Chapter 5
FIVE
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.