Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
Novalee
Adrenaline is coursing through me as I walk down the stairs, but I force myself to stay calm and keep moving down the hallway until I reach a door with Security written across it.
I glance around to make sure no one’s watching and step closer, but just as I approach, the door opens, and a bald man in a black suit steps out, his eyes glued to his phone.
I don’t even think. I act.
I shove him back inside the room, quickly stepping in behind him and closing the door with a quiet click. He stumbles, looking up in surprise, his eyes widening.
Oh, fuck. It’s him.
The security guy I stole the sunglasses from and switched them with the Elvis ones, all thanks to Captain Bossy’s orders.
My hand is pressed against his chest, and he looks at me, bewildered. I take a quick scan of the room. It’s spacious, filled with security camera feeds showing every corner of the hotel and desks scattered with papers and chairs, but no one else is here. Good. And bad.
Fuck. What do I do now?
“What are you doing here?” he demands. “This area is only for security personnel.” His gaze shifts, and I see the flicker of recognition light up his eyes. “Yo—”
“I was looking for you,” I cut him off while panic flares in my chest, but I push it down and force a smile, trying to catch that recognition and turn it to my advantage. “I still have your glasses, after all. And I don’t even know your name.”
“It’s Simon.” I watch his expression carefully. There’s something there—interest, maybe. We flirted last time. I know he was into it. But beneath that spark, there’s suspicion, a wariness keeping him guarded. He doesn’t soften like he did last time. “I wanted to see you again, too, but why would you be down here?”
Shit. He’s not buying it.
Leaning into the performance even harder, I let my fingers trail lightly up his chest. “You know, I was thinking about you.”
He blinks, his eyes studying my face as his body language shifts, still guarded but not entirely resistant. There’s a flicker of hesitation, the kind of opening I need.
Maybe I could…
“You don’t have to be all official with me, Simon,” I murmur, my lips only a breath away from his. I watch his gaze shift to my mouth, his suspicion beginning to soften, his attention momentarily diverted.
I see it—a crack in his defenses.
Here goes nothing.
I grab his wrist, pulling him close, as my other hand taps his forehead, and I say the word, letting all my intention pour into it. “Sleep.”
There’s a heartbeat of silence where everything seems to hang in the air. His muscles tense like his body is debating whether to resist or not.
Please, please, please.
Then he slackens, his head dropping forward as he leans into me. Relief washes over me, but I don’t let myself relax yet. I pause, holding my breath, waiting for the smallest hint of resistance, the slightest twitch that might mean I’m losing him.
But he doesn’t fight it. The only thing he does is breathe, his chest rising and falling steadily, his weight sinking into me.
Oh my God, I really did it.
I actually hypnotized him.
Swallowing, my heart pounds as I whisper, “You’re relaxed, you’re safe, and you like me… a lot. You trust me.”
“I trust you,” he mumbles, his voice thick with the trance, and I almost laugh out loud.
I wish Koen could see this right now.
“Good. You want to tell me everything you know and only the truth, okay? Where is Levi Lane?”
“Two rooms down,” he replies instantly.
“Is there anyone with him?”
He shakes his head on my shoulder. “I was supposed to watch him. I went to grab my phone.”
“All right.” A rush of relief floods me. Fucking perfect. “You want to help me get him out of here, okay? I am your friend, Levi is your friend, and everyone else who wants to keep us here is not. You’re playing for our team now.”
“Like… a SWAT team?”
I almost snort. The little security guard wants to be a SWAT?
Whatever helps him feel important right now.
“Yes, like a SWAT team.”
“Can I be the breacher?”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. “What’s a breacher?”
“The guy who kicks down doors.”
“Sure,” I swallow a groan. “You’re the guy who kicks down doors. The important thing is that Levi is in danger, and you and I are going to get him out of here through the back quickly. Got it?”
“Got it.” He nods against my shoulder again.
“Good boy,” I murmur, patting his shoulder. “ Wake up. ”
His eyes flutter open before he blinks, focusing on me. I brace myself, ready to bolt if something goes wrong and the coercion doesn’t stick, but he simply turns, walking over to the security console. He types, and after a few seconds, all the monitors go black.
I hadn’t even thought about the cameras.
He turns back to me and smiles, genuinely believing we’re on the same team.
I don’t know why Koen makes such a fuss about this mentalist thing.
