Page 5 of Hideaway

“Pardon?” hequestioned with a smirk of amusement. The girl was tied to a chair and still preferred pride over the more logical choice of pliancy. It seemed preservation was not on her list of priorities.

“Unless, by some negligence, you’ve entered into this situation less informed than you appear, my appropriate title should be common knowledge.”She hadn’t gone through years of hard study and work to be demoted tomissin her last tragic hours. Being addressed by the patronizing title merely added insult to injury.“I would afford you the same professional courtesy were you to have the decency of introductions.”

Kara’s sharp stubbornness momentarily threw Cade off guard, but he recovered quickly.“My apologies, Dr. Caine, you are absolutely right. Caden Ashford, no title necessary, though technically Lord Ashford would be appropriate if you’re a stickler for formalities. I would offer my hand, but you seem to be tied up at the moment.”The last part might have been a bit much, but Cade couldn’t resist.

Kara scoffed; there was no way in hell she would ever be referring to that man asLordAshford.On a positive note, if he was telling the truth, the authorities would likely have a much easier time locating some posh member of British society than an average criminal. The thought of the tables turning and getting to see that smug bastard restrained instead of herself filled Kara with the fuel to outlast whatever madness the night might entail.

“Yes, speaking of being tied up, do you think we could do away with the whole bondage bit? Can’t say it’s really my thing. Sorry to disappoint, Jace,”Kara said in a flippant tone that contrasted her rather spiteful look at the man responsible for the restraints digging into her wrists.

Cade tried to repress a smile at the cheeky retort. Perhaps if she knew who she was dealing with, she wouldn’t be making those comments so lightly. He understood that she was looking for leverage, some level of trust from him, so she could feel less helpless in the situation. Since he knew who truly held the power, Cade was willing to play along.

“Well, I am sorry Jace’s efforts failed to satisfy. Perhaps you require someone with more experience,”Cade offered, his response eliciting an eye roll from Jace.

“His technique was more than efficient, thanks. The setting, though, is a bit lacking in ambiance. Maybe we can continue our negotiations somewhere more comfortable?”Kara suggested, eager to get out of the windowless box she shared with three hostile strangers.

“Oh, so this is a negotiation now?”Cade asked, intrigued.

“What word would you use?”Kara questioned almost sweetly.

“No, I think negotiation sounds promising. That would imply you are willing to help us get what we need in exchange for something in return. Name your price.”Cade assumed she was stalling. Declan had mentioned that the illustrious Dr. Caine refused to cooperate for idealistic reasons; she was willing to put her life at stake to ensure that the collection remained pristine. Fucking academic romantics. As if anything composed of stale paper and ink could be worth dying for.

“I’m afraid I haven’t the time to conjure demands while we wait down here. Mike will be doing midnight security checks soon, and I assume you won’t want to get anyone else involved in your criminal activities.”It was a small bluff; since there was such limited access to the lower level, and Kara always personally secured the area, Mike only did sweeps of the two upper levels. If they stayed below, Kara and the men holding her hostage would pass undetected. She had to hope they wouldn’t take that chance.

Cade looked shaken at this new information.“What is the time, Jace?”

“It’s a quarter till,”Jace answered, looking equally stressed.

“Can you confirm that there is security entering the area in mere minutes?”Cade asked, clearly peeved that both members of his team had failed to plan for such an occurrence.

“There is a guard that comes to check the grounds at midnight,”Jace said, seeming apologetic about the oversight.“We didn’t think it would take this long to retrieve the book.”

Cade released a huff of irritation as he tried to formulate his next move. Thanks to Jace and Declan’s neglect of time management and failure to mention extra security, there would be no opportunity to reason with the librarian as delicately as he had intended. They needed to get in and out of the archival vault as quickly as possible. The banter with the girl had been amusing, but it was time to stop playing and start pressing the librarian for answers.

“Key code. Now,”Cade commanded, all trace of good humor gone.

“What happened to negotiation?”Kara asked in a panicked tone. She was quickly losing any leverage she thought she’d gained.

“You give us the code. We set you free and leave you to live your life. There is your negotiation,”Cade replied, his expression hard and unyielding.

“No,”Kara said as forcefully as she could, meeting him with a relentless defiance of her own.

“You really have no sense of self-preservation, do you?”Cade responded angrily. He had behaved more than civilly, but the girl was testing his patience.“If you don’t cooperate with us, there will be consequences neither one of us will enjoy, you decidedly less so.”Kara flinched at the threat housed in Cade’s words, but she made no move to acquiesce.

Cade ran his fingers through his hair again. He didn’t appreciate being forced to resort to violence, especially with a girl who looked so fragile and helpless. Though, if she could still stand her ground when met with the most imperious glare Cade could summon, perhaps she was stronger than she looked. Cade took a moment to survey Dr. Caine fully from her disheveled, pale as cream curls to her bare feet that rested on point to shy away from the cold floor. He tried not to linger on her open, overexposed thighs or the heavy heaving of her chest as her heart thumped heavily with coursing adrenaline. Cade was a master of reading people and using their drives to his advantage, so all he needed to discover was what made Dr. Caine tick. From the little he had ascertained of her character in their brief acquaintance, Cade could make an educated guess.

“Jace, grab a book from one of the shelves. Something that looks old,”Cade ordered with a pointed look at Kara.

Kara couldn’t decipher the meaning of the look or the purpose of Jace’s task. Perhaps they meant to cut their losses by taking the most valuable books housed within reach? While the rare archives were used to store priceless texts, the library kept out a few shelves of academically significant editions on the lower level. Kara felt a shiver of revulsion as Jace ran his fingers along the spines of the books on the first row, searching for his victim of choice. He picked a rather worn, gold-bound book and handed it to his boss. Cade announced the title aloud.

“Candide. Fourth edition. Very nice. I suppose it’s valuable?”

“Academically? Very. Monetarily, it is of moderate value,”Kara answered vaguely. She would hate to lose the Voltaire text, but it would be a lesser devastation compared to losing the Chaucer.

“Perfect,”Cade said with a malicious grin as he opened the book, ripped it in half, and tossed it on the floor. Kara’s eyes widened in horror as she stared at the literary remains lying on the ground.“Care to give up the code now?”Cade pressed.

“No,”Kara whispered quietly, aghast at the lengths he was willing to go to get what he wanted. Though he’d committed no act of violence against her personally, Kara felt as though she had been hit in the chest.

“As you wish. Jace, get another one,”Cade ordered coldly.“Declan, go upstairs and see if you can stall our security guard.”

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