Page 90 of H E R

Jason breathes into my ear. “Is that my Liv?”

She’s still holding me, and I look back to Jasmin and watch as the man holsters his gun. I clear my throat. “Your tech?”

“They stripped us of all our jewelry, including the earbuds.”

I nod and give her mine. While she puts it in her ear and attempts to reassure a beyond furious Jason, I focus on the man. Charles.

Jasmin circles us. “Where’s Justice?”

My eyes dart from hers to Charles. “Someone took her.”

“And you let them?” Jasmin yells.

Charles’s arms flail up in frustration. “Fucking hell. First, I have to save these two and nowher? I thought you werea professional?”

I step forward. “I didn’t just fuckinglet them take her. And who the fuck are you?”

“How about we interrogate me later,Detective.”

Charles turns to leave, and I call out to him. “I’m coming with.”

He nods, irritated. “Of course you are.”

Liv catches my arm and gives it a gentle squeeze. “Jason arranged transportation for us. He’s going to lead Jasmin and me to it. I won’t leave without you, Dylan. Your mother will kill me if she finds out I left you behind.”

I want to laugh but can’t; not while my Niki is who the fuck knows where. I think Olivia understands, and she lunges toward me and hugs me quickly, then tugs a frantic Jasmin with her.

“If you don’t find Justice, I’ll kill you myself!” Jasmin yells.

I’m sure Jason reminded Olivia that, although she may be in her element, Jasmin is not. That realization, along with the dreaded responsibility of keeping Jasmin alive, waswhat most likely convinced my cousin to follow Jason’s pleas to exit the premises. And I’m grateful. Selfishly, all of my attention is on Niki’s safety, and that’s how I need it to stay.

I stay close behind Charles. He’s just a couple of inches shorter than me, thinly built, and possibly my age as well. Why the fuck is he helping us? Right before she was taken, Niki was furious with me for keeping my plans from her. But she’s got secrets of her own. I’ll have to rectify that.

My chest tightens at the mere thought of never seeing her again, of never again tasting her sweet lips or becoming energized by her brash attitude.

“We’re close. Follow my lead. It’s the only way we won’t get slaughtered.”

I watch his posture change as his shoulders drop, and I check my gun. I take out the magazine and then shove it back in. “My men have the premises surrounded. They’re already in the building.”

Charles turns and rolls his eyes at me. “I know. Butyour menwon’t find the cellar. It’s not on any blueprints. It’s a new construction.”

Was Sara wrong?“Did the girls find the prisoners?”

He snorts. “They weren’t even close.”

“And the tunnels?”

“Filled with cement.”

Fuck.

The lights flicker on and off and then stay on, which tells me Mike’s got the guests all lined up. He’s probably wondering where the maggot mayor is, along with the rest of his crew. We’re in front of a service elevator similar to the one that took Niki and me to get the file. Charles punches a code in, then slides in a key and turns it. Once inside, he does the same thing.

“I’ll go first,” he says and I nod.

I understand his need to bestow an element of surprise. I don’t trust him, but all I need is for him to lead me to Niki. They may not attack him if they don’t know he’s playing for both sides. If that’s what he’s doing. It fucking irritates me that I don’t know how he ties in with Niki. I stare at his posture, athletic, and definite military-like movements. Could he be one of her previous lovers? I bristle at the thought and a red film clouds my vision. No, they were all one-night stands. Hookups that never went further because she couldn’t stand the thought of anyone lingering long enough to enter her personal space.

I shake my head. Since when did I allow such thoughts to cloud my mind, especially when actively on the hunt? Fuck.

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