Page 74 of Dangerous Silence
“Let’s see.”
He punched the button for the top floor. I held my breath, watching the numbers increase on the digital pad. My gut twisted even more.
“How do you know what floor he’s on?” I asked quietly.
“I’ve been here plenty of times,” Shines sighed. “But we can’t arrest him. Can’t figure it out.”
This wasn’t right.
I needed to run.
The elevator stopped, the soft ding sounded overhead. The doors opened. At the end of the lobby were two black double doors. Officer Shines opened one and ushered me inside. I tucked my hands behind my back, wishing I had a knife or a gun with me right now. Anything. Absolutely anything at all. I’d even take a cleaver if it meant defending myself against Muro.
Even if logic seemed backward, I had to trust myself.
“Come on,” Shines said, pointing inside.
I shook my head and walked back to the elevator. “I’m going to go,” I said.
“Not without me.”
“I’ll take a cab.”
I pushed the button, but the elevator was already a few floors down, picking up someone else. Shines stomped toward me and I panicked, hitting the button again and again. Where were the stairs?
Shines grabbed my shoulders and I kneed him in the groin as hard as I could, using my height to my advantage. He crumpled to his knees. The door to the stairs came into my vision and I ran toward it. A sharp object busted me in the back of the head. I fell down.
Another man, dressed in white, picked me up by the hair, my scalp tight with tension as if it would tear off if I wasn’t careful. Shines stood up, nursing his crotch.
“Don’t make this harder on yourself than it already is,” the man holding me said.
Inside the office, the man dropped me to the floor.
A swivel chair turned around slowly. A jagged black bolt tattooed on the side of his face, his skin burned and marred, the like peel of a damaged beet. His hair was tucked into a bun, his clothes impeccable. If it weren’t for the wounds on his face, he would have seemed well put together.
He smiled. I swallowed hard.
“Muro,” Shines said, limping in behind us. A chill ran through me. “I brought something for you.” I looked up at Shines, but he was still focused on Muro. “She says she’s got enough on you to put you away.”
“And what might that be, Demi?” Muro asked.
My gut dropped. “How do you know my name?” I asked.
“Funny. I never would have thought the daughter of a notorious enforcer would grow up to be so oblivious,” Muro laughed, an eerie grin on his face. “You thought you could waltz in here and destroy me? That the police would be on your side?” He leaned forward on the desk, peering down at me, then flicked a hand toward Shines. “Cuff her. Send in James on your way out. Tell him to disable the elevator.”
“You got it, Boss,” Shines said. I shot a glare at him, scooting back as he came toward me.
“You can’t do this,” I said.
“I can,” Shines said. Then he kicked me in the ribs, the pain ricocheting through me as if he could split the bones apart. Then he kicked my face. My stomach. The pain searing me alive. I lifted a fist, but Shines stepped on my hand, crushing my fingers. I ran my tongue over my teeth with each blow, trying to feel the scars. I had survived so much with Axe. I could survive this too.
But every time I tried, he kicked me, and I couldn’t find the scars.
Then a man picked me up. Exotic cologne filled my nostrils, and an arm went around my neck, sucking the wind from my chest.
“It’s over, Demi,” Muro whispered in my ear. “The Adlers won’t be able to save you this time.”
Then an object struck me in the back of the head again, and everything went black.