Seems easy enough to me.
“Come on,” Simon tells me, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the room, leading me two doors down the hallway. The corridor is empty, eerily silent, until he raises his foot and kicks the door we’re standing in front of. The sound of the impact echoes loudly in the quiet hallway.
“What the hell are you doing?” I hiss, flinching, but the door doesn’t budge.
“I’m the breacher. I kick down doors.”
“Don’t you have a key?”
He pauses, looking a bit sheepish, then nods. “Yeah.”
“Then fucking use it!”
Okay, maybe the mentalist thing isn’t so easy after all.
Simon quickly fumbles for the key, pulling it out and sliding it into the lock. The click echoes through the hallway, and he pushes the door open.
My stomach sinks at the sight inside.
Levi is sitting on a chair at a metal table, his hands cuffed behind him, his head hanging forward. He looks unconscious, his blond hair is disheveled, and a nasty bruise is blooming around his left eye.
“Dove!” I whisper-shout, rushing over. I crouch in front of him, my hands going to either side of his face, lifting his head. He doesn’t stir, his eyelids barely fluttering. He’s completely out.
Fuck.
“He’s unconscious,” Simon shares helpfully.
“Yeah, I noticed,” I snap. “Get his cuffs off, please.”
He steps past me to unlock them, the metal clinking loudly against the chair as they fall away and onto the ground.
I wrap my arms around Levi, trying to lift him, but he’s too heavy. He might be slimmer than Koen, but he’s still a lot taller than me, and there’s no way I can carry him on my own. I struggle, trying to shift his weight, but it’s no use.
“Let me.” Simon crouches, pulling Levi up and draping him over his shoulder with surprising ease. He stands, looking back at me. “We need to go. They’re going to notice the security feed is down soon.”
We hurry from the room, moving quickly down the hallway and turning a corner, then another. Up one stairway and another, the tension building inside me with every step.
This is way too easy.
Of course, the second the thought crosses my mind, two security guards round the corner ahead of us.
“Hey!” one of them shouts, his hand moving to his waist. “What are you doing?”
They pull out their guns, and my stomach drops.
Oh my God.
“Come on!” I yell at Simon, but he suddenly lets go of Levi, dropping his body to the tiled floor with a painful thud. Then, I watch in shock as Simon runs toward the two security officers.
“Go loud!” he yells before tackling one of them to the floor.
Fuck.
I really did mess with his head.
But I don’t have time to think about it because the second guard is still standing, and he’s pointing his gun directly at me. “Put your hands up!”
“Like hell, I will.” I crouch down to grab Levi. He’s still too heavy, but I manage to get my arms under his and drag him along the floor. His silk trousers glide smoothly over the tiles.
Only Levi Lane would think about looking fabulous while committing a crime.
My muscles scream in protest as the guard’s voice rises, his shouts getting closer as he closes in. Panic surges through me, and I push myself harder, dragging Levi faster around the corner.
Then there’s a crash and a grunt. I risk a quick glance to find Simon has tackled the other guard to the floor and has his arms locked around the guy’s legs. I pull Levi with everything I have, my arms trembling from the strain.
He groans—a low, pained sound that makes me glance down at his face, hoping he’s waking up. But his eyes are still shut, his head lolling to the side.
Come on, Dove, I could use a little help here.
I grit my teeth, adrenaline blurring my thoughts. My only focus is getting us out of there. Any direction will do as long as it leads us away from danger. Glancing over my shoulder, I catch sight of some glass walls and spy gym equipment in the room beyond.
We’re high enough now to be in a section of the hotel where guests might wander around. If anyone recognizes Levi, it’ll make everything so much worse.
I’m almost at the gym entry when a muffled pop echoes down the hall, and pain erupts through my upper arm. I duck and freeze, gasping as I look down to see the fabric of the uniform torn, blood soaking through the sleeve.
Shit.
I look up and see one of the security guards approaching, his gun still raised. He’s going to shoot me again, but this time, it appears he’s aiming for my head.
I scramble to pull Levi up and out of danger, but the pain in my arm is so sharp, so overwhelming, it’s all I can focus on. I can barely get him to budge. My vision blurs, the world shrinking to nothing but the pain, Levi’s weight, and the crushing realization that I can’t protect him.
Just when I think it’s over, that the next shot will end it, Simon comes sprinting around the corner, crashing into the guard with the gun and taking him down.
