Liv's victorious feeling was cut short when they heard the sound of shoes squeaking against the tile floor. She leaned forward to hear the footsteps better as Ezra grabbed her upper arm and began to drag her backwards.

It startled her and she had to take a few quick steps to keep her feet beneath her. Even as she stumbled, he didn't slow. He got them back to the door to the stairwell in five steps.

He slowed only to ease the door silently open and pushed her through before following. Liv turned to snap at him, but he kept her moving. He didn't push her up the stairs, but instead past them into the dark corner beneath them.

Liv had to duck her head to avoid hitting the underside of the steps. He finally let her go when she was sitting, her back against the wall. He sat next to her, pulling his knees in close.

"What...?" Liv started to say, her annoyance making her voice louder than a whisper.

Ezra held up a hand to cut her off. This only made Liv's annoyance turn to anger and she was about to say so when she noticed his breathing. His chest moved rapidly up and down as he held onto his knees. She could hear his ragged breathing moving in and out.

She took a deep breath and as she released it, she let her annoyance go with it. She looked away, trying to give Ezra enough space as was possible in their cramped location. She leaned her head against the wall. She yawned but it was an empty action. A few hours ago she hadn't been sure if she would be able to stay awake for the car ride home. Now, sleep was the last thing on her mind.

Her brain jumped to the man at the security booth and she hoped Tommy just hadn't come to work. But there was the other possibility. What were these men capable of? She could feel the fear creeping in as she fixated on the idea. It started in her chest. Her breathing began to tighten and slowly spread out, reaching for her arms and her gut. Her lungs began to fight against the tightness and her breathing grew rapid.

Then her dad's voice cut through the panic. "What is your next logical step?" Growing up, she had always loved hearing about his latest police cases and how he had solved the mystery. He had always explained that he had simply done the next logical step and that had led him to the answer he had been searching for.

That phrase had carried over into her life. Whenever she brought him a problem, whether it had to do with school, friends, or a job, he had always asked that question. It was a simple idea, but it always helped. It took her from being stuck or lost to knowing what her next step should be.

Even now, hiding under stairs as strange men searched the building, the question was still applicable. She needed to figure out what her next step was; which also include Ezra. She repeated the question in her head and she could feel her panic ease. What was their next logical step?

She started to go over what she knew when Ezra let out a loud breath. She looked at him and saw that the space she had given him hadn't worked for the better. His breathing was still rapid and his whole body seemed to rock. He pulled out his phone and the light from the screen revealed a wild look in his eyes.

"Ezra," she said softly.

He didn't respond as he began to quickly navigate through his phone. She watched for a moment until she realized he was mindlessly trying all the communication things she had already tried. She said his name again. When she didn't get a response, she reached out and grabbed his phone.

His head snapped in her direction, the full force of his wild gaze on her.

"Hey," she said gently, raising her hands cautiously as if she was dealing with a feral animal.

"Give me my phone," he demanded.

"No." He looked at her horrified that she would dare deny his request. "They aren't working. Everything you are trying, I already tried."

"But..."

"We need a plan." He looked at her blankly like her words didn't compute. "To get out of here," she added.

"But the security guard..." he said.

"That's why we need a plan."

"What is even happening? Is this some sort of mob job? They took over the security. They shut down the power and our phones! These aren't amateurs. We don't even know how many there are! There could be a whole team."

The longer he talked the faster his words came out. Liv could tell he was on the edge of spiraling into an uncontrollable panic.

"You're right. We don't know how many people are a part of this," she said soothingly. "We are going to have to be careful."

She rested her hands on his shoulders slowly, as to not startle him. When he didn't flinch at the contact, she let her hands rest completely. She looked him in the eyes and began to breathe in and out slowly. After a few inhales, he began to match her calm breathing.

She kept her eyes locked on him, and after a minute, she could feel some of the tension in his shoulders release. This was yet another thing she had her dad to thank for. Sometimes his stories had involved witnesses, and he had explained that a witness who was in shock or panicking was useless. During his career, he had not only calmed down witnesses but talked people of ledges of buildings and convinced shooters to put down their guns.

Every time something like that happened, he always explained it really came down to science. There was an equation involving neurons and adrenaline, but all that information was more a garnish.

