by Marks, Teir
Maleiha did as Sutton requested, and the way the younger woman’s hands began to fly across her keyboard was impressive. He watched as a fill bar popped up on her laptop screen and started to load. As it did, he kept an eye out on the hallway.
“It’s done,” Sutton stated.
“Okay,” Maleiha responded.
“You’re good to go to the next room, Beauty,” Grae told her.
Grae watched as Maleiha searched the rest of the floor, finding only one other computer. They went about getting the information needed off of that one before she moved on to head to the third floor.
At some point, Sutton switched on Nyela’s microphone. Grae could hear Brian question where Maleiha was and Nyela replying that she needed to take care of herself because her body was sensitive.
He rolled his eyes. Yes, her body was sensitive, but only when he was the one conducting the ministrations. However, the answer seemed to appease him for a moment, but he knew they wouldn’t have much time before he was asking again.
According to the blueprints, the third floor was supposed to be all offices, but Maleiha didn’t come across a single computer.
They had just finished looking on the fourth floor when Grae heard Brian tell another one of his bodyguards to check the bathroom.
“Shit.” Emery cursed. “She has four more floors to go.”
“Skip the fifth floor,” Grae told her. He could see it on the screen, and it was merely a large empty room.
Maleiha didn’t respond to him but bypassed the floor and continued to the sixth.
“Boss.” Grae heard the bodyguard say when he returned. “The girl is missing, and Dex is out cold.”
“Where is she, you bitch?” Brian asked through gritted teeth.
“Sutton. Do it now.” Kylen told her.
She typed in a few keys, and the lights on the first floor went out. Grae turned his attention back to the screen he could see Maleiha on, and saw that she was making her way into the next room on that floor. They were now working against an even faster-moving clock, and at a moments' notice, he was ready to go and burn that building to the ground if he had too.
The lights went out, but Nyela’s vision was not impaired due to contact lenses Sutton had made with a film they use for night vision goggles. Getting up, she grabbed Brian, placing him in a sleeper hold. It had not been part of the plan to bring him back with them, but if she could, if they could get another one of them, there was a possibility they could get some information out of him.
His elbow came back and connected with her side, and she grunted out, her grip loosening for a moment. He was able to break free, but she wasn’t worried. She knew she had the advantage because she was still able to see. She had a sleeping agent in her bracelet as well, but she figured it would take too much work to get it out and use it.
So, instead, she placed him in another sleeper hold. This time, wrapping her legs around him, pinning his arms to his sides. She added just the right amount of pressure, and once his body went slack, and he was about to fall, she dropped her legs and allowed him to slump over
She turned her attention to the bodyguard that had been feeling slowly around the area, but in the wrong direction. Nyela incapacitated him quickly with a blow to his temple. It was enough to knock him unconscious, but not kill him.
There wasn’t much time before the rest of his guards started swarming after getting flashlights or whatever they could get, and she needed to get Brian out of the back somehow. Hooking her arms under his, she began to drag him. It was a little tricky in her heels, but she was managing.
“One of you needs to come to the back of the building and get him.”
“That was not part of the plan.” Ashton retorted.
“I improvised. Now, come and get him. This hall they took Maleiha down to get to the bathroom, the blueprints have an exit, right?”
“Yes,” Sutton responded.
“Guide me to it.”
“Emery and Ashton are on their way.” She heard Synn inform.
“You need to get to Maleiha,” Grae stated.
Nyela didn’t respond. She merely continued down the hallway, making her way out of the door. She wanted to wait and make sure that Ashton and Emery did get Brian, and no one else stumbled upon him. However, she was almost sure no one would venture behind the building. And Grae was right. She needed to get to Maleiha. When Brian’s men were able to get their bearings, they would be coming for them.
She was about to make her way back inside when she saw the luminescent glow of flashlights. Nyela ducked back out of the door. She took a moment to get into her zone. Feeling no need to tell the other’s looking on what was happening because she knew they could see the lights from the camera in her necklace.
Nyela removed her heels, sitting them beside Brian’s body before opening the door.
There were four different flashlight illuminations that all turned towards her as the door opened. She was quick on her feet, making her way to the first man. He swung at her with his free hand, but it caused the light to become unfocused, and he missed.
Nyela retaliated with her own blow. First targeting his stomach and then giving him an elbow to the back of the neck once he was doubled over. She didn’t have much time to waste on them. So, her goal was to disable them as quickly as possible.
She knew that she had wasted a little time when she decided to try to take Brian, but it was a calculated risk that she thought would pay off.
The next was able to land a hit to her side, and she grunted out as she tried to counter. However, a second man grabbed her. His arms under hers, locking his hands behind her head.
While she was being held, another man approached. This was not the situation she needed to be in.
Lifting her lower half, she kicked him as hard as she could, causing him to fall backward. Nyela immediately started to thrash in the hold she was in, trying to break free.
It momentarily distracted her, and the wind was knocked out of her as a blow was delivered to her stomach. It hurt like a bitch, and Nyela wondered if she had been hit with a sledgehammer.