“ Thank fuck ,” I breathe out, the words almost a sob of relief. But before I can even take a full breath, the other guard appears, and my heart sinks as he swings the back of his gun over Simon’s head.
Simon crumples to the ground, and panic grips me again. The fear lets me push through the blinding pain and drag Levi into the gym, my entire body trembling with the effort.
The gym seems to be empty, thank God, and my eyes catch on a small door that looks like it leads to a storage room.
I drag Levi toward it and pull it open, grateful to find a small, dark room. Dragging him inside, I set him down as gently as I can. My arm throbs as I press on the wound, my whole body trembling, tears stinging my eyes as I look down at Levi’s bruised face. “What the fuck do I do now?”
This can’t be it.
Koen wouldn’t survive losing him. I know that pain too well. Losing a twin is a wound that never heals. And I’ll do everything in my power to make sure Koen never has to feel that kind of emptiness. But where do I go from here?
The door is slightly ajar, so I can peer through the crack to watch the hallway. My breathing is shallow, every breath filled with pain as I watch the two security guards run past the gym door. My heart hammers in my chest as I watch them disappear from view.
Think, Nova, think.
I glance at Levi again, tears blurring my vision. Pulling him out of here will be next to impossible. I can barely manage to keep myself upright, carrying him would be impossible.
Close footsteps catch my attention, and I turn to look through the slit in the door again. My breath catches as I see a large man with a hood pulled over his head walking toward the door we just came through. I start to pull back, planning to hide, but then he looks up, and I gasp when I see his face.
Nicholas.
This could be my saving grace or my complete downfall.
But he told me to go, and he didn’t call security on me. Maybe he won’t this time, either.
Fuck it. I have no choice.
“Nico,” I whisper-shout, trying to catch his attention without alerting anyone else.
He halts, glancing around with a puzzled look until his eyes land on me. Frowning, he makes his way over to where I’m crouched just inside the small room.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he hisses.
I open the door a little wider, enough for him to see Levi lying unconscious on the floor in the dark. His eyes widen, and his expression shifts from confusion to shock. “Is that Levi Lane?”
“Yes,” I whisper tightly. “And I know you hate me, and you have every right to, but please . I need your help. This is a life-or-death situation.”
His eyes flicker between Levi and me, and then they fall to where I clutch my upper arm, his gaze catching the steadily bleeding wound. The blood trickles between my fingers, soaking the fabric, and the sting of it feels suddenly sharper under his scrutiny.
“You’re bleeding,” he mutters as his hand lifts toward me, hovering but stopping short of making contact.
“I know.” I force a small, grim smile. “Good thing your mother’s security team isn’t exactly made up of sharpshooters.”
“They shot you?” His voice rises, alarmed, and I quickly shush him, wincing as I pull him into the room to us, which he surprisingly lets me do.
“Yeah, and they’ll try again if they catch us, but I need to get Levi out of here before that happens…” I wince as the pain in my arm throbs, “… but I can’t carry him.”
“What are you even saying?” Nicholas frowns faintly. “Why are you—”
“ I know I hurt you, Nico, and I’m sorry,” I cut him off, holding his accusatory gaze. “You were right. It wasn’t about you, but it wasn’t about me, either. The twins needed evidence, and I—”
“Evidence for what? ”
“Veronica killed Oscar.”
There, I said it.
Probably not my smartest move. But it’s hard to think straight when I feel like half the blood in my body has gone missing, and my arm hurts like a bitch.
“What?” His eyes widen, shock rippling across his features. “What the hell are you talking about?”
He really doesn’t know.
“There’s no time for a full explanation,” I urge. “We need to get Levi out of here. She wanted to hurt him too.”
Nicholas takes a shaky step back. “You’re lying,” he accuses, though there’s uncertainty in his eyes.
“Look at him. She already hurt him.” His gaze wanders to Levi, and I press more. I need his help. “Can you honestly say, deep down, that you don’t think your mother is capable of this?” Nicholas pauses, his face tightening as if he’s trying to fight off the idea. I can see the war raging in his mind. “I know you’re a good person, Nico,” I plead. “You don’t want something bad to happen to someone when you could’ve helped. I can’t get him out on my own. Please. ”
His jaw clenches, his eyes moving from Levi to me and back. Seconds stretch on, feeling like minutes, before he finally lets out a ragged breath, the fight in his eyes softening. “What do you need me to do?” he whispers, and relief crashes over me, almost making my knees buckle.