What Liv needed to know was that letting Ezra work himself into a panic would make him useless. She knew if they were going to figure out how to get home, she needed him to be functioning. She didn't worry about the science and focused on the simple actions her father had told her about. Calm, consistent breathing, and pressure to help ground the person.

After a few minutes, Ezra's breathing had returned to normal, the tension had left his body, and he looked around with clear eyes. When he met her gaze, his face was only inches from hers. She moved back into her own space and pulled her hands off his shoulders.

"What are we going to do?" he asked. Defeat had replaced the panic in his voice.

"That's what we need to figure out," she said.

"Why don't we stay here?" He looked around at their concealed location. Liv did the same and she found several reasons why that wasn't a good idea. "They came in the middle of the night so they probably aren't expecting anyone to be here," he continued. "They must be after documents or evidence of some sort and they won't be looking in the stairwell for that."

Liv nodded. "You're right. They probably don't think anyone is here so that is an advantage. But if they did stumble upon us, this is a horrible location." She pointed to the three walls around them. "We have nowhere to go. We would be cornered. We need to find another hiding place."

Ezra nodded in agreement. "But where?"

"We can't stay on the ground floor. We know the security guard is here and eventually, everyone else will have to come through this floor to leave. We need somewhere with more escape route options."

"How about one of the lower floors?" he suggested. "They were searching the thirty-first floor, so that means they have probably already searched the lower floors, or they are here for our offices specifically."

Liv nodded. She closed her eyes, trying to imagine the framed directory that hung near the elevators, listing all the business that had office space in the building.

"The first three floors belong to an investment and hedge fund company. They have locked doors right after you step off the elevator," she remembered. "But the fourth floor is individual offices, which means it will have more open space for us to move around in."

"And more options for hiding," Ezra added.

Liv opened her eyes. "Let's go to the fourth floor."

She went to stand, but Ezra put a hand on her forearm, keeping her down.

"First, we need to define our hand signals, and who will be leading the way."

She rested back against the walls. "This means stop." She held her fist up.

He nodded. "This means go." He waved forward with his hand. "What else do we need?"

They quickly ran through hand motions to define 'quiet' and 'retreat'. When it came to deciding who would lead, she thought he would put up a fight, but she was surprised when he said she should take the lead.

"You seem to have a better grasp on sneaking around, plus you've paid more attention to what goes on in the building then I have. You should lead."

She was going to suggest that she lead and she appreciated that she didn't have to fight for it.

"Okay," she said.

She went to stand up a second time, but Ezra stopped her again.

"There is one more thing," he said. She looked at him and he seemed to shrink just slightly before he took in a deep breath. "Idon'tknowyourname."

The words came in a rush and unclear. She frowned questioningly.

He took another deep breath before he spoke again, this time slower. "I don't know your name."

He dropped her gaze as he said it. The statement caught Liv so off-guard she almost laughed. She would have laughed if she wasn't worried the security guard would hear her, but she did grin from ear-to-ear. Some people might have been insulted that he didn't know their name, but she only found it funny. They had broken out of an elevator and been sneaking around for the last hour and he didn't even know who she was.

But why would he? Their paths had never crossed until tonight. Their law firm had over three hundred employees and they worked in very different positions for the firm. When she didn't say anything he looked back up and his eyes brightened in surprise at her smile.

She stuck her hand out. "I guess we forgot about one hand signal. Liv Coleson." He took her hand and shook it, his own smile blooming on his face.

"Ezra Lexington." It came out as a chuckle and Liv allowed herself a quiet laugh. He shook his head at how ridiculous their situation was.

"Now that we have that out of the way," Liv said. "Can we get moving?"

He stood first and offered her a hand to pull her up. "Yes, we can, Liv." 

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Hello mello melon!

Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! I'm totally freaking out! Ezra is adorable and I totally ship him and Liv!

That's what you're freaking out about, not the fact that the might be trapped in a building with mobsters?

Pshhh they have love on their side, they can make it through anything.

Where is this talk of love coming from? She only helped him calm down.

Girl, I read between the lines and where no lines are at all and I saw love!

🙄

Okay, you have to agree with me, they are cute together, right? Tell me I'm not alone guys or else I won't be able to bear it!

Vote, comment, follow because you believe in LOVE!