Hidden In Plain Sight (MxM)✔

Chapter 28 - Escape

"Shit! What are they doing back already?" Greer growled. "They already checked this area!"

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure we're not going to be able to fool them twice." The woman nodded towards the broken trap door, which was designed to look like part of the flooring. With it smashed open, it was no longer hidden.

"Alright, you there! Behind the counter, now!" Greer ordered as he hurried around and dragged Luke with him. "You know what to do Carey!"

"Roger that." The woman, Carey, replied, grabbing a moldy rug and tossing it over the exposed trap door. It sunk down somewhat in the middle, thus it didn't look very convincing, but was better than nothing.

Meanwhile Greer removed the outer jacket of his soldiers uniform and handed it to Luke. "Hurry up and take that shirt off. The smell will give us away!"

Luke ripped off the remainder of his top and handed it over, then put on the jacket while Greer crawled through the kitchen door. The smell of something burning caught his nose a moment later and he realized the man had burned his old shirt.

Shortly after, he heard the front door open and three men walked in, their plate armor clinking loudly in the small tavern.

Carey bowed. "Honor to the Emperor."

The guards gave her a curt nod. "We're doing a second round of inspection by order of the Emperor." They then scanned the room. "Archduke Nicholas Abbott has been found guilty for Treason. His Majesty is handling him personally. In the meantime we are searching for his companion."

Carey nodded. "Of course. All traitors must be dealt with."

One of the guards stopped near the bar and sniffed the air. "What's that smell?"

"I'm trying out a new recipe." She quickly lied. "I haven't had many customers since your last raid, so I used the spare time to be creative."

The guards were not convinced and they spread out to do a proper search.

Luke could hear loud bangs as they flipped a few more tables, and he realized the reason the place was such a mess was because of these guys. They had probably been tearing the whole Capitol apart looking for him.

A pang of guilt had Luke wondering if it'd be better to turn himself in so no one else got hurt, but then again, that didn't work out so well last time.

The Emperor would be able to use him as leverage over the Archduke, and he couldn't allow that to continue. 

As much as he hated it, even with all his fancy new Vampire abilities, Luke was still helpless. All he could do was wait and hope that Nicholas would handle everything.

While the guards continued their search, he noticed the kitchen door open just a bit and Greer motioned for him to follow. Luke glanced around, listening closely to make sure no one was close by, then made his way over.

Once he was inside the kitchen, Greer motioned towards the back where an exit was located.

He was trying to get Luke outside.

He hated being useless, but right now there was nothing Luke could do about it. His presence would only put them in danger, so he agreed and slunk towards the door, opening it to reveal the alleyway behind the tavern. 

"We need to get you out of here." The blond declared. "If they find you, they'll hold you hostage. Or worse, if Nicholas finds out you're still alive before he kills the Emperor, then he may give up on all his plans and just take you into hiding."

"Is that really all you care about?" Luke snapped. "Do you have any idea how horrible Nicholas must be feeling right now for him to be acting so irrationally?"