“Someone did more than that.” Ares’s expression went dark. “Elevator’s disabled. Emergency exits are showing as locked. We’re trapped up here.”
My blood ran cold. “Marcus.”
“He’s gone—” Leo started.
“Or he wants us to think he’s gone,” I interrupted. “We exposed the conspiracy. Ruined the takeover. What if this was always his backup plan?”
“Plan B,” Orion said slowly. “If they can’t force us to sell…”
“They make sure we can’t refuse,” Ares finished. “A tragic accident. Five people dead in a hotel fire. Estate sale to settle affairs. The investors get Olympus Royale anyway.”
The door to the suite opened.
Marcus stood silhouetted in the dim lighting from the stairwell, and the gun in his hand looked very real.
“Smart girl,” he said, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. “Too smart. That’s always been the problem with you.”
“Marcus.” Ares shifted, putting himself between Marcus and me. “You don’t want to do this.”
“Don’t I?” Marcus kept the gun trained on Ares while his eyes swept the room, cataloging positions. Professional. Calculating. This was the real Marcus—not the crude hotel employee, but the trained operative. “You cost me a fortune. Henri’s going to prison. Wilder’s finished. The investors pulled out. Two years of work, all gone because you couldn’t keep your hands off the help.”
“This isn’t about us,” Orion said, his voice calm despite the gun pointed at his brother. “This is about you getting paid.”
“Smart and beautiful,” Marcus said, shifting his aim to Orion. “I wonder how much you would be worth if you were dead. There will be an estate sale and an emergency liquidation, and desperate investors will swoop in to buy at a discount. My employers will still get what they want. Just messier than planned.”
“You’ll never get away with this,” Leo said. “Too many people know about you now. About the conspiracy. Killing us just makes it obvious.”
“Obvious to whom?” Marcus smiled. “Tragic electrical fire. The fire was caused by faulty wiring in a renovated building. Five people overcome by smoke before they could escape the penthouse suite. Security system malfunctioned—sounfortunate. By the time anyone realizes it wasn’t an accident, I’ll be in a country with no extradition treaty and a very comfortable bank account.”
“The stairwell—” Marta started.
“Locked,” Marcus interrupted. “I control the security system now. No one’s coming up. No one’s going down. You’re trapped, and in about five minutes, this floor is going to be an inferno.”
He pulled something from his jacket—a small device with a timer counting down. Four minutes, thirty seconds.
“Incendiary charges in the walls,” he explained pleasantly. “Military-grade. Hot enough to compromise the sprinkler system before it can activate. By the time the fire department gets through my locked doors, you’ll all be dead from smoke inhalation. Quick. Relatively painless. More than you deserve after costing me this job.”
Ares tensed, calculating angles.
Marcus saw it and smiled. “Don’t,” he said. “I’m a professional. You’re a businessman who played soldier. I’ll put three rounds in you before you take two steps.”
“What’s your plan?” Orion asked, clearly trying to buy time. “Shoot us then set the fire?”
“Why waste bullets?” Marcus checked his watch. “Four minutes. I’ll be in the stairwell when the charges blow. You’ll be locked in here. The smoke will do the rest.”
He was already backing toward the door, gun still trained on Ares.
This was it. Our last chance. In four minutes, those charges would blow. The suite would burn. We’d die trapped up here while Marcus walked away free.
Unless.
My eyes found the heavy brocade curtains that framed the floor-to-ceiling windows. The same curtains Leo had joked were“criminally flammable” when I’d wanted to light candles at dinner. Vintage fabric. Expensive. Beautiful.
And absolutely perfect.
I looked at the decorative candelabra on the side table, complete with real candles lit for ambiance, then glanced at Ares, who was watching Marcus with predatory focus. I glanced at the curtains, which would ignite easily like kindling.
Marcus had his back to the window. Gun trained on Ares while Leo and Orion tried to talk him down.
