Well, okay. We turn a corner to find two tired-looking security guards flanking a steel door. They jump, unprepared for the sight of us, but Parker moves around us to shoot them with the tranquilizer gun. Reid’s right. Itisfucking sexy watching him work. Parker shakes his head to clear his vision of the wisps of hair that have escaped the bun on the back of his head. Dante and Parker break from us to tie the security guards’ arms behind their backs as they lie zonked out on the floor.
“How long do those work for?” I ask, full of curiosity.
“Approximately three hours,” Jacob replies from behind me. “Accidentally tested on me first.”
“That’s why Dante doesn’t get the tranq gun,” Parker calls out.
Dante’s shoulders lift to his ears. “It was an accident.”
“Lessons learned.” Hayden steps forward, presses a button on the steel doors, and they slide open.
There’s a desk ten feet into the room, where a frightened-looking man stands.
“Now listen here. I don’t know who you are, but you are barking up the wrong tree.”
“Do we look like we give a shit,” Hayden says, voice anoctave lower, and angrier. “Hand me the computer, and even if you wiped it, we’ll get what’s on it.”
The man swallows loudly and moves to reach under his desk. “Listen…”
“No,youlisten. You’re dead anyway, and if you press that emergency button, the police will arrive in time to find you killed and disemboweled. So stop moving.” Hayden steps forward and holds his gloved hands out, wiggling his fingers when the guy doesn’t budge. “I said give me the goddamn laptop, you ugly motherfucker.”
The man hands the laptop over with trembling hands.
“Ready?” Parker asks.
I tilt my head to look at him. “I’m not sure. What if he’s not a bad guy? What if it’s a misunderstanding?”
Hayden snorts. “Do you want to see what’s on his laptop? It’ll make you hurl up your intestines.”
Well. That’ll have to be good enough. Parker urges me on with a nod, so I take a step forward, and the guy looks at me in profound disbelief.
“This twink is gonna kill me? I mean, seriously, I deserve at least that one over there to kill me,” he says, nodding toward Dante.
“I’m not a twink. I’m almost six feet,” I argue pitifully.
I look back at Dante to find him pointing at himself, then glancing around. “Trust me, youreallywant him to kill you instead of me. I use my hands when I kill someone.”
Reid stares up at Dante with stars in his eyes.
I don’t think I’m made for this.
“Take the gun out,” Parker says quietly, voice level and making a shiver work its way through me. “Yeah, that’s it. Now turn off the safety, the button on the left. Good job.”
Everything calms under Parker’s gentle direction. Mymouth is dry and my fingers sweat in the leather gloves as I lift the gun to point it at the man’s chest. He still looks like he thinks this is an elaborate prank, which oddly makes me feel more resolute that I need to do this. Not only to prove it to the guys, but to this despicable asshole who questions my ability to kill him just by my looks alone.
“Now,” Parker whispers against my ear, sending a rush of heat through me. “Pull the trigger. There’s going to be blood, but at this position, most of it should scatter backwards. When he falls to the ground, you’ll step around the desk and aim another shot at his head while he watches. You’re his killer, show him.”
And without a second thought, I pull the trigger, and the guy falls behind the desk just like Parker predicted. I turn my head to grin at Parker, heart racing in excitement instead of anxiety.
“I did it!” I whisper-shout.
Parker’s grin illuminates the dark room. “Yeah, now you get to finish it. Go on.”
I step around the desk, with Parker’s warmth close at my back. The guy stares up at me, clutching his chest, wiggling as if squirming like a maggot on the ground can save him from his certain destiny. There is an odd thrill to killing him, knowing he’s done such despicable things, they won’t even sully me with the knowledge. And it’s an anxiety-riddled six-foot twink who’s going to end his life.
I aim the gun at his head and pull the trigger without a second thought. Some blood sprays up, so I urgently step back, bumping into Parker. His hand comes out to steady my elbow and my body lights up from that one touch. Oh. Parker pulls away like he’s burned me, a flush on his high cheekbones.
“Sorry, it was instinctual, I’m so sorry?—”
