“I don’t know, but I wish they would stop.” Maren loads on the last box. “Nobody has time for that shit. We just want to work and go home and eat on our couch while we bingeBuffy.”
“You know, I’ve never watched that.” I step out of the way as Maren pushes the cart toward the door. “I’ll have to add it to my list.”
“If you start it, let me know and we can buddy binge. I’m always up for rewatch.” Maren and I make it halfway down the hall before she groans. “Shit. I forgot Walker asked me to bring him more binder clips.”
I help her make a U-turn with the overloaded cart and we venture back into the room. I sit on a stack of boxes lined against one wall to wait while she collects what she needs. I’m just about to ask if she needs help, when some dude comes striding in looking self-important and like he’s on a mission. Since I’m tucked between two towers of stuff, he doesn’t seem to notice my presence as he swings the door closed and rounds the rack running down the center of the room.
Maren must sense his arrival because she spins his direction before he even reaches her side of the shelf.
I get a glimpse of her face through the items stacked between us as she gives him a glare that might turn him to stone. “Dan? How did you get in here?”
The guy hits the brakes hard when he sees Maren. Almost like he didn’t know she was in here either.
“Trevor gave me access.” He says the words too quickly. Spits them out so fast he almost stumbles over them.
“Trevor doesn’t give anybody access to this room. I’m the only one whose badge opens that door.” Maren sounds more pissed off than anything, but this guy is making me a little nervous. He’s shifting from foot to foot, looking amped up and jittery, and I don’t like it.
After the day I passed out and Tobias took me to the hospital, Titus has been adamant we both keep our phones on us at all times. And right now, I’m really freaking grateful. Because whatever this dude talking to Maren is up to, it’s not good.
Moving slowly so I don’t get his attention, I carefully pull my phone from my pocket, intending to send Titus a text asking him to come back here immediately. But when I wake up my phone, my stomach drops. Where there should be a set of bars, the letters SOS stare back at me. I lift my eyes to the ceiling, looking around the room as I try to figure out what’s interrupting my service.
“I don’t know what to tell you.” Dan transfers something from one hand to the other, but I can’t see what it is. “Shouldn’t you be working?”
“Shouldn’tyou?” Maren has balls, I’ll give her that. She’s smart and snappy and works her ass off, but she’s not great at taking shit.
And this guy is dishing out a lot of it.
“Iamworking. Trevor sent me to get him some…” The guy grabs a small box from the shelf between us—thankfully without looking—holding it up right in front of Maren’s face. “Pens.”
“I just brought Trevor three new boxes of pens. No way did he go through them that quickly.” Maren doesn’t back down. For some reason she is super pissed this guy’s back here, and even more determined to make him go. “You need to leave.”
The man scoffs. “You’re awful fucking bossy for a temp with a flat ass.”
Oh shit. Dan must be Trevor’s current assistant, the assgrabber.
“And you’re awfully full of yourself for a guy who can’t even fill out a spreadsheet properly.” Maren’s eyes narrow. “From what I’ve heard, you aren’t even remotely qualified for your position. I’m sure Trevor would love to find out everything you put on your resume was bullshit.”
The man steps closer to Maren and my guts churn. She’s feisty, but she’s not a big girl. Definitely not big enough to hold her own against the bulky shithead crowding her space. I need to do something, but I need to do it in a way that will keep Maren and I as safe as possible. Since I can’t use my phone to call for help, I’ve got to stop this dude some other way.
“Careful, little girl, or I’ll leave you in here when I go.” The threat sends a chill snaking down my spine.
Leave her in here? What the fuck is he planning to do to her in this room?
The guy grabs the badge clipped to Maren’s waistband, snapping it free.
“Hey.” She scrambles, trying to get it back.
He holds it out of her reach. “Be nice and maybe I’ll let you use it to leave before you end up a pile of ash too.”
My mind is racing as I try to pick apart his words so I can reassemble them in a way that makes sense. But before I can get anywhere, he starts coming around the line of shelving keeping me hidden. As carefully as I can, I slide off the box I’m sitting on and crouch low, creeping to the end just as he rounds the corner. I manage to slip out of his sight before he notices me, but I’m a little worried he might continue coming my way, so I start looking for my next route of escape.
Maren’s eyes meet mine from where she’s standing at the end of the side we now both occupy, and I hold one finger up to my lips. I’m pretty sure she knows not to point out that I’m here, but just in case, I want to make sure we’re on the same page. Because I’m the only element of surprise we have.
And that is not great odds.
There’s no way we can go out the way we came in withouthim noticing us, so I motion toward the only other door in the space, thinking maybe we can quietly sneak into whatever room is on the opposite side.
But then my eyes lock onto the card reader next to it.
