Chapter 30 Krista
KRISTA
“Comms,” Rob said, handing over the tiny earpiece.
I fumbled it as I grabbed it from his fingers, dropping it on the ground. “Shoot!” I scrambled on my knees, desperate to find the tiny piece of equipment that probably cost more than my house.
“It’s okay. Just calm down,” Rob said, bending over and snatching it off the floor.
Holding out his hand, he helped me to my feet, smiling reassuringly at me. “You’ll do fine.”
“That’s what you say now, but just wait until I get in there and blow it all to hell.”
“That’s what the sniper is for. Remember, you won’t be alone at any time.”
Right. I had the feeling he was only telling me that so I didn’t freak out about being shot on a large piece of plastic that covered the entire floor.
I shoved the tiny comm in my ear and took a deep breath. I could do this. It was just a manipulation. A game. I had to walk in there, be who I was, and hope they didn’t pull out a gun and shoot me. Oh, and I also had to buy enough time for Rob to find blackmail on them.
Piece of cake.
“So, when you find this information, what happens from there?”
He’d already told me this, but I needed to go over it in my head until I was positive I knew every piece of the puzzle.
“When I find the information, I’ll walk out and tell him who I am.”
“Isn’t that dangerous? Shouldn’t we escape or something and then threaten them from afar?”
“It’s far more likely we’ll get out alive if we threaten him on the spot. Chance can shine a tiny red dot on his shirt, proving we have a sniper, which will also give us a chance to escape in one piece.”
“Right. Escape. Survive.”
“Exactly.”
“And from there?”
“From there, we go about our lives,” I said, hoping it would be true.
“But how can you be sure they won’t shoot you and steal back the blackmail that you’ve just stolen from them?”
I cocked a grin at her, hoping to put her at ease. “Because I’m something of a genius with computers. Once I have the information, I’ll upload it to Reed Security’s secure server, and from there, Becky will place it in the vault.”
“The vault,” I questioned.
“Yes. A super secret spy vault where we hold all of our most sensitive information,” he said, pulling me in closer, pressing his lips to my neck. “There’s no way for anyone to break into it, and no way for you to get me to confess how I’ll transfer the information to Reed Security.”
His tongue slid over my skin, sending shivers down my spine. My eyes drifted closed as my heart started pounding for an entirely new reason. His hands slid under my shirt, tugging at the cup of my bra. Zaps of electricity shot through me as he pinched and played with my nipples.
Liquid heat flooded every inch of my body as quivering overtook me. I was unaware of anything else aside from the feel of his fingers on me.
“Not any way at all?” I whispered breathlessly.
“Not even if you begged me.”
My throat closed up as he pinched hard, sending a flood of adrenaline through my system. Everything around me turned black as I swayed on my feet, only staying upright with his hands on me. I wanted more. Needed his touch and everything else he could offer.
I was overheating, on the verge of tearing off my clothes for just one more opportunity to have his hands on me. But before I could put my plan into action, he stepped back and adjusted my bra, then my shirt with a firm tug.
I was only slightly aware of the fact that he was basically telling me no until he adjusted himself with a pained expression, turning away from me.
“That…that’s it?” I asked, shaking out my trembling hands.
“There will be time for that when we’re done,” he cocked a grin at me.
When we were done. If we got out alive. Somehow, that didn’t seem very reassuring. Not when I felt like I was walking to my death, and he was promising me sex if I survived.
Was that his trick? To make me think I was invincible? Because if it was, it wasn’t working. Sex wasn’t a good motivator in this situation. I needed more than that.
“No more words of wisdom?” I snapped. “No parting kisses or—”
His finger pressed against my lips, silencing me instantly. “You don’t need words of wisdom. You’re smart, and you’ll do fine. As for parting kisses, we don’t need them because we’re both coming out of this alive and in one piece.”
“You just don’t want to jinx us,” I muttered.
“That too, but I promise you, everything will be fine.”
I really hoped he was right. Because no matter how much I told myself things would work out, I had this niggling suspicion that he wasn’t entirely certain things would go according to plan. And if that was the case, which one of us would come out of this unscathed?
“It’s time to go,” he said, handing over my purse. “Just remember, be yourself. I’ll take care of the rest.”
I nodded and followed him out of the hotel room, gathering in the hall with the others. While they were totally cool with this whole thing, I was not. As much as I wanted to believe I could be like them, danger was not an adrenaline rush I craved.
