Page 49 of Broken Empire
“Yes. Leah’s been helping me. She’s outside.”
My brows shot up. “Leah?”
“Yeah. I needed her computer magic to track you down.”
I sniffed again before drawing in a shaky breath. “You’re really not lying,” I murmured, staring right into Killian’s eyes.
“No. I’m not.” He trailed a finger down the side of my face. “I’m here for you, and I promise, Leah is right outside waiting for you as well.” He paused for a beat, slowly shaking his head. “I just have to figure out a way to get you out there safely.”
“Okay.” I took another deep breath and gave Killian a weak smile. “What’s with you and getting my friends to help you find me? First Cori. Now Leah. It’s becoming a pattern.”
Killian smiled faintly in return. “I guess you have really good friends,” he said. “But I couldn’t ask Cori this time. I wasn’t sure if I could trust her, seeing as Robert is her stepfather.”
“That makes sense,” I said softly. “Cori is fine, though. She doesn’t know anything.”
As I spoke, I took Killian’s hand and squeezed it, stomach feeling heavy with guilt. In hindsight, it seemed obvious that the awful things he said earlier were part of a scheme to earn the trust of the Schöneberg guys.
I should’ve known better. I should’ve kept my trust in him. I should’ve believed that he’d come through for me like he’d done so many times before.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked up at him. “How did you manage to get in here?” I asked, skin prickling with curiosity. If he had unfettered access to the place, he might be able to get me out without too much trouble, even if there was a security guard at the gate.
Then again, this was a Schöneberg operation. There was always going to be trouble as long as those guys were running things.
“Long story, but basically, I managed to trick them. It won’t last, though,” Killian replied. He glanced over at the door, jaw tightening. “Shit, I really need to figure something out.”
“You said there’s a guard here with a gun. Doyouhave a gun?”
“No. I couldn’t get one on such short notice,” he replied, rubbing his jaw. “Even if I did, it wouldn’t be enough. I’m sure there must be other guards on the property, out the back or in other parts of the house. I have no way of knowing how many.”
“I guess there’s also all the film crew guys as well. They’d try to stop us too.”
“Yeah, exactly.” He stepped over to the bathroom window to look out at the side of the property. “Do you know much about the layout of this place, or have you been sleeping the whole time?”
“I was asleep when they brought me here. They stuck a needle in me at the Kingsford, and the next thing I knew, I was here… and so were you.” I managed another weak smile and craned my neck to look out the window as well.
Killian rubbed my back in slow circles. “This place backs onto the Hudson. I saw it on the map on the way up here,” he said, still staring out the window. “That could help.”
“How?”
He rubbed his chin. “Not sure yet. Give me a minute.”
He exited the bathroom and carefully opened the door to the bedroom, holding an index finger over his lips to signal for me to stay quiet. Then he stepped halfway out into the hallway and looked both ways.
“I have an idea,” he finally said, stepping back inside. He closed the door with a soft click and strode over to me.
“What is it?”
He rolled up his shirt sleeve, exposing his tanned, muscular forearm. “I need you to bite me.”
My brows shot up. “Huh?”
“Bite me until you draw blood.”
“Why?”
“Too long to explain.” He held his arm out. “Just do it. We’re running out of time.”
“Um… okay.” I tentatively put my open mouth over his arm and sank my teeth into the skin.
