Her mouth went dry. “What?”
“What are you saying?” Mark asked.
“Someone in this room started us on this course.” Lowell looked around the room, his gaze stopping on each one of them as he spoke. “It’s time to admit the plan so we can all go home.”
Mark frowned. “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, I assure you I am.” He leaned back in his chair and brushed the tile dust off his dark pants. “I’ve reasoned this through. It is the only explanation.”
Palmer leaned forward, his gun nowhere in sight. “And what have you decided?”
“Brandon crowded me in this room. Palmer kept us here.” Lowell pointed to one, then the other.
Palmer didn’t take being implicated very well. His usual stern frown slipped to a look of disbelief. “Me?”
“Mark has not shown one second of worry.” Lowell spun his chair until he faced her head-on. “And Angie. Seems to me you have the most to gain here.”
Her mind scrambled as she searched for a way out of this situation. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“My patience has expired.” He glanced at the ripped ceiling. “Whoever it is, admit your role and I will only fire you. Make me wait through another five minutes of this and I will vow to do much worse.”
Mark scoffed. “It wasn’t me.”
Brandon held out his arms. “It wasn’t any of us. He’s doing some sort of power play.”
“Mr. Craft, if you’ll pardon the brief show of insubordination, this isn’t the time for this sort of shakedown.” Palmer’s voice grew calmer the longer he spoke. “There is real danger out there.”
“From the gunfire, I’d say there’s real danger in here, too,” Lowell replied.
He glanced at his watch. “Four minutes.”
* * *
ROYAL KEPT WATCH AT THE door while Aaron shucked his shirt. He’d have to jury-rig a bandage for Risa’s wound. Besides, the plan gave his hands something to do other than pull her into his arms. Hearing those shots and not being with her had taken at least a decade off his life. His head still pounded at the thought of her in so much danger.
Then he glanced at the red skin around her waist and his mind went wild. His fiancée had walked out two years ago over the dangers in his job. She’d said she couldn’t sit at home and wait for a call telling her something had happened to him. She wanted him to get a nine-to-five job at a desk and with a retirement plan.
Something safe and boring. No more guns and certainly not car chases and investigations.
She’d wanted to take everything he was and change it. When he refused to give in to her demands, she’d walked out. He could still see the empty apartment, feel the rumbling hole inside him, when he’d opened the door that night. The note that said she’d rather walk away than bury him.
He’d learned about distance that day. And he’d vowed never again to be in the position of choosing the life he loved or the woman in his bed.
Which was why he never should have sat down across from Risa in that coffee shop. She was a woman you came home to every night. She wouldn’t put up with stakeouts or gunshot wounds. Her life was calm and normal, except for the hours she spent with him.
Lost in thought, he lifted his T-shirt over his head.
Her voice broke through his mental wandering. “What are you doing?”
“I want to wrap my T-shirt around you for extra support. You’re thin, which is already to your disadvantage in this circumstance. You need the padding to keep from irritating the injury further.”
Her already big eyes rounded until they took over her entire face. She gave him an unblinking stare, but every now and then her gaze would slip to his bare stomach. Not that he was complaining.
He folded the shirt and brought it around her middle, careful not to pull too tight. As bandages went, this one was weak, but it would give her a bit of extra padding. One good hit and she’d see stars.
He picked up her shoes and handed them to her. “We’re heading downstairs. My men are outside and we’re going to get you to them and then storm the conference room.”
The rapid eyeblink signaled her return from wherever her thoughts had taken her. “It’s too dangerous.”
He slipped the shirt and jacket back on. “We’re out of options. At least I know, thanks to the intel you gathered, that it’s a confined space with limited bodies.”
“But what about the people outside?”
Royal poked his head back in the room. “Our men are watching them. They’ll be questioned and let go.”
She looked cornered. “I still—”
“It’s all clear.” Royal motioned for her to follow.
With a hand on her elbow, Aaron guided her to the door. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “We’re headed for the bottom floor. If we get there, you go straight outside. Do not look back.”
“That makes it sound like you don’t intend to come with me.”
He didn’t bother to respond to that because she wouldn’t like the answer. Instead, he focused on the hall. They walked with her sandwiched between them, their steps in tandem and their bodies close. No one was getting close to her again.
They stopped in front of the elevator.
She stared up at the lights above the doors. “Is this going to work?”
Royal continued his surveillance of the hallway. The sweep of his gun and gaze never stopped. “With new construction, the elevators work with the emergency system. You stay out in case of fire. That’s the only problem we haven’t had yet.”
She made a face. “Did you have to mention it?”
Aaron jumped in. Time to put the new plan into action. “You take the stairs.”
Royal nodded. “Right. See you down there.”
Risa caught Royal’s arm when he pivoted toward the emergency stairwell door. “You’re not coming with us?”
“He’s the backup.” Aaron nodded for him to go before she could dissect each step and get them arguing rather than moving.
Aaron saw the floor numbers above the door change. He pulled Risa to the side and tucked her behind him. Ready to shoot, he pressed his side against the wall and out of the direct line of fire should anyone come out shooting.
