Page 88 of H E R

It’s a kitchen.

“It should be empty. I made sure to give you a five-minute window.”

The small kitchen looks out of place. It’s outdated, plain, and too neat. Quiet and alone, as if shunned by the rest of the house.

Piper’s voice leads us past the kitchen and into a bedroom. It looks like a motel room. It’s tidy, empty of personal artifacts. Generic and bland. It even smells of cleaning products and a faint scent of vanilla mixed with coffee beans. I don’t know how, but immediately I know who this space belongs to.

A white desk with a lamp and simple office supplies sits directly in front of the bed. Piper directs me to it, and I flip the switch on the lamp to illuminate the space.

“The stapler.”

What?Dylan and I share a look. He lifts up the metal, heavy duty stapler and turns it in his hands before opening it.

He removes the staples and shrugs. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it’s a regular stapler. Piper chimes in and responds to my unspoken questions.

“Carefully pop off the top.”

Dylan does what she says, and I lean forward to peek inside. Nestled against the cool metal, a tiny USB sits secured by a strip of transparent tape.

“Once you take out the USB, replace the top, and try to put it back exactly as it was. Leaveeverythingthe way it was.”

I turn off the desk lamp and scan the room once more. I’d bet my right hand and left eyeball that this space belongs to Charles. Dylan hands me the USB and puts the stapler back in its place. The tiny cuboid feels heavy in my palm, and I tuck it into the sticky adhesive supporting my large breasts. Dylan licks his lips and stalks toward me, but I lift up a finger and shake it slowly.

He’s crazy if he thinks this is an ideal spot to get lucky. As much as I love losing myself in his arms and expert touch, I’ve never wanted to get the hell out of place more than I do this instant.

“Guide us out, P.”

In the same moment Piper begins to give us directions toward a different exit, Jason’s manic voice fills our ears.

“Olivia and Jasmin were ambushed, D. Four men got to them as they entered the level Sara believes the prisoners are being held in. They tried to sweet talk their way out of it, saying they were lost, but the guys didn’t buy it.”

Dylan swears under his breath and shoves me toward the elevator entrance we just came through. Piper’s voice doesn’t return. Jason probably cut her call, finding her guidance meaningless now that my best friend and his girlfriend have been apprehended.

“I can’t just sit here, Dylan. I’m headed your way.”

“No!” Dylan barks. “We got what we came for. Send Mike my approval to enter the premises. Give them the coordinates of the victims' location.”

I can practically feel Jason bristle with anger. “What about Olivia?”

We’re in the elevator and time slows. It cannot be moving any fucking slower. Dylan sighs heavily and holds me close. “Jason, I won’t leave without her. You have my word.”

The doors slide open and we step out and rush down the hall.

“Mike and the team are approaching on foot. They have the premises surrounded. The chopper should be there in three minutes. When the lights go out, that’s the signal that our team is in.”

Jason’s robotic tone clouds my vision, and I twirl around and smack into Dylan. “Team?”

“I have orders to shut this place down, little fox. That’s what I do.”

I take a step back. This was nothing but a job to him, and he used me to get in. “Youliedto me!”

Dylan reaches for my arm quicker than I can register his movements and pulls me to continue down the hall. “I never lied to you. I understood the danger. Did you expect to waltz in and out of here without any issues?”

I can’t answer his ridiculous question. He’s being an asshole. Of course I didn’t, but I would appreciate him being entirely open about what he plans to do. He completely took over and drew advantage from the situation. He used my ticket, involved his whole fucking team, and in two minutes, the entire place will be surrounded by fucking cops.

He didn’t trust me enough to clue me in. As if I’m some idiot incapable of understanding and agreeing to a decision based on better judgment and the best route when going undercover. I pull my arm from his grip and lean my hand against the wall to slip my heels off.

Dylan moves to grab me, and I lift up my shoe. “Touch me and I’ll fucking stab you with this heel.”

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