With my heart leaping into my throat, I shoved my shoulder against the cold metal door. The silence was gone. Another sound… metal scraping, slow and deliberate.
Someone was out there and they wanted in.
CHAPTER 18
THEO
I watchedas the shadows swallowed them. Hunter had hold of my sister and Ryder was with Maggie. As much as I wanted to be the one with Maggie, I knew Hunter was the best man for the job. I wasn’t worried about Ryder. The man had proved he could do more than throw a punch. I smiled at the memory of us being arrested together last year.
The service door swung closed as they exited the ballroom, effectively severing my connection to the only thing that mattered. The knot in my chest unravelled and I took a deep breath.
Breathe.
I stared one more moment at that door. For now she was safe. That was all that mattered.
The man she knew, the one who whispered promises and allowed himself to be covered in glitter, needed to be buried. What was needed, what she needed, was the man Nick Salinger had trained. The one no one knew existed. The ruthless operator who only worked in the shadows.
The screams and crashing china, played out all around me as Nick handed me a weapon. His company had provided thesecurity for the evening and it was easy to secure extra comms and handguns.
“Necessary force only. Am I understood?”
I shoved the gun at the small of my back and turned on the mic of the unit Hunter had handed me earlier. “You’re understood.”
“SITREP? Anyone?” I needed to know what was happening before I entered the fight.
Shiloh was the first to respond. “I’ve got eyes on the kitchen. I think it's just the three brothers. Charlie left through the back door. Kitchen’s clear but that fucker disappeared into the dark.”
“Elevators are clear and out of service.” Noah’s voice was a little out of breath. “I’m getting too old for this shit.”
“I know right?” Nick had already moved in the opposite direction to me. “These fucking kids need to get their shit together and take the fuck over. Anna, where are you?”
Of course, Nick worried about his wife. But she responded immediately. “Evie and I are out back in the parking lot.” Anna sounded as if she was having the time of her life. “I’ve got Evie in the car, and I am on the lookout for Charlie.”
Evie was Noah’s wife and a former popstar who still performed on occasion.
“Packages secure.” At Hunter’s declaration, my shoulders sagged.
“Thank fuck.” Shiloh’s words echoed my thoughts.
I moved through the ballroom, navigating the chaos by memory and instinct. The red strobe of the emergency fire alarms began to flash, cutting through the blackness in disorientating pulses. Like the panicked crowd had become a stop motion horror movie.
A large shape loomed near the east service entrance... shoving a waiter violently to the wall.
Keith Ripper.
He wasn’t looking at me. Instead, he was scanning the crowd, baton in hand looking for a target. Was he looking for her? Or was he looking for me? Logically, they had to realize there was no way they would get to her. Surely? But it was the only thing that made sense.
I didn’t slow down and I didn’t announce myself. I grabbed the heavy crystal water pitcher from a passing table. The thing was still filled with water and I made no attempt to stop the sloshing as I made my approach. Keith turned just as I closed the distance, his eyes widening as the red light pulsed across his features.
He didn’t even have time to raise his baton.
I swung the pitcher with force. Connecting it with the side of his head. The glass shattered, spraying both of us with water. But only one of us stayed standing.
Keith crumbled to the floor, his pathetic whimpers sending a shot of relief through me. While I had no problem ending the life of any of the Ripper brothers, I was ordered to only use necessary force. The paperwork and interrogation alone was not worth it.
“Theo.” Hunter’s voice had my attention. “I have eyes on Fred, but you’re closer. Emergency exit at the north. He’s just gone through it and that hallway leads to the panic room.”
Leaving Keith to his sobbing, I made my way to where Hunter had directed.
