Page 82

“I’d never do that.” She peeled my fingers from her arm. “I’ll be here cheering you on the whole time.”

“That’s not—”

“You’ll do great.” She spoke over me in what I guessed was meant to be an encouraging voice.

To me, her words sounded like a death knell.

She freed her arm from my trembling grip and whispered, “Go get ’em, Sherlock.”

Then she shoved me toward the Hallway of Doom.

Chapter

Thirty-Four

I started out with a series of stretches, doing my best to look confident, like I worked out all the time. As I leaned down to touch my toes, I cast a glance at Minnie. She’d moved from the rowing machine to a treadmill by the time I’d entered the room, and she now stared out the window at the busy street, running with the same intensity she’d applied to her rowing.

I looked over at the interior window, where Jemma stood watching on the other side of the glass. She pointed at Minnie and mouthed,Get on the treadmill!

I heaved a resigned sigh and climbed onto the empty machine to the right of Minnie.

“Hey, Minnie,” I said, hoping I’d get to question her without ever turning on the treadmill.

She kept staring straight ahead, a mixture of concentration and determination on her face.

I tried again to get her attention. “Minnie?”

She still didn’t react.

I finally noticed the earbuds she had in.

I glanced over at the window to the lobby, shrugging at Jemma, only to find that my friend had disappeared. If she was off gettinga massage or lounging in the sauna…well, I didn’t know what I’d do, but there would be consequences.

“Are you done?” a voice boomed from behind me, making me jump.

Minnie didn’t even blink.

A blond man with bulging muscles and a crew cut stood behind my treadmill, staring at me.

“Sorry?” I asked.

“The treadmill.” His stare morphed into a glower. “If you’re done, let someone else use it.”

I glanced around and realized that all the other treadmills were occupied.

“I’m just getting started,” I said, not ready to give up on questioning Minnie.

“Then get on with it,” he grumbled before storming off to the bench press.

Not eager to incur anyone else’s wrath, I turned on the machine and punched a few of the many other buttons on the control panel. After a bit of lurching and stumbling, I got the treadmill going at what I hoped would be a gentle jogging pace. I gave myself a minute to get settled into a rhythm, and a smile slowly took shape on my face.

This wasn’t so bad. It actually felt pretty good.

Emboldened by my newfound treadmill confidence, I waved at Minnie, hoping to catch her attention. The movement disrupted my balance just enough to trip me up. I made a grab for the handrails but missed. Before I even knew it was happening, I flew off the back of the machine and ended up in a heap on the floor.

“Now are you done?” a voice boomed from above me.

I looked up to see the man with the crew cut glaring down atme.