Chapter Fifteen
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
G oddamn it.
SIG in hand, Nash watched in his peripheral vision as Haisley set the locked humidor back on the shelf with shaking hands, then spun to face him.
But Zeph’s text had made one thing clear: company was coming. The sound of footsteps treading down the hall—straight toward them—made that all too real.
How the fuck were they going to get out of this without being spotted? Or worse?
Haisley’s eyes widened as she held up her hands, silently asking what to do. Good question. The room’s lone window was a four-story drop straight down to concrete, so that was a no-go. Benedict’s office only had one other escape, and whoever was walking down the hall was blocking their path and heading straight for them.
Fighting their way out wasn’t optimal, and Nash didn’t want to do anything that might risk Haisley. But he wasn’t sure he had a choice. He’d do whatever necessary to make sure she made it out alive and unscathed, even if that meant killing the intruder or sacrificing his own life.
Jesus, he really should tell this woman he was in love with her. Now simply wasn’t the time.
The footsteps were nearly on them, and time was ticking down. He grabbed Haisley’s arm and dragged her to the dark corner behind the door.
With his heart thundering, he readied himself for combat. The hinges holding the heavy slab creaked, and the door opened, sandwiching them between the portal and the wall. Nash peeked around the obstruction and spotted a lone figure entering and thankfully eschewing the lights.
The person making their way across the shadowy room was petite and female. She sniffled once, then again. Allergies? Illness? Or…
She reached for the humidor and found it locked. Then she broke down in sobs, leaning against the bookcase. “G-George…”
Was that…Benedict’s wife? What the hell was going on with her?
Behind Nash, Haisley poked his ribs.
He risked a glance over his shoulder.
Mila, she mouthed.
Holding in a curse, he nodded, then tucked himself behind the door again, using his big body to shield Haisley. A few minutes passed before Mila Benedict sniffled one last time, lifted her chin, and made her way out of her husband’s office, softly shutting the door behind her. Moments later, he heard her enter the office just down the hall. She closed the door. Nash nearly sagged with relief.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” he whispered. “I have the burner phone. Let’s go.”
She grabbed his sleeve. “Maybe you should go, and I should tell Mila that I left something here and?—”
“No. I don’t want anyone knowing you were here tonight.”
“But—”
“Baby, I’m not risking you. Let’s go.” He took her by the hand and used his other to slowly open Benedict’s door before locking it behind them.
Together, they tiptoed down the hall, treading ever so slowly past Mila’s office. Light seeped under the door, and he heard more sobbing.
Haisley squeezed his hand, and he felt her tremble as they crept toward the elevator—and escape. He hated like hell that she was scared. He should have fucking insisted that he go without her, but a tricky deadbolt secured the main office door. He could have gotten past it…but it would have taken precious time. And he’d been stupidly swayed by how insistently she’d lobbied to come along. Their banter had felt…normal, like the old days. He hadn’t wanted to cut her off.
And now she might pay the price for his weakness.
Finally, they cleared the hall and sprinted on tiptoes across the hardwoods of the main office, then around the reception area. Cursing the fact the emergency stairwell dumped out directly onto the most surveilled half of the lobby, he hit the elevator button.
“We made it,” she whispered, breathing hard.
“Almost.” He was relieved as fuck when the elevator showed up quickly.
The ding of its arrival chimed way louder than he remembered. His heart thrashed in his chest. Goddamn, that sound might as well have been a fucking blow horn. Could Mila hear that, cocooned down the hallway in her nine-to-five sanctuary?
While he worried, the elevator doors seemed to take forever to open. For fuck’s sake, molasses in January moved faster. Snails could race more quickly. They needed to get the hell out of here.
And inside the car, the goddamn lights were on bright.
“Who’s there?” Mila suddenly called in a shaking voice across the big, open space.
Beside him, Haisley gasped, then tried to bite back the sound.
Heart lurching, he yanked her down until she crouched next to him behind the reception desk. Then he pointed to the elevator doors.
She nodded.
But Mila kept coming. “I heard you. I have a gun I’m not afraid to use. And I’m calling the police.”
He hated to move or for Haisley to potentially be seen, but the elevator doors that had taken forever to open were already starting to close.
“Go,” he hissed, shoving her forward and blocking her with his body.
She hauled ass, doing some cross between a scramble and a knee-walk. He followed close behind. Once they were inside, he plastered her against the wall near the panel and dropped his chin as he pushed the button for the lobby. “Hide your face.”
She buried it in his chest as he heard Mila’s footsteps barreling toward them. He shoved his face in the corner of the elevator car, holding his breath and palming his SIG. He felt Haisley’s heart thudding against his, and everything inside him crawled out of his skin to protect her. He didn’t want an altercation, especially with her life on the line.
Fuck, fuck, fuck .
Finally, the doors slid shut just before Mila reached them. He heard her cursing, then more talking, which he presumed was her calling 911, before a whoosh sent them down to the lobby. He had zero idea what waited for them. Had Zeph been found? Was that why the lights in this metal box were on?
Just as they descended, Zeph texted again.
Sorry about the lights. Lobby is dark. Get the hell out.
The man didn’t have to tell him twice. The instant the elevator dinged and the doors slid open, he hustled Haisley into the shadowed lobby, hugging the wall again to avoid the potential cameras until they found their way to the warehouse area.
Zeph was waiting as soon as they slipped through the door. “Glad you’re out in one piece. Security says the cops are on their way.”
He handed the older man another fifty. “You’ve been gold.”
“I didn’t think the boss lady was going to show up.”
“That makes two of us. Any idea why she’s here?”
