He spotted me and I didn’t know what to do. Should I say hello or was there some other proper protocol for this particular situation? Did Hallmark make a card for it? Then David did something that made me rethink that.
Raising a tiny walkie-talkie to his mouth, he said, “Found her. Floor thirty. Northeast corridor.”
I dropped the bucket and ran.
I chanced a glance behind me to see that David was in pursuit, and gaining. I’d gone quite a ways from our room and the identical hallways were a maze. Panic made me confused and I made a wrong turn. Backtracking wasn’t an option, so I kept going.
Looking behind me again, I didn’t see David. I slowed. Had I lost him?
Frantically struggling to get my bearings, I turned down another long corridor and ran right into David.
“Leaving me tied to the bed was a bad idea,” he hissed.
Before I could say or do anything, he hit me, his fist slamming into my cheek with enough force to knock me to the ground. Pain exploded in my head and then, mercifully, everything went dark.
When I regained consciousness, I wished I hadn’t. My head throbbed and I could feel that my face was swollen. One eye wouldn’t open all the way.
Raising my head, I realized I was tied to a chair. Each of my wrists was tied to an arm of it and each ankle to a chair leg. Nice.
Looking around, I realized I was in an office of some sort. There was a desk and a couch, both in mahogany and red leather. It reminded me a little of Blane’s office, very professional, which was why it was so disconcerting to feel the ropes chafing my skin. The windows made it clear that it was still daytime, but also that I was no longer in our hotel. The view was different.
The door opened and I jerked my head around, then bit back a groan. Shouldn’t have moved so fast.
David walked in, followed by the two other big guys from last night. They wore suits, but that did nothing to make them look more civilized. They were the muscle.
“Glad to see you’re awake,” David said, moving to stand in front of me.
“You really hold a grudge,” I replied, meeting his eyes. “If I’d known you’d do this just because I tied you up and didn’t screw you, I’d have gone all Lorena Bobbitt on you.”
David’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t be ridiculous, stupid girl. I don’t give a damn about you. That little trick Dennon pulled last night has my bosses breathing down my neck. I want the money back.”
“You knew when you hired him what his fee was,” I countered. “It’s bad business not to pay someone for a job.”
“I knew his fee, but he was supposed to fail,” David hissed. “Now I’m out four million dollars with no fucking idea of how he got in.”
“He’s going to show you,” I said. “That’s part of the deal.”
“You’re right—he is going to show me,” David sneered. “And he’s going to give the money back. You’re insurance against that.”
“That’s why I’m here?” I asked. “You’re planning to threaten him with me?”
David’s smile was cold. “Go after the Achilles’ heel and even the smartest of them will fall.”
“You have no idea who you’re dealing with, do you.” It wasn’t a question. Somehow I doubted Kade had provided much of a résumé to this guy. “Taking me was a big mistake.”
David turned away, ignoring me as he looked at his cell phone. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. We won’t rough you up too much, just a little if he doesn’t cooperate. But we’ll know here shortly.”
“You’ve already told him that you have me?” I asked, panicking. “Are you insane?”
David glanced my way with a frown. “I don’t appreciate your tone or insinuation,” he said.
“You don’t understand,” I said. “You’ve got to listen to me. Let me go. Now. If he comes here, he’ll kill you.”
For a moment, I thought David understood, then he laughed outright. “A hacker’s going to kill me? Good God, I must have walloped you a bit hard if you think a computer geek is capable of that.”
My eyes slid shut in dismay. Kade was trying to turn over a new leaf and this asshole was going to screw it all up. “Please,” I said, opening my eyes, “you have to listen to me.”
David ignored me now, still on his phone. He headed for the door.
“Let me go!” I yelled. “Please!”
The door shut behind him.
Well, shit.
I sat there for I don’t know how long, waiting. The ropes were too thick to break and I rubbed my wrists and ankles raw trying. The chair was too heavy for me to scoot to the desk to reach the phone or look for scissors. I was well and truly screwed.
The sun went down and the lights on the Strip came on. My back ached and my mouth was bone dry. I was starving, my stomach cramping with hunger pangs, and I tried not to think about how badly I had to pee. I knew Kade would come, hopefully sooner rather than later, and when he did it wouldn’t be pretty.
Sometimes I really hate it when I’m right.
Darkness fell and with it came the inevitable.
I was dozing, my head drooping down to my chest, when the lights went out in the office, plunging me into darkness. I jerked awake as emergency lighting clicked on, a dull red glow. I listened hard, then started when I heard yelling and gunshots.
The door flew open and David barreled inside.
“What is this shit?” he gritted out.
“What’s happening?” I asked.
“I don’t fucking know. The lights went out, and when they came back on my men were gone. No one is answering their radio and the front desk security is silent.” He looked panicked, his eyes darting around wildly. The gun in his hand shook slightly.
“Kade’s here.”
David’s gaze whipped to mine.
“Untie me,” I said, trying to get through to him. “Let me go. There’s still time.”
“No, there’s not.”
Both of us looked toward the door—in the direction the voice had come from—just as a gunshot sounded. David yelled in pain and dropped his gun. Kade was there in an instant, kicking the weapon away. It skittered across the floor.
“David, why’d you have to go and be an asshole?” Kade chastised him. “Our arrangement was working out so well. It’s not my fault you’re fucking incompetent.”
David glowered at him, cradling his injured hand. I was glad Kade hadn’t hurt him too badly.
“Fuck you, Dennon,” David spat.
Kade ignored him and walked over to me, careful not to turn his back to David. I lowered my head, letting my hair obscure my face. I didn’t want Kade to see, not yet. I just wanted to get out of there.
“You all right?” he asked softly, crouching down to cut through the bonds on my wrists. I hadn’t even seen him pull his knife.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, flexing my freed arms. I winced when I rubbed my wrists where the ropes had scraped me.
I was grateful for the low light and kept my face averted as Kade finished freeing my legs.
“Let’s go,” he said.
But as I stood, my knees buckled immediately from having sat for so long. Kade quickly caught me around the waist, keeping me from falling. I turned my face away, but he was too quick. Catching my chin in his hand, he forced me to look at him.
Kade went very still when our eyes met. I didn’t move, barely breathing, afraid of what he’d do. His gaze moved slowly from my swollen eye to my cheek.
“Go wait for me in the hall,” he finally said, helping me to the door. His voice was quiet and calm, which was utterly terrifying.
“No, Kade, don’t,” I whispered. “Let’s just go.”
His fingers barely brushed my damaged face. “Do as I say,” he said, and this time his tone was such that I knew better than to argue.
I walked out of the room and Kade closed the door behind me. The hallway was empty and I stood there, straining to listen, praying Kade wouldn’t kill him.