung her head around, the blood roaring in her ears as she approached the source of the sound. The cart with what she assumed where cleaning supplies was still standing, but one of the bottles had fallen, rolling all the way up to the edge of Corinna's left toe. Too nervous to squeeze her eyes shut, she pressed a stabilizing hand against the nearest wall. She could see now that the cart was still in front of the open doorway, but this time Corinna could hear shuffling, no doubt the source of the crash. Corinna chewed on her lip as she peeked around the edge of the doorway, brown eyes widening at the sight of piles and piles of books. And in the middle of it all... Knight.

He was bent over a mostly empty bookcase, his muscles tightening as he tugged at something. Corinna swallowed her uneasiness, the doubts seeping into her mind. She shouldn't have followed him. She had no idea what their intentions were with her yet, nor did she want to test the waters of his temper.