“Let’s get out of here.”
My adrenaline is pumping out of control as I cut the zip ties from Kate’s and Becky’s wrists.
These bastards will pay, dearly.
I wrap my left arm around Kate so that I’m free to shoot the men still lurking around the office. I don’t know how many are left. I found one dead in the break room, shot one down in the stairwell, and sliced the neck of one in front of my office at the same time Kate took a shot. My heart stopped at the sound of the gunshot. I thought he was aiming at her.
“I have a bad feeling,” I grumble to myself.
We’re crouched behind my desk, a stream of light pouring over Kate. Her dress is soaked with sweat and clinging to her body, drops of blood from her wrists staining the front. I want to kiss and hold her close while simultaneously strangling the man who made her bleed.
I open the bottom drawer and pull out the stack of files to reveal the bullet proof vest underneath. I take my sweat soaked shirt off to strap it on, fully intending to take a bullet if necessary.
“Haven’t you done this before when you were, like...on top-secret missions?” she asks, pushing her blonde hair out of her eyes as they roam over my shoulders.
“Yes, but I wasn’t usually so . . . distracted.”
My eyes dip over her exposed cleavage, nipples poking out against the silk of her dress. I swallow, forcing my mind to focus on the fact that we could get shot at any second. I look away, debating on which direction to go.
“The FBI should be here any second. They should already be in the stairwell.”
Becky from HR perks up. “Aren’t you under investigation?”
My gaze sharpens in on her face as I wonder how the hell she knows that.
Kate must know too. Does she know why?
I ignore the question while reloading my gun.
“I think we should go down the north stairs. I’ll take the lead. Stay close.”
I grab Kate’s hand, standing to run toward the side of the building all of the office employees exited on. The fact that everyone started to evacuate nearly immediately after the power went out isn’t settling well with me.
“Why did everyone evacuate?” I whisper as we turn a corner, only a hall away from the stairs now.
“Georginne told everyone the power wasn’t coming back on at all today,” Becky says, panting like she just ran ten miles.
I slow the pace a bit.
Hmm, interesting.
“What happened to you, Kate?”
We reach the stairs, and I open the door to check and see if the coast is clear. I nod my head to indicate they enter, watching the hall for any potential followers.
“I was in the lobby restroom when Georginne came in, saying they needed me as bait. Nikolai came in and she disappeared. He pushed up the stairs.”
She’s panting for breath while Becky is wheezing so loudly that she’ll either pass out or give our position away. I slow down the pace.
I suspected Georginne was a part of this, but now that I have confirmation, I can move forward with dealing with her.
We still have fifty-five floors to get down, which doesn’t seem like a viable option at this rate if we want to keep Becky alive.
Noises in the stairwell echo as a door opens, followed by heavy footsteps above us. I have no choice but to lead them to level fifty-four, holding the door open until they both make it through. I catch a glimpse of a black boot right as the door shuts.
When I turn around, I see that we’re in a studio used to photograph products. There are stations set up with lighting, backdrops, and sofas.
“We need to hide until the FBI gets here.”
