The only thing Damien could accomplish was obtaining a weapon. That’s what I was going on as I pulled out my Glock.
Music was already pounding through the walls as the employees prepared to open. While the noise was excellent cover if I had to take a shot, horrifying the employees wasn’t on my list of desirable choices.
He’d already thrown open the door, rushing into the corridor that was between the two private rooms and the main dance floor. It also led to the employee locker room before fanning out to the small employee lounge and the employee bathrooms.
When he started tossing boxes and anything he could get his hands on in my direction, I was pissed. “Zorro. Stay,” I told the pup, fearful he’d be hurt in the ensuing chaos.
I couldn’t take the time to make sure he’d obeyed. I had to concentrate on where Damien was going. The second he disappeared briefly, I pushed myself against the wall, creeping closer. Now I had my weapon in both hands, inching to the corner.
As soon as I darted my head around the edge, I was shocked I didn’t see him. But there was a locker door standing open. I’d need to go on the assumption he had a weapon of some kind.
Donatello was close and I glanced in his direction. “Check on the other employees. They are not to come back here.”
“Got it.” He moved off, shifting into protective mode while I continued hunting.
The labyrinth of hallways was supposed to maximize space. It only created a different kind of maze that could allow for his escape. That wasn’t going to happen. Damien had pissed me offto the point I would toss his ass in a holding cell for a day or so until he was ready to talk.
I moved silently while the music vibrated through the entire floor. When I heard a slight noise, my hackles were raised.
A voice. Not a male voice.
Female.
The moment was equally as jarring when I moved around the corner, the employee bathrooms only a few feet away.
Damien had a gun in his hand. Standing next to him was someone intimately familiar.
Anna.
What the fuck was going on?
My hackles were still raised, my mind trying to process what I was seeing. The two of them working together? I should have followed my instincts the first go-around. She’d been the lookout for Damien.
As soon as he detected movement, he reacted by turning against his own partner.
With the quickness of a pro, he dragged her against him, using her as a human shield. Well, this hadn’t been in the day’s planned activities.
Even over the music, her cry was shrill.
Everything about the situation was wrong. Completely off. Totally unexpected.
And highly dangerous.
With a Beretta in his hand, he’d shoved the barrel into her temple.
“Damien. Don’t do anything stupid,” I told him.
Anna had her hands up, studying me with eyes that should be full of terror, even hysteria. They weren’t. In them I noticed the same level of frustration and anger I’d seen earlier in the day.
Projected at me.
“I don’t plan on it.”
I moved closer, taking a deep breath. “What were your plans, Damien? Was it all about money so the two of you could run away together?”
Anna’s eyes shifted into full blown rage. “What are you talking about? I don’t know this asshole.”
“Looks tell me otherwise.”