“Nope. She just went in. I let you know as quickly as I could.”
“Appreciate it.”
Zeph nodded and handed back the money. “Keep this. I just hope you find whoever took those girls. Go!”
Nash wanted to argue, but sirens started wailing in the distance, so they dashed around the building and across the street, running full sprint until they ducked behind the old brick buildings erected in the downtown area’s heyday, then huffed-and-puffed their way to his motorcycle.
He willed his adrenaline to take a back seat to urgency and unlocked his saddlebags before tossing a helmet her way. “Put it on.”
Thankfully, he didn’t have to ask her twice or give her any other instruction. He hopped on as he secured his chin strap, then revved the engine. Haisley was already behind him, clutching his middle tight. He was ridiculously grateful not just because she kept him warmer in the winter chill, but her body temperature and grip assured him she was okay and with him. Her exhalations on his back as he eased out of the parking lot and onto the street before flipping on his headlight reminded him that she was alive and vital.
He’d risked her too much.
His head spun as he raced through the dark, nearly empty streets. Her place was closer than his. And he’d rather have her in his space where he could watch over her. Protect her. But she’d only balk if he took her to his home. And fighting wasn’t what he wanted to do with her.
Fear, adrenaline, and need all pounded through his veins, scorching his insides. His cock was hard as concrete and throbbed for action. He had to calm the fuck down. But that wasn’t going to happen until he got alone and took himself in hand. Haisley wanted “professional” from him, and he couldn’t trust himself around her until he bled off this surge of excess energy.
They reached her place without incident. He parked on her side yard and killed the engine. “Inside.”
“You okay?” she asked as she peeled off her helmet.
“Fine,” he lied as he stashed their brain buckets. It was taking every fucking ounce of his restraint not to push her against the wall and seize her soft mouth while he tore away her yoga pants, then plowed into her sweet cunt.
Her scowl clearly said she didn’t believe him. “If you say so. I got it from here. Let me know about the phone once you get it?—”
“No.” He grabbed her by the arm and hauled her to her front door. “I’m going to go in and make sure that you’re alone and it’s safe. Then I’ll leave you. Don’t tell a soul you left your place tonight and don’t open the door for anyone.”
“What do you think could?—”
“Happen?” He gestured impatiently until she unlocked the door. “Anything. The police could come. Mila and her gun could pay you a visit. Whoever’s behind the abductions might know we’re onto them.”
She let them in the front door, then pressed a hand to her chest. “Maybe you should stay.”
Was she trying to kill him? Or tempt him beyond what he could endure? “That’s a bad idea.”
“Wouldn’t I be safer with you?”
Jesus, did she not understand that he was hanging on by a thread? That his self-control was slipping, and the longer he stood near her, smelling the remnants of her fear tinged with her female musk, the more likely he’d lose his goddamn mind? “From a life-or-death perspective, yes.”
“Is there another perspective that would make me unsafe near you?”
“You ever spent time with anyone directly after a combat mission?” If she had, it wasn’t him. He’d always been careful not to bring his battle hangover to their bed because he’d never wanted to scare her.
“No. I don’t?—”
“Understand?” He walked at her, his stare fierce. She backed away. Making herself his prey was the worst thing she could do now. His hunting instincts activated, adding to the electric fire ripping through his system. “I’m about two seconds from stripping you, penetrating you, and not letting you up until we’re both exhausted and sated.”
She gasped, her rosy lips parted, her big blue eyes searching him. She licked her lips as she retreated another step. Her back hit the wall. “Nash?”
“Let me check the fucking house. Then I’ll go.” Doing his best to ignore his screaming need to touch her, he pulled the SIG from his holster and scanned the dark foyer.
Behind him, she shut the front door and locked it. “Stay with me.”
There was no fucking way he’d heard that right.
He whirled on her. The question must have been all over his face, but she nodded silently in answer.
Oh, holy fucking shit. Was she serious?
“If I do, I’m going to fuck you, Haisley. Hard. Ruthlessly. Repeatedly. I’ll be an animal without mercy because I want you so fucking bad, and everything primal in me needs to be reassured that you’re alive. So think about what you’re saying. I’m going to sweep the house, and I expect you’ll have come to your senses by the time I get back.”
Nash dragged in a ragged breath and did his level best to ignore a stunned Haisley as he crept through her house, flipping on lights and checking behind doors and in closets, proclaiming each room clear as he worked his way through the bungalow.
When he reached her bedroom, her scent pooled so strongly here that it nearly brought him to his knees. He swallowed back a snarl. Why did this woman alone make him so fucking feral?
After a quick check of her messy-as-usual bathroom, he swallowed back another lust bomb and charged into the hallway, far enough away from her scent that he could breathe without seething and craving her. He backed against the wall and dragged in rough breaths, trying to regain control of himself before he fell off the fucking cliff.
After a handful of deep inhalations, he was no longer pinging off the walls. Oh, his skin still felt electric and his blood still burned, but he’d bought himself about sixty seconds of sanity—hopefully long enough to run out the door and make sure she locked it behind him before he jumped on his bike and hauled ass through the frigid night back home. He could take this drugging need out on his hand. Tomorrow, he’d call her and apologize.
For a lot of things.
Tucking away his SIG, he dragged in one last breath and did a death-march down the hall. The last thing he wanted to do was leave her, but it was for her own good.
“You’re clear. There’s no one inside, and I—” He stopped short when he looked up.
And he almost lost his fucking wits.
Her skin gleaming like a pearl, Haisley stood in the foyer, every inch of her naked. “Nash? Don’t go.”