We hurried the rest of the way down and came out the back part of the lobby. We were partially hidden from the front doors by a half wall and a decorative plant. We had decided on caution when we exited the stairwell and thank goodness.
Nix stood in the lobby, just inside the door.
Ryder and I saw him at the exact same time and dropped to the floor. The stairwell door hadn’t closed all of the way yet because it was pressurized. Ryder stuck out his foot to catch it before it clicked loudly and gave away our position.
It was clear that Nix had just stepped inside the building. He was flanked by four other gigantes with bulging muscles and troll-like bodies. He hung up a cell phone and started speaking quietly to them, giving them instructions because they were nodding while their eyes darted around the building.
“Shit,” I hissed.
“Wait until they go upstairs,” Ryder whispered. “We’ll go out the front door.”
I peeked around the corner to see Nix move toward the elevator. He looked as impeccable as he always did. His dark gray suit fit his frame perfectly, draping over broad shoulders and tapering down to his narrow waist. His dark hair was styled to give him the look of an elegant business man and his jaw was closely shaved. He was as handsome as I remembered.
And as evil.
A shiver slithered down my spine born from raw fear. I never wanted to get this close to him again.
As soon as I saw him a weight landed on my shoulders, pushing me into the ground, making my limbs heavy and sluggish. It compressed my lungs, making it difficult to breathe, and squeezed my heart so tightly I thought it would burst in my chest.
I had blissfully lived without that weight for almost a year. I had been able to breathe. I had been able to live without the painful mass tethered to me by his presence.
But now it was back. I slunk back against the half wall and tipped my head back. I closed my eyes and focused on breathing evenly. I couldn’t let him do this to me.
I couldn’t let him get to me now or we would never be able to get out of here.
“There’s no other way out,” Ryder whispered in my ear, pulling me out of my panic. “We’re going to have to go for the front door. As soon as he gets in the elevator, we’ll run.”
I didn’t say anything. The plan had to work, that was my only option right now.
The elevator landed on this floor and the doors opened. Nix stepped inside with his goons and Ryder and I watched the doors close.
We didn’t hesitate. I didn’t even look to see if the elevator had started moving up floors. I should have, but I was too anxious to get out of there.
I took off sprinting through the lobby. My flip flops slapped at my heels. Ryder gripped my hand in his and pulled me after him. As frantic as we were, we remained silent and focused.
We were almost to the glass doors of the lobby. I could feel the heat of the sun through the glass; I could see Ryder’s Bronco down the drive. We had almost made it.
Ryder put his hand on the push bar and I breathed a sigh of relief.
It lasted one second.
The elevator doors popped back open and Nix and his men were ready for us. There was a second where I met Nix’s furious gaze and thought everything was over. I saw more in that moment of connection than I ever wanted to. His eyes were black pools of revenge. I felt the chill they brought with them to my very core. I would never forget that feeling, the bleak despair that infected my entire body.
“What the hell?” I hissed under my breath.
“Get her,” Nix roared at his men.
I had been stunned still, too surprised to see them again to think of what I should be doing. Ryder didn’t have that problem. He shoved through the door and pulled me right along with him.
We didn’t look back, but I needed to see, I could feel them on our backs. Ryder flew across the long patio and down the wide steps that took us to the drive. I forced myself to keep up with him. I hiked up my long, wet skirt and stretched my legs so I could run as fast as he could.
He didn’t let go of my hand until we reached his car. We separated but only so we could stay together in the long run. He unlocked his door and it felt like forever as I waited for the lock to pop up on mine. I had just climbed in the passenger’s seat when a huge hand slammed down on the window.
It scared me so much a scream ripped from my throat. Ryder jammed the keys into the ignition and threw the Bronco into reverse. He pounded his foot down on the gas and we ripped out of our parking spot. He hit something, but neither of us looked to see what it was. The thump-thump under the tire wasn’t enough to kill a man or stop us from escaping.
Ryder reached out again and grabbed my hand, squeezing it tight. “Hold on,” he demanded. “I’m going to get us out of here.”
He took his hand back to hold onto the wheel and he stepped on the gas, leaving no doubt that he would do everything he could to outrun Nix.