“I need you to carry him out of here,” I say quickly. “To the service entry. Koen is waiting there. No one can see you. You have to get Levi to Koen, okay? Not to the police, not to your mother. Just Koen .”
Nicholas nods, though doubt still flickers in his eyes, a shadow of uncertainty. He’s scared, and fuck, I am too .
“Okay. Help me get him on my back.” He crouches down beside Levi, and we work together, maneuvering Levi onto his back so his arms are looped over Nicholas’s shoulders. Nicholas grips them firmly, taking Levi’s weight as he stands.
Footsteps echo down the hallway, distant but growing louder, reminding me that time is slipping through our fingers. I glance out, my stomach dropping at the sight of the security guards returning.
“Fuck,” Nicholas whispers. “They’re headed the way we need to go. What do we do?”
I look at Nicholas, and the feelings in his gaze mirror my own—uncertainty, regret. But there’s something else, too, something softer beneath the surface, something that makes me ache to protect him, to make sure he doesn’t pay for being here, for helping me.
“What you made me feel was real.” I rise on my tiptoes, my fingers brushing lightly against his arm as I press my lips against his and taste the way he sucks in a breath.
I want to stay there, to let the warmth of his lips and his bergamot scent swallow me whole. To believe, just for a moment, that what was between us isn’t shattered, so I linger, feeling the way my heart tugs toward him.
Losing him is the karma I deserve.
His eyes search mine as I pull back, confusion swirling in their depths. I know he wants to say something. I can see it in the way his lips part, the words caught somewhere in his throat. But there’s no time, and maybe it’s better this way.
“ Thank you ,” I whisper, the weight of everything between us hanging in that breath.
Then, before I can let myself hesitate or get lost in his eyes any longer, I turn and bolt.
“Rosie, wait!” Nicholas hisses after me, but I burst out of the storage room and out of the gym, my legs propelling me down the hallway in the opposite direction of the guards. I let my feet slap hard against the tile floor so the noise echoes through the air like gunshots.
Each step takes me farther from Nicholas, but I can still feel the ghost of his lips on mine, the warmth that refuses to fade, a reminder of what I’m running for—who I’m trying to protect.
It doesn’t take long for the security guards to hear me.
“Hey!” one of them shouts and jolts me back into the present. Their footsteps skid and pivot, the thud of boots gaining speed as they tear after me down the hallway.
A muffled crack splinters the air, and the hiss of a bullet slices past my ear, close enough that I feel the air shift. I duck, instinct wrenching me low, and my hands fly up to cover my head as fear crashes into me, a wave of adrenaline pushing me forward.
I glance back only long enough to see Nicholas with Levi on his back, slipping away in the other direction, and I hope, God, I hope , he’s the person I think he is.
I won’t let his fragile trust in me be in vain. I won’t let the guards catch me, not until they’re out and safe.
I push myself harder, the hallway starting to blur around me, but I keep running, the sound of the guards behind me fading into nothing but background noise. All that matters is giving Nicholas and Levi the time they need.
Every step sends pain shooting through my arm, and I press my hand against the wound, trying to dull the ache as I pull my head low, ducking when I hear another bullet whiz by. To my right, there is a staircase, and I run up it, taking two steps at a time.
I have to get to the more public areas of the hotel, where they’ll have no choice but to stop firing at me.
I come out in another hallway that feels endless, every door blending into the next, until I reach for one that says Briette Steakhouse , pushing it open and stumbling up a short flight of steps. I burst into what appears to be a fancy restaurant. A few servers are scattered about, setting up tables, and their heads snap up as I charge in. But I don’t stop. I can’t .
Looking back, relief washes over me when I see the two security guards still following me, holstering their guns. They can’t shoot now, not with people around. Maybe I’ll end up in jail, but at least I won’t die.
I promised Sylus I’d survive.
Bursting out of the restaurant, I land in the lobby, my breath coming in short, desperate gasps as the commotion hits me all at once. There are raised voices from the gathered people.
Veronica’s still standing near the entrance with even more security guards stationed around her. No wonder there weren’t more chasing me. They were all here.
