Page 39 of Saving the Last Heir
The guy adjusted his shirt, and that was when I saw the badge on his chest. The thing looked too cheap to be a police badge, which meant private security. Fucking wonderful.
The guard strolled between a souped-up Lexus sedan and a Suburban SUV that had been painted a gaudy shade of orange. He looked bored as he scanned the room and eyed the corners. At one point, he even pulled out a flashlight and shone it in the electronics workroom. From what I could see, he was making a circuit of the entire shop, slowly moving toward the very room I was in.
Closing the door, I took a second to think about my options. I’dhaveto get out of here somehow, but how? Maybe the guy would go sit and fall asleep. I could sneak past him then. But what about the owner? He could come back at any time.
“Shit,” I hissed, the word coming out so silent I might as well have mouthed it. I checked my watch once more.
2:36…2:35…2:34…
Until the guy actually came to this room, I needed to use whatever time I had left to look for the upholstery. I went back to my search and found a clipboard with a thick sheaf of papers hanging from a hook. A quick scan showed me it wasexactlywhat I’d hoped it would be—a categorized list labeling the shelf location of each item.
My excitement and relief vanished an instant later when the sound of a turning knob sent a bolt of panic through me. Squatting low and looking through the bottom level of shelving, I watched in horror as the storage room door swung open and a ray of low orange light entered my hiding place. Looking around like a rat trapped in a cage, I couldn’t see anything that would make a good hiding spot. Every shelf was fully stacked with bolts of fabric and leather. There was only one place to go.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I leapt as high as I could and grabbed the shelf beside me, climbing as silently as I could. Even so, the metal racks rattled a bit as I made my way up.
“Hello?” the guard said. “Is someone there?”
Climbing faster, I got to the top shelf and looked up. Fifteen feet to the ceiling. It should be enough room. Just enough. The guy clicked on his flashlight again and moved to the row I’d been in, sweeping his light back and forth. Pushing off the shelf, I jumped into the open air and shifted. The room was huge, but my dragon form was pretty damn big too, and there wasbarelyenough room to partially extend my wings and glide to the other side of the room and latch my talons to the seams in the wall.
Pulling my wings tight, I focused allmy mental and magical energy into my camouflage, praying his light would sweep right by me if he decided to raise it. The lighting in the storage room was low—four emergency lights and nothing else—and threw shadows into almost every corner. Plus, if the guy was looking for someone, he surely wouldn’t think to look up a bare wall a human would have no chance at holding on to.
My change of position, near silent as it was, hadn’t beenfullysilent.
“Thefuck?” the guard muttered.
Despite my best intentions, I opened an eye and peered down. He was moving up and down the storage rows, sweeping his flashlight around madly.
My massive dragon heart thundered madly. I was terrified he might hearthat, but I couldn’t control it. He might glance up any second in search of the sound. I’d seen the gun on his belt. I was a dragon shifter, yes, but bullets would still kill me if I took a shot to the head or heart. If my camouflage failed me… Hell, I didn’t want to think about that.
Please, please, please,I thought, begging for something to keep this from becoming a disaster.
Then, as though a direct answer from god, a box at the opposite side of the room fell over. The next sound was the slick swish of gunmetal sliding out of a leather holster.
“Move and you’re fucking dead,bitch,” the guard cried.
Nearly shaking in worry and fear, I glanced down, expecting to see him aiming up at me. I’d need to do something drastic if he was, possibly kill him, and that wasn’t something I wanted to do, but I would if pushed. I was not a murderer or killer of innocents, but I would do whatever I needed to for my sister. I could deal with the demons and nightmares once she was safe.
Thankfully, the gun barrel wasn’t pointed at me. The guard walked toward the first sound, gun held out in front of him. Losing sight of him, I craned my neck and focused my hearing on him, trying to pinpoint his location as he rounded a shelving rack.
The tiny and angry squeal of a rat echoed through the room, followed by the guard’s panicked curses.
“Fucking hell. Shit!” he shouted, each word punctuated by thethudof a stomping boot as he tried to smash the rat.
From what I could hear, the vermin managed to evade the raining death. After a few heaving breaths, the guard cursed under his breath, holstered his gun, and strode to the door.
“I don’t get paid enough for this bullshit,” he said as the door closed behind him.
I spread my wings and floated down to the ground. I shifted back into my human form as soon as my feet touched the floor. Kneeling, I tried to calm my racing heart, but when I glanced at the timer I’d set, a steel band seemed to wrap around my lungs. The screen flashed the same three numbers over and over:
0:00…0:00…0:00…
Out of time. God only knew how long ago the clock had run out. I needed to get out of here.Now. Rushing back to the clipboard, I scanned the lines until I found the location of the exact color and type of upholstery I needed. When I found the roll I needed, I pulled it free, surprised at how light the vegan suede was. I’d anticipated it being bulky and difficult to move. A fat eight-by-eight-inch sticker sat on the end, stuck to the plastic wrapping, saying the roll had ten yards of fabric, almost double what Shyanne said she needed. There was no time to cut it, though. I had to get out of this godforsaken building.
Tucking the thick roll under my arm, I smiled to myself and turned to the door. That was when I saw it. In hindsight, it should have been evident. A camera. Of course, that would besomething we’d need to worry about, but in our haste to get this done, neither Shyanne nor I had thought of it.
Alarm bells clanging a warning deep in my head, I stared at the camera above the door, aimed directly into the storage room.
“Fuck me,” I growled through gritted teeth.
