Page 89 of Erik's Redemption
Keeping his gun drawn, he pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed her number. The vibration of a phone sounded from the stairs.
He left the office and moved toward the stairs. He was halfway up when he saw her cell. He hung up, but the phone kept flashing with a notification.
Her Dexcom…she was low.Reallylow.
Fuck.
At the top of the stairs, there were long halls to the left and right. He tried to listen for movement, but again there was nothing. The quiet crawled over his skin, cutting into his flesh. Had he silenced her? Hurt her? Killed her?
No. He had to believe she’d gotten away. That she was hiding.
Something inside Erik told him to go right. As he moved, he kept his Glock at the ready, quickly clearing every room in the hall. When he reached the last door, he tried the handle. Unlocked, like all the others. He opened it to find stairs. An attic?
He moved up the steps quietly and had just opened the door at the top when a hammer flew toward his head.
He ducked and grabbed the wrist before the hammer could finish its swing.
His gaze hit Hannah’s just as a single word left her lips. “Erik…”
He slid the hammer from her fingers and pulled her against his chest. She trembled hard, and he wasn’t sure if that was from fear or low blood sugar…maybe both. “Are you okay?”
“Yes…I’m really low though. I can’t stop shaking.”
Shit.
“Owen’s Clarence’s nephew!”
He tightened his hold on her. “I know. Chandler called.”
He didn’t want to release her, but he had to get them out of here, and he had to find that asshole Owen or Oden, whatever the fuck his name was. He stepped back, cupping her cheek. “I’d leave you here while I find the asshole, but I saw on your phone how low you are. We need to get you to the car, where there’s food. And I don’t want him to slip past me and find you.”
She nodded quickly.
“Stay behind me, okay? I’m gonna cover you as much as I can.”
“Okay.” She eyed the stairs. “Did you see Henry on your way up here?”
“Yeah, Angel, I did. He’s unconscious but alive.”
The air stuttered out of her. “Alive! Thank God!”
He pushed some hair behind her ear. “You’re okay to walk?”
Even though she nodded, the expression on her face was less confident. And fuck, she was pale.
With gritted teeth, he took her hand and turned toward the stairs. She stumbled twice on the way down, and each time, his heart stopped. When they reached the bottom, he kept her behind him as he stepped into the hall, gun raised.
Every step was as silent as the last. They passed the same half a dozen rooms in the hall, and each of them still appeared empty. Where the hell had this fucker gone? Had he left? Erik hadn’t heard a car engine, and the house was big enough that there were plenty of places to hide.
They made it to the end of the hall. This was the part Erik had been dreading. The staircase wasn’t against a wall, which meant gunfire could come from any direction, and there was no way for him to have eyes everywhere.
Hannah stumbled behind him, and he grabbed her arm and righted her before she could fall. “Stay with me, Angel.”
She nodded, but her eyes were unfocused and, if possible, she’d lost even more color from her face.
He bit back a curse as they moved down the stairs, his Glock continually shifting above and below, searching for the enemy.
They’d just reached the bottom when a flash of movement came from the study. At first, he thought it was Henry. Then light glinted off metal—and he threw himself over Hannah’s body, shoving her to the floor.
