The woman laughed and turned back to her work, and Cash shot Raiden his best glare. “They’re fine, thank you,” he said through gritted teeth. “Much better.”
“Between that and the anal fissure, I didn’t know when you’d get back to work,” Raiden added loudly, then snickered to himself as Cash brought them into a stairwell.
“Very funny,” Cash hissed.
“It’s role play,” Raiden said. “It’s a very important part of the job. Didn’t you know that?” He added a little swat to Cash’s ass as he took up off the stairs.
Cash spun on his heel, then stuck out his tongue. “See you up top,” he said, then surprised Raiden with another kiss before he took off, practically flying up the steps.
Raiden dragged his body behind. By the time he reached the top floor, he was huffing his breath, and his legs burned something awful.
“Just in time,” Cash said. He was fiddling with the lock on the door, and he jabbed a small metal tool in carefully, causing it to pop open a couple inches. “This back hallway should lead us into the main entranceway for the executive suites.”
Raiden sucked in his breath. “Let’s just hope I don’t have to bust down the door to beat that Rios asshole into next tax season.”
“You never know,” Cash said, pausing with his hand on the door handle. “We might luck out and have time for a little corporate espionage while we’re here. Maybe grand theft, even if murderous revenge isn’t feasible.” He pulled the door open the rest of the way, and his face fell. A security guard stood on the other side, jaw agape as he clearly overheard their every word.
Panic shot through Raiden, and his body moved on its own. He grabbed the security guard into a bear hug and pressed his hand over the man’s mouth from behind, silencing him. The man struggled, but he couldn’t get out of Raiden’s embrace.
“What are you doing?” Cash yelped as he slammed the door shut.
“I don’t know! I panicked!”
The man wiggled and grunted, and Raiden started to freak out. “What do I do? Do I let him go?” The man turned back, fear in his eyes. “It’s okay,” Raiden whispered. “I’m not going to hurt you. I promise.”
“Don’t stop hugging him!” Cash said, alarmed. “He’ll yell, and then we’ll be fucked!”
“I can’t hug him forever!”
“Shit,” Cash whispered, then started pacing back and forth. “Think, think, think…”
Raiden’s phone started to vibrate in his pocket. Worried that it might be Lawrence, he hissed at Cash. “Grab my phone, will you? There’s a new message. Front pocket.”
Cash stepped forward. “Why Raiden, is that your phone, or—”
“Not now,” Raiden growled, the security guard still mumbling into his hand.
“He’s out!” Cash said. “On the street out front. Says he’s fine.”
“That solves one problem,” Raiden said, then lifted the security guard up. “But what about this one?”
Cash folded his hands in front of his chest, then smiled at the security guard. “Might I ask, do you work on this floor?”
The man nodded.
“And do you know a Mr. Rios?”
The man made an angry noise. “Just like I thought,” Cash said. “You hate him. He probably mistreats everyone, is that correct?” The guard nodded again, his head bouncing against Raiden’s shoulder, and Cash unfolded his hands as he continued. “Let me level with you then. Me and my friend… Brutus here, we have a problem with Mr. Rios, too. And we were just coming here to give him a piece of our mind, you see? But now it’s clear that was a bad idea, so we can just be on our way.”
A moment passed, and Raiden slowly parted his fingers, allowing the man to talk. “How much you got?”
Cash laughed. “Smart man.” He pulled his wallet from his back pocket, then removed a few large bills. “About four hundred it looks like. Raiden?”
“I got forty in my wallet,” Raiden grunted. He tentatively relaxed his hug. “Does that buy silence?”
The man tightened his brow in thought, then glanced down. “What about those shoes?” he asked, pointing at Cash’s feet. “What size are you?”
“Oh come on,” Cash said. “Really? My Louboutins?” When the man didn’t respond, he sighed. “Ten and a half.”