The bell dinged and the doors opened. Risa jumped, but Aaron didn’t move. He listened for any sound or sign of movement. When the doors started to shut again, he slid his foot in the opening. With his hand in hers, he pulled her into the car and let the doors slide shut this time.
He stabbed the lobby button before putting his body in front of hers again.
She shoved against his shoulder until he faced her. “What about the conference room and the people in there?”
He found smart woman so sexy, but this was the downside. “We’re going to the lobby. I hand you to my men and we go back upstairs to see what’s happening there. I have some concern the room is wired with explosives, but someone on my crew can help with that. Someone else can take you to safety and bring the police back with them.”
Her face fell. “You’re leaving me.”
“Only for as long as it takes to end this thing.” He glanced at the numbers and figured he only had seconds before he had to be ready for whatever came through that door. “I want you to know one thing.”
“What?”
He didn’t touch her because he couldn’t. One brush against her and his control would break, and right now he needed his mind in the game and his hands off her.
But later everything would be different. “When this is over I’m going to kiss you.”
“Okay.”
“Not just okay. It will be one of those long sexy ones, all heat and passion.”
She smiled as she shifted her weight around. The moves looked like dancing but likely had more to do with nerves. “I’m not arguing.”
“But you’re not understanding me.” When her eyebrows lifted and her legs stopped moving, he knew he had her attention and kept talking. “This is going to
be a hell of a kiss. The kind that knocks your shoes off and has you wondering why you ever bothered to kiss a man before me.”
She leaned in so close that all he had to do was meet her halfway. He pulled out of kissing range.
Her head dropped to the side, sending her hair falling over her shoulder. “You’re awfully sure of yourself.”
“It comes from the slow buildup from simple dates to a complex disaster. This has been brewing. It’s all wrapped up with adrenaline and excitement and now it’s spinning out of our control.”
She balanced her hand against his chest. “Aren’t you worried?”
“About what?”
“Losing the excitement of it all.” She closed her eyes for a second and pressed in closer until her breath blew across his lips. When she opened them again they were cloudy with an emotion he hoped telegraphed desire. “It’s the perfect moment when all you have is the intake of air and a wealth of anticipation.”
“Yes.” His mouth slanted to line up with hers.
“When you lose it, it’s gone forever. You can’t get that prekiss part back, and that’s a shame because it’s the best part. Sometimes I think it’s better than the actual kiss.”
“If you truly believe that, I’m not sure you’ve been kissing right.”
“But you’ll teach me.”
The whisper of words shot straight to his lower body. She was so sexy, so right and yet so wrong for him.
“Yes.”
When the lights blinked out, he almost didn’t notice because his eyes had shut as his mouth lowered. But he didn’t mistake the sharp slam of the elevator or the grind as all electricity inside shut off for a second.
His center of gravity shifted as his body went airborne. With his arms wrapped around her, he twisted and flew. The hard knock threw them sideways into the wall. His back took the brunt of the slam, but he didn’t miss her groan as he crushed her close.
Remembering her injuries, he put out a hand to keep them from bouncing and hitting a second time. He didn’t know how much she could take.
By the time the lights snapped back on, they were pressed against the wall, but the car had stopped moving. Risa’s face turned into him and burrowed into his chest. The crack against the wall had his vision blurring. He blinked several times to bring the small space back into focus.
She lifted her head and sent him a frown. “I hate this conference center.”
“Agreed.”
She let out an exaggerated breath, blowing her hair out of her eyes. “What happens now?”
Aaron glanced at the trapdoor at the top of the elevator and waited for it to burst open. “Nothing good.”
Chapter Eleven
Aaron had barely said the words when the ceiling tile popped open. In that same instant he pulled his weapon. Risa didn’t have time to even breathe before a man dropped down in the middle of the elevator car. He never lost his balance as his feet hit the floor. His gun stayed steady, too.
Identification proved easy. He was dressed like his friends, head to toe in black, and wearing a grim face that promised pain. It was as if the bad guys had an endless supply of these thugs. Except for the kid upstairs, they all looked as if someone had bought them out of some sort of mercenary, gun-for-hire magazine.
Refusing to get caught off guard again or put Aaron in the position of having to fight for her life, she pressed her body back against the corner of the elevator. No one was going to grab her from behind and use her as a bargaining chip. Not this time.
She ran her fingers over the buttons and jabbed the Door Open one, then winced when she heard the click.
The attacker shook his head. “Don’t bother. I control the elevator.”
Of course he did, she thought. It was that kind of night.
With their guns aimed at each other, the two men faced off. As Risa watched, the attacker’s barrel slid until it drew a line straight to Aaron’s heart. Depending on how fast he shot, Aaron could hit the floor without ever firing.
The thought turned her blood ice cold.
Her fingers wrapped around the small weapon he’d given her. She’d shoot if she had to. Those were words she never thought she’d vow, but a woman could be driven to act. She’d reached that turning point.
“Let me guess.” Aaron almost sounded bored with the newest assault. “You came for the woman.”
