“This way!” she says, grabbing my hand and leading me to an emergency exit.
The sound of boots pounding up the stairwell echoes like thunder, as we run in a mad dash down a few floors.
“Sit down,” she whispers, and before I can react, she collapses dramatically onto the stairs, yanking me down with her.
Stella starts crying, the loud, panicked, broken sobs reverberating on the stairwell’s walls.
For a split second, my gut drops. Fuck. Did I push her too far?
“Shh,milaya,” I whisper, gathering her into my arms. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ll tell them I did it. You’re okay. You’re safe. I’ve got you.”
I’m so focused on the tremble of her shoulders, the wetness on her cheeks, that I don’t even register the cops until they’re right on us.
“Help, please!” Stella cries out, her face pale, and her voice shaking. “We heard shots upstairs! We didn’t know what to do, so we got out of our room and hid here! Please! They’re going to kill us!” She grips my hand while the other cradles her belly as if protecting our fake unborn child.
“It’s alright, ma’am. We’re here now,” one officer says, lowering his gun as his colleagues continue to scale up the stairs to the penthouse. “You and your husband are safe. Your babyis safe, I promise. McCormick!” he shouts to a passing younger cop. “Help these people get downstairs. Now!”
Officer McCormick rushes over and lifts Stella to her feet from one side while I pretend to support her from the other. We start down the stairs, Stella leaning into me, trembling perfectly on cue.
“I was so scared. So scared. Weren’t we, honey?” Stella continues to wail.
“It’s okay, ma’am. I’ll get you both to safety.” Officer McCormick offers a weak smile.
“Thank… you. God… bless you,” she stammers, clutching her prop belly and crying as if her world were ending.
She’s so convincing, even I’m half-ready to call an ambulance.
A few levels down, the cop pushes open the stairwell door, leading us into a quiet hallway.
“You should be safe from here,” he says. “Just take one of the elevators and head back to the lobby. An ambulance should be arriving soon. Please have them check your wife and baby. You two were very lucky tonight.”
“Thank you, officer,” Stella sniffles, giving him a tear-soaked smile worthy of an Oscar.
Officer McCormick ushers us toward the elevator and waves us off as the doors close. The second the elevator seals shut, Stella drops the pillowcase to the floor and starts chucking my clothes at me.
“Get dressed and be quick about it. We don’t have much time.”
Yob tvoyu mat.This woman is not just beautifully unhinged, but she’s fucking brilliant.
I can’t help laughing as I scramble to pull my clothes back on. Stella is faster, already tugging her top and jacket into place, running her fingers through her wet hair, and smoothing out thechaos. By the time the elevator opens into the lobby, it’s a full-blown disaster zone. Cops are everywhere, guests are panicking, and hotel staff are shouting on phones. No one notices Stella casually tossing the empty pillowcase and robes into a trash bin. Hand in hand, we walk straight through the chaos as if we were just another shaken couple escaping a crime scene.
Outside, I walk her to my car across the street, open the door, and she slides in smoothly. I round the front, drop into the driver’s seat, start the engine, then tear off into the night.
A few blocks later, as the adrenaline cools into something bright and electric, we glance at each other with identical shit-eating grins.
“Not bad for a second date, Kill,” she says smugly. “Not bad at all.”
“Date, huh? So is that what we’re doing?Dating?” I ask, raising a brow, savoring the way her eyes widen for half a second.
“Well, you did take medancing.” She wiggles her brows at me, playing along. “Though I am disappointed that the Chicago PD is probably playing with my toys as we speak.”
“Do you want me to drive us back to the hotel so you can claim them?” I chuckle.
“Nah. It’s just the excuse I need to buy some new toys. Better toys.”
This woman.
“I’ll admit you had me there for a second. I had no idea you could put on such a performance. Never seen someone cry on command as if their life depended on it.”