“We’ll split up downstairs. Derek and Claire will tail Krista to the hotel, and then they’ll be set up in the coffee shop next door,” Sinner explained. “Chance is already on the roof and ready. And Knight—”
“Wait, Knight is here?” Rob cut in, frowning hard.
“You didn’t really believe all that shit about staying away to keep his family safe, did you?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, Kate made him come.”
“Even after everything with Cash?”
Sinner smiled. “I think it has more to do with the little lady beside you.”
Okay, so there was one more person with us. That was a good thing. We’d make it out of here, and everything would be fine.
“Wait, where are you going to be?” I asked, spinning to face Rob.
“I’m going out the back to another vehicle. I can’t be seen with you or the gig’s up.”
I blew out a nervous breath, but it stalled in my chest when he pierced me with an intense look. “It’ll be fine. Trust me.”
I did. With my life.
“Showtime,” Derek said through comms.
Easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one who had to walk into a building filled with the mafia and pretend everything was perfectly normal.
Striding down the sidewalk, I was nearly to the building when I was grabbed from behind. A thick hand crushed my lips as my oxygen was nearly cut off.
“DeLuca knew you’d be back,” an accented voice said behind me. “Where’s the case?”
I mumbled behind his hand, but he wasn’t really interested in an answer right now.
Jostling me forward, he shoved me through the doors of the building.
I tried making eye contact with a few people, not really sure what I was hoping to gain out of it, but nobody bothered to look at me.
It was like it was just another Tuesday.
As soon as we were past the doors, he shoved me forward. Stumbling, I nearly fell to the ground, but caught myself at the last second, then spun to face the goon, breathing hard as I stared at his dark demeanor.
“I’m not Alicia,” I said, my voice shaking hard.
Seriously, how did the guys do this? Face down danger and pretend everything was fine…it was insanity.
“Sure, sweetheart,” he grinned, stalking toward me. “The boss wants to see you.”
“Good,” I said, straightening my back. “I’ve been meaning to have a chat with him, too.”
It wasn’t confidence that let me talk to him like that. It was one hundred percent fear. But whatever got me through this was fine by me.
He looked just slightly surprised, but strode forward, then grabbed me and spun me around, shoving me toward the elevators.
The metal box was terrifying in its own right. As soon as I stepped in there, that was it. There was no going back. But I took the step and prayed that I would come out of this alive.
As the doors closed, sweat broke out over my body. This was really happening. I was really going to the penthouse to my doom. I watched the lights switch from one number to the next, each signaling the beginning of the end.
“You’ve got this,” Derek whispered in my ear.
His voice was smooth and calming, but not the one I wanted to hear. Still, it was good to know I wasn’t alone.
As the doors slid open, I was shoved from behind into an outer area of the penthouse.
Double doors stood before me, the very doors that needed to be opened at the same time as Rob opened the side door.
Licking my lips, I took one step, then another, remembering the words I was supposed to speak to signal I was opening them.
There could only be a second difference. Anything else would raise suspicion.
One second.
When we were just about there, I took a quick step forward, placing my hand on the knob before the goon could stop me. “Fancy doorknob.”
I shoved the door open, wincing internally as I expected loud alarms to go off.
“Hey, wait!” the man shouted, rushing ahead of me.
He shoved me against the wall, eyeing me suspiciously.
“I’m sorry, was that gallantry or did you just not want me touching the extremely expensive doorknob?” Cocking my head at him, I huffed out a laugh. “You know you’re rich when even the small things are made of gold.”
“Just keep moving. And don’t touch anything.”
I took the shove to the back in stride, mesmerized by the sheer extravagance surrounding me. Seriously, who lived like this, high in the sky like a king?
“Keep moving!” the man shoved me from behind.
I spun around, not sure where this defiant attitude was coming from. “Hey, I came to you. Stop pushing me around.”
“Or what?” he laughed.
I narrowed my eyes, but bit back the urge to tell him I’d knee him in the balls. It was never a good idea to give away all your secrets.
“So, you’ve returned.”
I spun around, staring at the handsome face of Angelo DeLuca. I could see why Alicia went after him. Even with a scar cutting through his right eyebrow and down his cheek, he was still handsome.
“My name is Krista Parker,” I said, hoping my voice wasn’t shaking too hard.