Page 60 of Bold Encounter
Genevieve had just taken a step into the concrete stairwell when she heard Jason's voice behind her, closer than she'd expected.
"You can't run from me!You won't get away!"
She feared that he was right.Even if she made it to the ground floor, she'd still have no way to call for help before he grabbed her again.
But another noise sounded and filled her with desperate hope.
Multiple sets of footsteps pounded rapidly up the stairs.She paused to listen, praying for help.Then she heard a welcome voice."Genevieve…where are you?"
"Abe!I'm here!"she shouted down the stairwell."Third floor!"
The footsteps below her accelerated, and she heard Abe talking to someone.Relief flooded through her so intensely that her knees nearly buckled.
Behind her, Jason burst through the stairwell door.His face was streaked with blood and chemical foam, which dripped down to his fancy shoes.His expensive suit was disheveled and torn, his eyes red and streaming tears from the fire suppressant, but they locked on to her with unmistakable intent.
"You're not going anywhere," he said, and lunged for her, grabbing her arm and yanking her toward him.With one arm around her body, he placed a sharp blade against her throat.
Genevieve dared not breathe.She closed her eyes, grateful that Abe's voice was much closer now.She opened her eyes and, in her peripheral vision, saw that Abe was just one flight below.
"NOPD!Stop right there!"
When Abe appeared a few stairs below with his weapon drawn, Jason froze.Another officer was a step behind Abe.
But Genevieve was out of reach.She remained still, terrified of the cold blade touching her neck.
"Let her go, Thornton," Abe said, his voice deadly calm as he took in Jason's appearance and Genevieve's obvious distress."Drop that box cutter.You'll regret injuring her.It's over."
Sounding disgusted, Jason said, "Over?"His tone was manic, like in the studio."It's not over.It will never be over.She belongs to me."
*****
Abe assessed the situation with the cold precision of fifteen years in law enforcement.Jason held Genevieve just three stairs up, from where Abe stood.
Jason held the wooden handle of a box cutter, probably a non-retractable model used to open equipment boxes.It made a handy weapon.He held the sharp blade against the delicate skin of Genevieve's neck.One wrong move, one moment of panic or rage, and the blade could open her carotid artery.
The stairwell worked against them.The confined space meant there was no clear shot at Jason, especially with Geneiveve as a shield.
Plus, sudden noise in the metal stairwell might startle Jason into action.Abe looked up.The three stairs separating him from Genevieve felt like a mile.He sensed Denson's tension as he waited one step behind.
"I know youthinkyou love her," Abe said, keeping his tone conversational while his weapon remained trained on Jason's forehead, just inches above the top of Genevieve's head."But this isn't love, Jason.This is fear."
Jason's laugh was sharp and bitter, echoing off the concrete walls."Fear?I'm offering her a guaranteed career.I can provide security.What are you offering…a cop's salary?And she doesn't deserve a life of worry each time you walk out the door."
Abe could see the tremor in Jason's hands, the way his eyes darted between the officers.The man was in the grip of desperation, which made him more dangerous.
"I'm offering her a choice," Abe said, taking one cautious step up the stairs."That's something you haven't done."
"Choice?"Jason spat."She made her choice when she left my band.When she rejected me, and my generous offer."He jerked his elbow as if preparing for action."I'll cut her.You know I will."
The threat hung in the air, but Abe assessed Jason's demeanor.The man was rattled, his confidence cracking under the pressure of being cornered.
Abe took another step up."You won't hurt her, Jason.Because then you'd have nothing left to bargain with."
"Stay back!"Jason pressed the blade tighter to Genevieve's throat, and Abe saw her wince.A thin line of blood appeared on her skin.
Then Jason's foot slipped on the metal stair.
His polished dress shoe, slick with chemical foam from the fire extinguisher, lost purchase on the grooved metal surface.Jason's balance shifted backward, and he flailed a hand at the railing, trying to compensate.
