Page 92 of H E R

Charles moves to restrain the men on the ground. He ties up their wrists and ankles and then positions them against the wall. He drags the man with a broken leg and does the same. I want to tell him that’s pointless since the man’s bone is jutting out, but I look at Niki instead.

I point to the injured men questionably, lingering over the one with a broken shin bone and she shrugs. “It was either that or shoot him with his own gun.”

I move closer and she retreats. Just one step, but it feels like she’s miles away. The desire to run my hands over her entire frame, to examine that she’s physically alright, twists my insides, but her sudden withdrawal cuts me deeper. It’s evident that she’s angry and I need that shit to stop.

“Come out with it.”

“You used me.”

A heavy sigh escapes me.Fuck. “Never.”

Her nostrils flare, and she allows one bare foot to take a tentative step toward me. “Then why didn’t you tell me? Why keep it from me?”

From the corner of my eye, I notice Charles manhandling Carlton, ignoring his questions and instead demanding he take us toward the innocents who are held somewhere in the maze-like cellar. “I couldn’t walk in here empty-handed. Men like him always play ugly, and I needed to make sure we came ready for anything. Would you honestly have allowed me to tag along if I’d told you?”

She’s thinking, and I watch as scenarios play before her lids, images of disaster after disaster, and her tense jaw gives a tiny flex. I reach out and gently stroke the back of my hand over her jawline and her wall crumbles. “I couldn’t risk it, fox. You can’t expect me to dangle your safety in a den full of fucking vipers.”

The edge of her lips curve up and I relax. Her grin is addicting and the anger she was holding melts away. For now.

Charles’s agitated voice brings us back. He whips Carlton’s wrists, jostling him, and pulls him backward in a forceful thrust. “The prisoners.”

“What, like I’ll lead you straight to them?” Carlton scoffs.

Charles shakes him roughly and whips his gun out. He cocks it and touches the tip to Carlton’s temple. “You will, unless you want your brains scattered all over these walls.”

Carlton can’t turn fully, but his eyes search for me desperately. “You gonna approve this sort of infraction? You’re an officer of the law, for fuck’s sake!”

Charles and I laugh. His is a cynical one, as if he lacks trust in me or any law enforcement agency. My laugh is one of true humor. I approach Carlton, my smile gone. I tap his chest with the gun I stole from one of his men. “If it were me, I would’ve shot you on sight.”

Niki keeps the gun she’s holding aimed at Carlton’s head. “Do we need him to get to those who are captured?”

Charles sighs loudly and taps his gun lightly against Carlton’s temple. “Unfortunately, we do. I don’t have the codes for the next two doors.”

I roll my shoulders and try to move my neck from side to side until I hear the bones crack. “Can we blow it up?”

Charles clicks his tongue against his cheek. “Not unless you want the cellar to collapse.”

“Dylan, take my earpiece. Jason wants our location.”

I walk to her and circle behind. Her skirt is intact, she’s still shoeless, and her top is missing so many pearls I want to strangle someone. I growl under my breath and move her hair back behind her shoulders and take the earbud.

“Did the girls make it out?”

Jason breathes into my ear. “They did. Looks like when you entered Justice’s space, I was able to reestablish connectivity. I suppose you’re still wearing the collar?”

I ignore the slight humor in his tone. It’s on my person still, but I don’t want to explain myself. “You’ll need to guide the team to an elevator with black doors directly behind the east wing lavatories on the third floor. There’s a double code access.”

Charles clears his throat. “Eight, seven, two, nine, Bravo, Echo, Quebec, four, eight, Uniform. The code will lead them to this specific tunnel entry. Any others are programmed to open on a different level. Which is why breaking into the server is nearly impossible.”

“Oh, so we’re dealing with smart criminals. Wonderful,” Jason says. “I can’t track you. I only have access to the earbud as long as that pretty choker of yours stays close. The cameras and locator are all offline.”

His mood has shifted, must be due to his woman being at a safe location away from all of this shit. I huff a sigh of frustration. I want to be out of this fucking tunnel that suffocates the air all around us. I want to be with Niki, lying in bed naked, with her big brown eyes breathing life into me.

I breathe out an exhausted sigh etched with a grim purpose. “Guide the team down and I’ll direct you the rest of the way. We’re going to move.”

I nod to Charles, who shoves Carlton forward. “Let’s go, we don’t have all fucking night.”

33

---