Shaking off the blow, she again lifted her legs. Higher this time, locking them on either side of her attacker’s head and squeezed as hard as she could. It wasn’t long before she felt him go slack and released him. She then threw her head back. Hoping, to at the very least, hit him hard enough in the chin to free her. It worked to her advantage, and she aimed low, below his waist and elbowed him as hard as she could in the genitals.
Nyela turned and chopped him in the throat. A moment later, she felt herself being struck hard in the back. She groaned out as she stumbled forward.
Turning around, she swung out at her assailant, and she came up with only the space between them as he dodged. She swung out again, and this time he threw his arm up and blocked her. She kicked out at him and made contact with his shin, but as she went to swing and hit him again, he dodged.
At that moment, Nyela knew that he was reading her moves somehow. Even in the mostly dark hallway, with just the sporadic illumination of the flashlights. It was almost like he could hear her. And maybe he could. She needed to get her breathing under control. Be silent.
Taking several steps away from him, she took the few seconds she had before his flashlight shone on her to calm her breathing. To make it almost nonexistent. She needed to end this…and quick.
Maleiha could hear a noise in the hallway outside. She was currently on the seventh floor. She had collected data from three offices and was presently in the last one on that floor. There was only one more floor above her.
She had heard Kylen tell Sutton to cut the lights. So, her first thought was that it was Nyela. That had been their backup plan for when they got discovered because they knew it would only be a matter of time. The lights would go out, and the older woman would come to find her, getting them both out together.
“Beauty,” Grae stated. “You need to be quiet.”
“That isn’t Nyela
out there?” She whispered.
“No. Several of Brian’s men made it up the stairs. They’re on the third, fourth, sixth, and seventh floor.”
Maleiha mentally cursed. She had just placed the USB in the computer on the desk. The saving grace was that none of them took more than about thirty seconds. However, she could hear them moving outside, getting closer. She was at least glad she had closed the door when she’d gotten inside.
“It’s done,” Sutton informed her softly.
Maleiha pulled the USB from the computer and headed towards the door.
“Don’t,” Grae stated. “There are two men out in the hall. One is headed towards the office.”
Maleiha made her way to the protruding wall. Leaning her back against the wall as she placed the USB into her bra. She knew it was too much to expect that he didn’t come into the office. There was a table resting against the adjacent wall with a lamp situated on it. She unplugged it, taking the lampshade off, the light bulb out, and began to wrap the cord around it. She needed to arm herself.
While it was true that she had been training with Ashton, that didn’t mean she could take on any and everybody. So, having something that she could use as a weapon was a plus.
Maleiha heard the door open, and she gripped the lamp tighter in her hands. She needed to time this just right. Aim at just the right spot.
His footsteps almost sounded ominous as he got closer. It was the first time since Adam had attacked her that she had felt like she was in danger. Even knowing what Grae and his siblings did, she had never felt as if she were in any harm.
Her heart began to beat fast, and her chest rose and fell rapidly. This was real life right now. Her fight or flight instincts were kicking in, but it was the opposite of when she was attacked. Then, she had wanted to fight. Now, all she wanted to do was flee.
“I’m right here, Beauty.”
Grae’s deep voice in her ear helped to calm her a bit.
As the man rounded the corner, Maleiha swung the lamp, dealing a blow to the side of his head. He grunted, but it hadn’t been hard enough to knock him out. So, she swung again and then once more. By that point, he was laid out on the floor.
“Your war grunts drew the attention of the other guy.” She heard Kylen state. She was sure she heard mockery in his voice.
She rolled her eyes as she made her way towards the door, intent on surprising the approaching man the way she had done this one.
He came into view, and she swung the lamp. His reflexes were quicker than she had expected, and he caught it — his other hand coming to wrap around her throat. He squeezed her wrist, bending it slightly. Maleiha let out as much of a groan as she could with her airway being cut off, dropping the lamp.
Her hand came up to his wrist, and she grasped it, clawing at it. A hiss of pain flowed from his lips as he released her wrist and slapped her across the face. It hurt like hell.
“Grae, calm down.” She heard the words as if they were far away from what sounded like Larkin.
“Was your training for nothing?” Kylen taunted. “It’s pathetic that you can’t get out of such a mediocre hold.” He goaded. Maleiha wished at that moment that she could shut him up.
Bringing her leg up, she kneed her assailant in the testicles. When his grip slackened, and he bent over slightly from the pain, she elbowed him in the throat. He gasped out, and she used the palm of her hand to thrust up and break his nose.
Once he had stumbled back, she bent down and picked up the lamp, hitting him as hard as she could.
“Shut up, you little bastard.” She spoke, responding to Kylen.
“It worked.” Was all he said.
“Are you okay, Beauty?”
“I’m fine.”
“Good. You need to go up to the eighth floor. Emery and Ashton have made it to the building, and they’re loading Brian into the trunk. Then Ashton’s coming inside.”
“I can’t just come down?”
“There are several men on the other floors. There’s no telling how many are in the stairwell.”
