Page 48 of The Heiress

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Iwoke to the sound of an ear-splitting alarm. Jace was naked with one arm over me, his face buried in the outside of my bicep. And then he was up on his feet, gun in his hands.

“What’s going on?” I jumped out of bed too, going for my clothes.

Jace yanked on his pants and didn’t bother with a shirt. “Stay low.”

“What’s going on?” I tried again.

He put a finger to his lips. “It’s the proximity alarm. Someone entered the property. Come on.” He took my hand and led me to the bedroom door. He opened it while staying low and looked out into the hallway, then motioned for me to follow him. We crept along the shadows to where the hallway from the main floor met the turret where Jace’s room was located. He pushed open a door and waved me in first.

Gunshots pierced the air and we both dropped to the ground. I covered my ears. It was close enough that it was loud and a little scary.

“Behind you. There’s a keypad. Type in 1-9-1-1-3-1-8.” He stayed close to the door, listening. His body was coiled tight and ready to spring into action, his attention laser focused.

My hands shook as I punched in the series of numbers he rattled off, double checking as I called them out. He only needed to correct me once. And then a door hissed open and Jace shoved me inside. “Panic room. Don’t leave.”

I grabbed his arm just before he moved out of reach. “Wait. Get in here!”

He glanced down at my hand and then up into my eyes. “This is what I do. Let me protect you.”

My grip only tightened.This is what I do.He got into gunfights on the regular? Oh god...he got into gunfights on the regular.I felt the blood drain out of my head and my vision got fuzzy.

“Close the door, Sam.” He pried my fingers away from his skin and nodded at the panic room. “I’ll be back for you.”

When I still didn’t move he closed the door on me. After a second, a lock clanked and the door hissed again like it was hermetically sealing me inside. I was alone and Jace was outside where the danger was. He didn’t even have a shirt on. No bullet proof vest to keep him safe. But he did seem competent with the gun.

The room was very small. It had a chair, bottled water, nonperishable food, a portable toilet, and not much else. The lighting came from above. There were no sounds. I moved a tall box and found a panel with a screen. It took me a minute to figure out how to turn it on but it required a code to access it. I tried the one that opened the door, but it didn’t work. Or I didn’t remember it correctly. It was a lot of numbers.

I was in there, freaking the fuck out, for nearly an hour when the panel suddenly buzzed to life. “Samantha?” It was Dombrowski.

“I’m here?” I didn’t know if I could just reply or if I needed to find a button.

“Good. We’re clearing the property now. I’m coming up to get you myself.”

“Where’s Jace?” I sounded frantic. Iwasfrantic.

“I’ll explain when I get there.”

All the worst-case scenarios I could imagine slammed into my brain at once, all competing for space. Jace was dead. Jace was hurt and at the hospital. Jace killed someone and had been arrested.

By the time the door hissed open I was shaking. Dombrowski stood over me looking exhausted. Mostly because he was in a shirt and shorts like a normal man instead of his nicely tailored suit. His hair was also wildly askew. He’d probably been asleep like the rest of us.

“Come on now.”

“Where. Is. Jace?” I refused to move until I knew how bad it was.

Dombrowski sighed, his shoulders dropping. “He’s not hurt, if that’s what’s got you upset. He’s answering questions with the police just like we all are. Come.”

I finally unfolded, releasing the death grip on my knees and let Dombrowski lead me through the house, downstairs, and into the security offices. Several police officers crowded the room. Some at the bank of security cameras, others at tables, or standing off to the side. I counted five before I lost track because I found Jace.

Still shirtless, he looked confident instead of embarrassed. His very fit body on full display, along with his tattoo. I wondered if that got him any trouble. He stood, arms crossed, talking to two police officers. Dombrowski waved me to a table but I went straight to Jace. He saw me at the last second and opened his arms just in time to catch me.

“Oh thank god, you’re okay.”

“Shhhh.” He held me, ran a hand down my hair. “Everything is fine.”

“I thought you were dead.” I started shaking uncontrollably.

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