Page 58 of Turn the Tide
Hurry. Almost there.In a few minutes, this would all be over.
You’ve got this.She’d better, since no cavalry was coming to the rescue. The only way to save herself was to flee the building in time. She risked going faster.
Her feet tripped on the last two steps, and she stumbled. Quick reflexes prevented her from falling as she caught the railing. She’d lost her balance, but not her nerve.
She checked her Timex. Four minutes, then IT would sound the alarm. Throwing on her coat, she wrenched the door open and fished her badge from her purse.
Personnel had to swipe a card reader to enter and exit the building.
In the lobby, she passed an imposing guard with a gun holstered on his hip and forced herself to appear natural.
Her special rubber heels squelched against the marble floor, grating on her ears, every nerve in her body quivering. The security-guard checkpoint loomed two hundred feet away.
A flirty, low-level lobby guard eyed Ashley hard as if he wanted to undress her right there. She ignored him, focused only on survival. Beyond the metal detectors were the card readers, another armed guard, and a few steps more to fresh air and freedom.
Anticipation ran electric through her.
Gaining confidence in her stride, she picked up her pace. She tasted victory, and it was sweeter than the glorious cake upstairs. One of the tinted front doors swung open.
Herr Mueller, Anna Kruger’s boss, strolled inside. He passed security as she reached it.
“Glad I caught you. Did you finish the memo?” he asked in a clipped tone.
“Yes, sir. It’s on your desk.” She gave herself a mental pat on the back.
“Unfortunately, I need you to make changes so it can be sent out immediately.”
Victory turned to ash on her tongue, but determination burned bright as hellfire. “I was going for a smoke—”
He dismissed her with a wave of his hand. “That disgusting habit can wait.”
She glimpsed her watch. Two minutes. A palpableticktockpulsed through her blood.
Get out of there.The crazy idea of making a break for it whipped through her head. The instinct to run was overwhelming, but she’d never make it to the door.
Control. She needed to gain control of the situation and stay calm. “Of course, sir.”
She did a one-eighty and strolled alongside Mueller.
Get out.
Get. Out.Before all hell broke loose and she was dragged to the bowels of the building.
Her mind cleared—incredible how it did that when your life was on the line—her thoughts spinning ahead to a last-ditch solution. Glancing over her shoulder at the guard who’d been watching her, Ashley flashed a coy smile and held eye contact for two seconds, no longer. As she looked straight ahead, she let her ID card slip from her fingers to the floor.
Mueller yapped about the changes to the memo. His words were static in her ears as her vision hazed. He pushed the button for the elevator. The doors of the right car chimed open.
She hesitated. Inside, she was shaking.
If she got in the elevator, the only way she’d leave the building was in handcuffs or a body bag. She’d never see Logan again, never get to slap him, kiss him, tell him what she regretted not saying the last time they’d argued and he’d thrown her out, slamming the door in her face.
Muller stepped inside and stared at her with a puzzled expression. “I don’t have all day.”
Her heartbeat shot from wild to cardiac arrhythmia. She couldn’t breathe. The roar in her ears grew louder.
“Frau Kruger!”
She spun. The flirty guard strode toward her, holding up her badge. “I’ll be right up, sir,” she said to Mueller. “Don’t wait. There’s an urgent phone message on your desk.”