“Then why am I going up. I could run into one.”
“You’re going up in the elevator,” Sutton told her. “Shutting off the power on the first floor locked the elevators. I unlocked one, and it should be arriving any second.”
“The eighth floor is clear,” Grae told her.
“There looks to be only one office on that floor,” Larkin stated. “You’ll be up there. Might as well get whatever information is on the computer in there.”
At that moment, the elevator opened, and Maleiha stepped on. “Okay.”
When the elevator stopped on the eighth floor, she peeped out first before stepping out. There were a few different doors on that floor, but Maleiha listened as Sutton directed her to the office. She had come to notice that the younger woman seemed a bit more confident in this situation. She could only guess it was due to the fact that she had given support to Nyela often, and anything technical was in her element.
She made her way into the office, closing and locking the door. Going over to the computer, she removed the USB, inserting it after turning the computer on.
Maleiha paced back and forth as she waited for the computer to boot up and Sutton to run what she needed so she could be done and get out of there.
“Beauty, I don’t want you to panic, but several men are coming up the stairwell to the eighth floor, and they have guns.”
“What?!” She exclaimed softly.
“Stay calm,” Grae told her. “Ashton, where the hell are you?”
“Busy finishing up on the third floor,” Ashton responded.
“He’s not going to get to her in time.” Kylen chimed in.
“She needs to jump.” She heard Synn speak. She was almost sure it was the first time.
“From the eighth floor? You’re kidding.” She stated, appalled.
“Then die.”
Maleiha rolled her eyes. She didn’t think it was possible, but she was sure she was coming to dislike him more than Kylen when he spoke, and that was saying something.
“If you use the chair to break the window, Ashton could catch you from the third floor.” Larkin supplied. Maleiha wondered when the other girl became such a strategist at this.
“Great.” She heard Ashton before a slight grunt. “Give me the hard job.”
“Just get your ass to the West facing windows,” Grae stated.
“Give me a minute.” The younger man responded.
“Beauty, you’re going to have to do this just right. Time it just right.”
“I don’t think I can do this. If I fall too far out, I’ll hit the pavement. If he doesn’t catch me, I’ll hit the pavement. It’s too risky.”
“Maleiha.” She heard Nyela state. “Jumping is the only choice. I’ve done the math. It’ll be fine.”
“The…what?”
“You need to break the glass now,” Grae told her. “When you do, you have to move fast. The noise will alert them to where you are.”
Maleiha removed the USB and placed it in her bra. She took a deep breath before picking up the chair. Taking a few steps back, she threw it with all of her might out of the window. She could only hope that there were no people down there to get hit by it.
A few seconds later, she heard someone rattling with the door handle. She turned to look over her shoulder as Nyela’s voice rang in her ears.
“Jump, Maleiha. Now!”
She didn’t think twice. She knew that if she had, she wouldn’t have done it.
Maleiha stepped off the side, and as was human nature, she screamed. She felt a weight slam into her from behind, and then she was propelling forward.
She grunted out as she hit the floor. She felt small shards of glass bite into her arms, but it was a second thought compared to the impact in which she hit the ground.
Rolling onto her back, she looked up at the ceiling until Ashton’s face obstructed the view.
“You okay, Leiha?” He questioned.<
br />
She sat up slowly. “I’ll live.”
There was a groan from beside her, and she looked over to see Nyela sitting up as well, favoring her left shoulder.
“W-where did you come from?” Maleiha questioned.
“The roof. I told you, I did the math. Calculated when you needed to jump in order to be able to match your fall time and get us both in the building.”
“How?”
“I secured some rope I found in a storage closet on the first floor.”
“Hell of a calculation,” Ashton stated.
“Yeah, well, I didn’t calculate dislocating my shoulder.” She responded.
Maleiha turned to her. “I can try to pop it back in place, but I’ve never done it before.”
“Do it,” Ashton stated. “We still need to get down to the first floor and out of this building. An extra set of hands may be needed.”
“You don’t have too. I’ve done it before myself.”
“Okay. I’ll go keep a lookout.” She told them, because she noticed that Ashton had broke that glass window as well.
“Are you okay, Beauty?”
“A few cuts and I’m going to have several bruises, but I’m fine.”
“Good.” He responded with a relieved sigh.
There was no one in the hallway, and everything was quiet, which was why Nyela’s sudden groan of pain caused her to jump slightly.
“I’ve sent the elevator to the third floor,” Sutton spoke.
“We need to go now then.”
Maleiha nodded as Ashton came over and looked out of the crack in the door. He signaled for them to stay behind him. She looked back to make sure Nyela was okay and found her rotating her shoulders.
The three of them made their way out into the hall and quickly to the opening elevator. Stepping on, the doors closed, and it descended to the first floor. However, the doors didn’t open immediately.
“What’s the problem?” Ashton questioned.
“A few of Brian’s men are making their way past,” Grae told them.
A couple of seconds later, they followed Ashton off the elevator and down the hall to the exit. Once they made it outside, Emery was seated in the driver’s side of the vehicle.