“I came to stop you.”
“Sounds like the plan changed. I’ll consider that progress.”
Aaron’s jacket covered his back, but Risa knew he had a second weapon there. Between them, they were well armed and had to outgun this guy. Still, the attacker looked confident.
And that scared the crap out of Risa. Except for the kid who got separated upstairs, these guys came in pairs and attacked in waves. Seeing one of them in the middle of the room didn’t mean there wasn’t a second one roaming around. Where one existed, another hovered in the background, though she hoped this one was the second to the kid upstairs. Her only comfort was that if she’d figured it out, so had Aaron. He’d be looking, anticipating a potential secondary attacker.
But there was a limit to his line of attack. The space couldn’t be more than five by five.
She glanced up, calculating the chance someone could stay hidden on top of the car but still shoot through the ceiling. If that happened, Aaron would be the likely target. He was the dangerous one. Risa wondered if
she was now the add-on. That couldn’t be a safe position to be in.
“What’s the plan here? We shoot each other at close range and just hope the angle lets us crawl out of here before we bleed to death?”
She hated the sound of Aaron’s plan. “You could let us go,” she said.
The attacker made that annoying tsk-tsk sound. “That is no longer an option.”
“Because we messed up your plan A,” Aaron said.
“I don’t know what that means. I just know my pay went up when I agreed to take care of you.”
Sounded as if Aaron and Royal were right. This was an inside job and the person running it was here, watching and adjusting as things fell apart. Knowing they could see all the angles and didn’t think twice about adding her to the attack list made her shiver. Her, a complete innocent stuck in the wrong place at exactly the wrong time.
The cold raced up her spine and exploded at the base of her neck. She wondered if she’d ever feel warm again.
“Put the gun down or I shoot the girl.”
“No.” Aaron didn’t bother with negotiating or issuing a warning. He let that one word sit out there.
She almost wished he’d expanded a bit. To increase her odds, she pressed back harder into the elevator corner. Buttons bit into her back, and the raw skin of her wound burned, but she ignored it all to stare at the men in front of her.
“You’re saying you don’t care what happens to her.”
“I’m saying if one more person threatens her, or even looks at her funny, I’m taking him out. You might want to think about that before you pick your next move.”
The attacker shook his head. “I think you should—”
Aaron kicked out. His heel caught the guy’s chin and sent his head reeling back. Instead of falling, the guy bounced back. The gun didn’t so much as bobble.
Aaron pounced. With a roar he barreled into the other man’s midsection and knocked the guy back and into the wall. The hand with the gun whacked against the inside of the car. When the guy held on to his weapon, Aaron grabbed his wrist and crashed it against the wall repeatedly.
With his lower body pinning the guy to the wall, Aaron kept attacking. He kneed the man in the stomach and threw an elbow to his jaw.
Risa thought Aaron had the battle won without taking much of a beating on his end until the attacker shoved back. He groaned out a new threat as the punches flew. A fist connected with Aaron’s stomach, doubling him over.
Then they both went down. Arms and legs flew through the air as each struggled for the upper hand. Bones cru
nched and feet and hands pounded against the floor. A gun skidded out from the human pile.
She trapped the weapon under her foot and felt a surge of satisfaction. She tried to figure which man it belonged to, but she didn’t know guns. Add to that the multiple opportunities each had to hide a gun, and the chances for bloodshed tripled.
With a hard flip, Aaron landed on his back, pinned to the floor by the attacker. She looked around for anything to slam into his head and came up empty. She wanted to hit him with the gun, but he kept moving and she feared missing.
The hidden gun in her possession, thanks to the guy’s complete cluelessness in not checking her for weapons, gave her another chance at saving Aaron. So did the one crunching under her foot. She refused to play either card too early.
But she no longer had a choice. The attacker straddled Aaron’s thighs as he landed a punch on his cheek. She winced at the contact and the dull thud it produced.
The gun appeared out of nowhere. One second the attacker was using his fists and the next he had a weapon aimed at Aaron’s head. He bucked his hips and tried to shrug the guy off, but he didn’t budge. After expending so much energy, he fell lax and his shoulders eased.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as his head lolled against the floor. He hadn’t passed out, but she feared that was the next terrible step in this battle.
If she didn’t act, she would watch Aaron die in front of her. The mental image almost folded her in half, made her drop to the ground like some broken spring toy. The thought, so horrible, refused to leave her head. Trembling with a mix of rage and terror, she drew her weapon and stepped closer to the men on the floor.
With her hand shaking and her heart thundering through every pore, she stepped up prepared to fire into the back of the head of a perfect stranger. All thoughts of the sanctity of life fled. This was a kill-or-be-killed situation. Worse, it was an unwinnable game where her choices consisted of watching someone she cared about lose everything or sacrificing a bit of her soul.
She needed her head to stop spinning and the bile to leave her throat. The gun was in position with her finger on the trigger when Aaron went from what looked like a near unconscious state to a blur. He whipped a second gun out of his pocket and pressed it into the other man’s chest. Without warning, he fired.
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