Ezra stands in front of her, his back straight, four police officers flanking him. My heart stutters at the sight, and real hope flares for the first time since I started running.
I sprint toward them, my hands coming up in surrender as I move. Ezra’s head snaps in my direction, his eyes widening when he spots me, still being chased by the two guards. I don’t stop running until my legs give out, sending me sliding across the marble floor on my knees. I come to a stop right in front of Ezra, panting, hands behind my head, my body trembling with exhaustion.
“What the fuck?” Ezra hisses under his breath, disbelief clear in his voice.
“Is that your missing person ?” Veronica’s eyes flicker over to me, her lip curling with disdain.
Ezra doesn’t say anything. Instead, he grabs my arm, pulling me to my feet. I hiss as pain flares, and his grip loosens immediately, his eyes searching mine for an explanation. I meet his gaze and give the smallest nod—a silent answer to the question I see there. Yes. Levi is out.
Or at least, I hope he is.
Ezra’s tense posture softens, a breath escaping him.
“Missing person or not, you should arrest her for trespassing,” Veronica’s voice cuts through the silent conversation between us. “Or am I to believe this whole spectacle was a farce? A little police charade to smear Harrington Heights? Wouldn’t be the first time, would it? The Las Vegas police seem obsessed with making life difficult for hardworking business owners.”
Ezra’s expression hardens as he takes out a pair of handcuffs. He turns, motioning for the other officers to move. “Take testimonies from the security guards.”
“Of course, officers.” Veronica’s sly smile twists on her lips as she nods. “My security team will be more than happy to testify. We have nothing to hide.”
Ezra ignores her and turns his focus back to me, his fingers working quickly to cuff my wrists, though his grip remains unusually gentle. He nudges me forward, guiding me toward the exit.
The cold metal digs into my wrists as we step outside, and I try not to think about how everything has spiraled out of control, and I still have no idea if Nicholas managed to get Levi out safely.
“Come on.” Ezra keeps his pace slow, leading me in the direction of a police car parked nearby. I guess he’s keeping up appearances. Then again, he might put me in jail for real to get me out of the way. I figure the odds are fifty-fifty.
“Is he all right?” Ezra’s expression remains impassive, but there’s a tightness around his mouth as his eyes flit between the hotel entrance and me.
“I think so,” I manage, my throat dry. “Nico, he… he helped.”
Ezra’s eyes harden, but he doesn’t respond. He only opens the back door of the police car and leans in. “You have fifteen seconds to get out of those cuffs and punch me.”
I blink, staring at him in disbelief. “What?”
“Sylus is parked down the street. You hit me, and you run. Got it?”
Without thinking, I twist my body and reach for the matchbox in my pocket. Pulling out the straightened paperclip tucked beside the matches, I start working the cuffs, making the adrenaline that just calmed a little pump through me again.
“I don’t want to hurt you—” I start to protest as the cuffs click open seconds later, falling away from my wrists.
“You couldn’t,” Ezra huffs a low laugh. “And I still owe you one—” he starts to say, but I don’t let him finish. I swing, and my fist connects with his cheekbone.
He stumbles back, a grunt escaping his lips when his shoulder collides with the hotel wall.
“Right,” I mutter, already turning away. “Sorry,” I call over my shoulder as I take off, sprinting down the street.
I run, clutching my arm, every muscle burning, my lungs clawing for air. I’ve already pushed my body past its limit, but I force my legs to move, to carry me forward. When I round a corner, Sylus is there. He’s straddling his bike, which is parked at the curb, helmet on and visor up, focused on his phone in his hand.
“Sylus!” It’s no more than a gasp, but his head snaps up, his eyes widening in shock. The phone vanishes into his pocket in a blink, and the engine growls to life with a twist of his wrist.
He speeds toward me, his left hand shooting out, fingers outstretched, ready to catch me. Reaching out with my good arm, I jump and swing myself onto the back of the bike, my body fitting behind him as if we’ve done this a hundred times.
The bike sways for a heartbeat, then Sylus revs the engine, and we’re off. The wind howls in my ears, tugging at my hair, and the world blurs, so I press my face against the leather jacket at his back, my arms tightening around his waist despite the pain that flares through me. It hurts like hell, but I don’t loosen my grip. Relief and fear collide in my chest, the adrenaline still rushing through my veins.
He’s got me.
I survived.
And so did Levi.
Hopefully.