Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
With his heart thundering, he readied himself for combat. The hinges holding the heavy slab creaked, and the door opened, sandwiching them between the portal and the wall. Nash peeked around the obstruction and spotted a lone figure entering and thankfully eschewing the lights.
The person making their way across the shadowy room was petite and female. She sniffled once, then again. Allergies? Illness? Or…
She reached for the humidor and found it locked. Then she broke down in sobs, leaning against the bookcase. “G-George…”
Was that…Benedict’s wife? What the hell was going on with her?
Behind Nash, Haisley poked his ribs.
He risked a glance over his shoulder.
Mila, she mouthed.
Holding in a curse, he nodded, then tucked himself behind the door again, using his big body to shield Haisley. A few minutes passed before Mila Benedict sniffled one last time, lifted her chin, and made her way out of her husband’s office, softly shutting the door behind her. Moments later, he heard her enter the office just down the hall. She closed the door. Nash nearly sagged with relief.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” he whispered. “I have the burner phone. Let’s go.”
She grabbed his sleeve. “Maybe you should go, and I should tell Mila that I left something here and—”
“No. I don’t want anyone knowing you were here tonight.”
“But—”
“Baby, I’m not risking you. Let’s go.” He took her by the hand and used his other to slowly open Benedict’s door before locking it behind them.
Together, they tiptoed down the hall, treading ever so slowly past Mila’s office. Light seeped under the door, and he heard more sobbing.
Haisley squeezed his hand, and he felt her tremble as they crept toward the elevator—and escape. He hated like hell that she was scared. He should have fucking insisted that he go without her, but a tricky deadbolt secured the main office door. He could have gotten past it…but it would have taken precious time. And he’d been stupidly swayed by how insistently she’d lobbied to come along. Their banter had felt…normal, like the old days. He hadn’t wanted to cut her off.
And now she might pay the price for his weakness.
Finally, they cleared the hall and sprinted on tiptoes across the hardwoods of the main office, then around the reception area. Cursing the fact the emergency stairwell dumped out directly onto the most surveilled half of the lobby, he hit the elevator button.
“We made it,” she whispered, breathing hard.
“Almost.” He was relieved as fuck when the elevator showed up quickly.
The ding of its arrival chimed way louder than he remembered. His heart thrashed in his chest. Goddamn, that sound might as well have been a fucking blow horn. Could Mila hear that, cocooned down the hallway in her nine-to-five sanctuary?
While he worried, the elevator doors seemed to take forever to open. For fuck’s sake, molasses in January moved faster. Snails could race more quickly. They needed to get the hell out of here.
And inside the car, the goddamn lights were on bright.
“Who’s there?” Mila suddenly called in a shaking voice across the big, open space.
Beside him, Haisley gasped, then tried to bite back the sound.
Heart lurching, he yanked her down until she crouched next to him behind the reception desk. Then he pointed to the elevator doors.
She nodded.
But Mila kept coming. “I heard you. I have a gun I’m not afraid to use. And I’m calling the police.”
He hated to move or for Haisley to potentially be seen, but the elevator doors that had taken forever to open were already starting to close.
“Go,” he hissed, shoving her forward and blocking her with his body.
She hauled ass, doing some cross between a scramble and a knee-walk. He followed close behind. Once they were inside, he plastered her against the wall near the panel and dropped his chin as he pushed the button for the lobby. “Hide your face.”
She buried it in his chest as he heard Mila’s footsteps barreling toward them. He shoved his face in the corner of the elevator car, holding his breath and palming his SIG. He felt Haisley’s heart thudding against his, and everything inside him crawled out of his skin to protect her. He didn’t want an altercation, especially with her life on the line.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Finally, the doors slid shut just before Mila reached them. He heard her cursing, then more talking, which he presumed was her calling 911, before a whoosh sent them down to the lobby. He had zero idea what waited for them. Had Zeph been found? Was that why the lights in this metal box were on?
Just as they descended, Zeph texted again.
Sorry about the lights. Lobby is dark. Get the hell out.
The man didn’t have to tell him twice. The instant the elevator dinged and the doors slid open, he hustled Haisley into the shadowed lobby, hugging the wall again to avoid the potential cameras until they found their way to the warehouse area.