Page 2 of Hideaway

Fuck, he’s coming this way.

Hurriedly, Kara fussed with her unruly blonde waves and needlessly smoothed down the front of her dress. Thank whatever powers that swirled above, she was wearing her favorite floral print wrap dress that accentuated the slight curve of her hips and revealed the perfect hint of tit. She looked more than acceptable, and from the appreciative glint in the approaching man’s eyes, he noticed.

“Good evening,” Kara greeted when the enticing stranger approached her desk with his companion. “May I help you with something?”

“Why yes, you may,” Jace responded with a smile that bordered on dazzling. It was a practiced gesture, but it was always effective on women. “I’m Dr. Jamison, and this is my research assistant, David.” Jace gestured to the younger man beside him that Kara had clearly forgotten existed.“I spoke with Anne Spade yesterday about viewing a few texts from your rare collections for an essay I’m writing. She said they would be available today.”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Spade isn’t available tonight,” Kara replied, not sounding the least bit apologetic as she was suddenly, guiltily grateful that her colleague had called in sick and left her to attend the library alone that night. “But the rare archives is actually my department. Let me check and see if she filed a special request for you.”

The notice of Ms. Spade’s absence wasn’t news to Jace.It was his own less than friendly suggestion that coming into work that day might not be beneficial for dear Anne’s health that had encouraged the dowdy librarian to spend a quiet evening at home. It was amazing the power that could be wielded over that sort of skittish creature with so little effort. The weak and insignificant always crumbled under Jace’s steely gaze like rubble beneath a boot. He took a moment to size up Dr. Caine as she rustled through some papers at the front desk. Jace doubted the small, bookish girl would require much effort to manipulate into his schemes. In fact, the whole night would probably be disappointingly easy. Compared to his usual jobs, taking a book from a librarian would be child’s play.

“I apologize, I can’t seem to find any record of your visit today,”Kara announced in confusion after having checked the logs twice. It wasn’t like Anne to forget a special access request; she was always exceedingly detail oriented.

“Oh that is disappointing,”he answered, appearing unfazed.“I don’t suppose you would be able to arrange a viewing tonight? We did travel quite a long distance for this opportunity.”

Kara took a moment to consider his request. She was typically rigidly adherent to their appointment policy, but she didn’t want to be an impediment to someone’s quest for knowledge.“Of course, I can make an exception. May I see some identification for both of you and have your academic permissions form?”

A brief expression of exasperation passed across Jace’s face.“Unfortunately, my assistant failed to pack the academic permissions form. It is sitting on a desk back at the university. He still has some things to learn,”he said, shooting a dark look at the quiet boy beside him with ebony hair and nearly black eyes that were soft and kind.“Could you kindly forgive his oversight? We were really looking forward to collecting this data for our research. You have such a renowned collection of early editions in your library, Dr. Caine. I would hate to miss the chance to examine them,”Jace pleaded in an overt attempt to appear charming and persuasive.

Kara froze in unease, trying to recall if she’d at any point given Dr. Jamison her name. She had not.“I’m sorry, to which university did you say you belong?”Kara inquired, suddenly growing inexplicably uneasy. She desperately hoped that the sinister twisting of Dr. Jamison’s features was merely her imagination.

“Ohio State,”Jace answered through gritted teeth, keenly aware of her change in demeanor. Maybe his task wouldn’t be as easy as he thought. Which was fine with him. He enjoyed a little physical coercion, especially with pretty little doe-eyed things like Dr. Caine.

“Well, we are actually about to close for the night. I could always contact Ohio State University tomorrow and get a copy of the academic permissions form? I’m sure they’ll have one on file,”Kara offered in compromise, hoping to escape a scene she had an inkling could turn ugly at any moment.

“Sorry, but tomorrow isn’t going to work for us,” Jaceanswered coldly, making no move to back down.

Sensing that the situation was slipping beyond the point where she controlled the outcome, Kara made herself appear as tall as possible with all of her five feet and three inches; thankfully, her high heels added nearly another four. She put on her best mask of cold librarian authority—the one that scared the shit out of rowdy students who used her library to socialize rather than study.“The library is closing. Please escort yourselves out. Now.”

“I was hoping to avoid any unpleasantness, Dr. Caine.”

“Who’s being unpleasant? I did say please. Get your ass out the doornow, and I’ll even add a thank you.”

Judging from the dark look she received in return, maybe sarcasm hadn’t been the best approach. In response to her indelicately stated request, Jace planted both of his hands on her desk imperiously. Towering above her with broad shoulders and arms hidden not so discreetly beneath the tight confines of his suit, the man was a formidable entity. Kara shrank back slightly in spite of herself. She certainly wouldn’t be making an escape on account of physical merits. She could only hope Dr. Jamison didn’t have the brains to match the brawn.

With a quick scan of the library, Kara made the unfortunate discovery that she and the two men were the only occupants. Mike wouldn’t be making his rounds for at least another hour, so she was on her own unless she could discreetly get to her phone to call for assistance. As nonchalantly as possible, Kara reached into her pocket in search of her phone. At the same time, Jace drew back the edge of his suit jacket to reveal a handgun tucked into his waistband.

“I think it might be better if you kept your hands where I can see them, Dr. Caine. We wouldn’t want any accidents to happen,”he threatened harshly.

Kara froze, startling at the sight of a weapon in the library and wondering what the hell she’d gotten herself into. As it was a simple enough request to preserve the peace, Kara abandoned her search for her phone and placed her hands dutifully on the desk.

“Good girl,” Jace said in patronizing tone that made Kara feel about three inches tall. “Now, I believe you were about to show us the archives?”

Kara looked at the two of them, trying to surmise what they would demand when they reached the level below. And if she would be willing to provide it. She needed time to think and formulate some sort of plan, and she couldn’t do it with her back against the wall and two men staring her down intently. The lower level was her domain, and, if she took her time navigating, she could perhaps think of an escape plan by the time her adversaries realized she wasn’t exactly cooperating.

“Fine. This way, please,”Kara acquiesced curtly.

“Nice to see you’re actually capable of compliance, with a little friendly persuasion,”Jace goaded as he tapped the side she knew concealed his gun.“Just follow my instructions, and we’ll be gone without a fuss, and you’ll be safely on your way home.”

Somehow his words didn’t offer her much reassurance. Kara walked slowly, checking windows for signs of people passing by, looking for any suitable places to hide, gauging the amount of time it would take for her to reach the front door if she ran. She would have to ditch her shoes first. Running, or hiding, or much of anything really was intrinsically harder when performed in miniature stilts. But there would be plenty of time to consider the hazards induced by her fashion choices later. Provided there was a later. Having stalled as long as she inconspicuously could, Kara finally arrived at the door in the back of the library with a semi-feasible plan. All she needed was a bit of luck.

“The archives are kept on a lower level to prevent light exposure. We’ll have to go down the stairs to reach them.”

“Lead the way, Dr. Caine,”Jace encouraged amicably.

“I’ll have to retrieve the keys from my pocket,”Kara warned as she reached for the side that held her keys as well as her phone.

Before she could reach either, Kara felt the hardened, boulder-esque presence of someone pressed far too firmly against her back. One hand slipped around her waist and grasped her wrist restrictively, while the other slid suggestively down the curve of her hip before dipping into her pocket. His touch lingered a moment too long before he removed the contents hidden away in her dress.

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