“I don’t know. I think so.” He glanced down at the knob, and he twisted it slowly.
 
 “It’s no use. They have a lock on the outside of the door.” I sighed.
 
 He hesitated. “I know, but… people get sloppy sometimes.”
 
 Leaning against the wall, I said, “Sure, but… the odds are slim.”
 
 He met my gaze, and his expression was inscrutable. “Dylan, when the guy left, I didn’t hear him lock the door.”
 
 “Wh… what?”
 
 He nodded slowly. “When he locked me in yesterday, there was a lot of noise when he slid the lock into position.” He licked his lips, looking nervous. “But this morning… I didn’t hear the lock slide closed.”
 
 “Maybe we were just distracted by the food, so we didn’t notice.”
 
 He turned back to the door, listening. “I’m going to try the door.”
 
 “Oh, God, Lex.” My pulse spiked alarmingly.
 
 “I know what I heard… or didn’t hear.” He sounded so convinced, it was hard not to believe him. He slowly turned the knob and pulled on the door. When it moved inward, he looked as shocked as me. “Shit. Shit. I… I don’t think it’s locked.”
 
 I was light-headed with fear. “If there out there, and you open the door…” My voice shook with fear. “They might kill us.”
 
 He hesitated. “You don’t want me to try?”
 
 I swallowed hard. “I’m just scared.”
 
 He nodded. “I know. Me too. But I don’t hear them. I think they’re gone.”
 
 “But if you’re wrong?” I whispered, holding his gaze.
 
 He clenched his jaw. “We have to try. We have to.”
 
 As terrified as I was, he was an alpha, and I could feel myself responding to the authority in his voice. “Okay. If you really think they’re gone.” I hugged myself, trying to calm down.
 
 He gave me a curt nod. “You ready?”
 
 No. I’m not even a little ready.
 
 “Yes,” I lied, bracing myself for whatever came next.
 
 He slowly tugged on the door and it opened. No lock jangled. Nothing held it in place. It simply opened freely. Lex’s mouth fell open in surprise, and I grabbed his arm when the hinges squeaked softly.
 
 “Be careful.” My eyes were wide.
 
 He held up a shushing hand, and we listened. There were no sounds from the front room. Of course, that didn’t mean no one was there. It just meant they weren’t making any noise.
 
 He opened the door wider, and he grabbed my wrist. “Come on.”
 
 Now that the door was open, nothing could have kept me there. When he moved forward, I followed, pressing close to him. As we rounded the small hallway that led into the main room of the suite, I saw a master bedroom off to the right. There was no movement though. No one popped their head out to demand we stop. No one thrust a gun in our face. No one did anything at all because the suite was deserted, except for us.
 
 “Thank God,” Lex hissed, and he bolted toward the front door. “Hurry.”
 
 He still had a death grip on my arm, and he practically dragged me across the wide suite. My heart pounded so hard, I could barely catch my breath. We weren’t home free yet. They could still walk in any second and grab us. But I didn’t want to think about that. Instead, I pushed away all thoughts of failure and clung to Lex as if he were my lifeline.
 
 Because he was.
 
 Chapter Ten