“Oh my God, I am so sorry—”
“My apologies, I wasn’t paying attention,” I mumbled as we righted ourselves, me straightening my jacket and her fixing her dress. Blonde hair. She looked up at me, and—
My blood boiled as my spine stiffened, my muscles going on high alert.
“Karina?” I whispered. Her eyes were wide, not with happiness, but withfear.
“James,” she said, a warning. I put my finger to my ear, ready to call for Gwen, but she yanked my wrist down.
“No. James,no,” she pleaded.
Fuck.
“Karina,” I growled, stepping closer to her as people squeezed past us.
“Goddammit,” she rasped, looking around, her blue eyes bouncing from face to face. She found what she was looking for, putting her hand over my wrist, dragging me into the nearest closet.
I let her push me in, knowing she might need a quiet space to get her head on straight. Victims of Stockholm Syndrome normally had a hard time adjusting to being, in fact, a victim. The door was shut quickly before she flicked the light on. I assessed her quickly, checking for injuries.
She looked good—healthy and alert. Her pupils were normal, no sign of drug abuse. Her skin was flushed. Her blonde hair was swept up into an elegant updo, and she wore a strapless, blood red gown that drifted down to the floor.
“James, listen to me,” she began.
“Are you hurt?” I asked, stepping closer to her.
“No, James. I need you to listen.”
I put my hands on her bare shoulders, ignoring her, already formulating a plan to get her away from Stevens. Jer would have to meet us at the front door, because there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that the hitman wouldn't let her go without a fight.
“You are safe now; I'm going to get you out of her. Where is he?” I hissed, getting right down to business. She grabbed my jacket with both fists, shaking me as much as she could.
“You aren’t listening to me, James,” she said, yanking out my earpiece. She pulled it down, the wire coming around my torso and out of my jacket.
My stomach sank as my jaw clenched. She was compromised…
“Ms. Jones, assaulting a federal agent is against the law,” I warned as she took a step back from me, wrapping the wire around the device.
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, hush. Haley assaults your dick every chance she fucking gets, and I don’t see her behind bars,” she snapped.
The sound of her name.
I got close to her until we were nose to nose, baring my teeth. “She better not be behind fucking bars, or I will kill everyone in my damn path. You understand me?”
“She is in a king size bed, drowning in luxury with the finest care, Garner. Back off,” she hissed, pushing me away, baring her teeth to me in return.
“Where is she?”
“Safe.”
“You on his side now, Karina? The enemy? Am I going to have to put you in handcuffs too?” I seethed, anger boiling up inside me. The itch to burn down this damn house was strong.
“Sounds kinky, but unfortunately, hot FBI agents aren’t my type,” she snapped. She sounded like herself. Shit.
“I don’t have much time to explain, but I'm safe. She is safe. You have to let me go,” she continued, looking to the closet door.
“Absolutely not. Try again,” I deadpanned, getting in her space again.
“Let. Me. Go. James. Things are in the works, and –”
