Page 87 of H E R
Jason’s voice rings loudly in my ears. “Okay, Justice. Yourthird partywill be on the line in five, four, three—”
“I can’t do this… why is getting a file important anymore? Fuck Carlton. Fuck all of this! What’s going to happen to this little girl?”
I don’t know who I’m talking to. Dylan? Olivia? Jason? Piper, who I can hear breathing into my ear? But it’s Dylan who approaches me in the empty corridor. He presses me against the wall and grabs my shoulders in his strong hands. His hold is secure but gentle, and it forces me to look up into his night-sky eyes.
He reaches up and unclasps the chain from my wrist and removes his collar. His hands are back on me and they hold me tight. “We’re going to get the file because we need all the evidence we can get our hands on to make sure Carlton doesn’t get away with this. It’s happened before, too many times. If we don’t do this, he’ll be out in less than twenty-four hours. He’s got the best fucking lawyers money can buy.”
“But what about the little gir—”
“I will get her out. I swear to you, Niki. And any others they have.”
Olivia comes into view then, and Dylan moves when she gently pushes her way in front of me. He stands next to me and pulls me into his chest. Olivia grabs both my hands and squeezes them, and I realize they’re freezing. “Jasmin and I will locate their prisoners. We aren’t sureif they’re kept on the premises just yet. But the remote location and all the bells and whistles tell me they’re here. You focus on the file.”
“Olivia—”
“Jase,don’t.” Olivia’s voice is clipped and stern. “You stay with Justice, and Sara will monitor our part.”
Miles away, Jason punches something. We all hear it and Olivia’s shoulders jerk painfully, but she straightens and takes three steps back, giving Jas the space to embrace me.
“Todo va a salir bien,” she tells me in Spanish.
“Cómo puedes estar segura?”
Jas shakes her head. “I don’t know. I’m not sure of anything, but… what I am certain of is that I can't stand back and do nothing.”
I nod in agreement, and we hug like when we were little girls. “Be safe,” we say in unison and almost laugh. If the moment weren’t filled with such dark tension, one of us would’ve calledjinxand erupted in a mischievous giggle.
I think Jason is talking Olivia’s ear off because she hugs herself and whispers hastily until I hear her demand he patch Sara through. Her hands drop to her side and she looks at Dylan and they nod at one another. “I’ll see you on the other side,carnalito.”
Dylan chuckles dryly at Olivia. “In one piece, Liv.”
Jasmin leaves my arms and joins her, and they walk in the opposite direction. Olivia is already conversing with Sara, who is guiding them to a cellar hidden from current floor plans, but was in the original blueprints of The Mansion. I watch them turn the corner and lean against the wall.
Jason’s anger reverberates through the earpiece, and I get the urge to pull it further away from me. His voice chills the air around me. “Your third party remains on the line.”
For a second, I forgot she was there. “You heard all that?”
“It’s fine. Even I question the sanity of this ridiculous mission. But your man is right: Carlton will get away without the file.”
I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. “It better be one helluva file.”
“I promise you it is.”
I twirl my mother’s charms up and down the metal rope bracelet. “Did Jason share our location?”
“Yep. I even have a live feed of where you’re currently standing. Your friends have very fancy equipment. You should utilize their help for your blog, kid.”
Next to me, Dylan’s brows shoot up in question. But I roll my eyes and scoff. “Right. Well, tell us where to go.”
I wish I would’ve worn my sneakers. Fuck these heels.
“How much longer?” We’ve been dodging staff and ducking cameras for a good fifteen minutes, and we still need to get to another floor.
“There’s a service elevator at the end of the hall.”
Dylan and I jog down the long corridor and stop in front of the metal door. There’s a keyhole and an electric keypad. Piper gives us the code and a loud ding echoes down the hall as the doors swoosh open. My stomach drops and presses against my lower organs, making me queasy. I reach out and squeeze Dylan’s forearm, digging my nails into his flesh. Crescent moons appear below my fingertips and I rub against the dips before the doors open.
Dylan’s arm shoots out in front of me like a fucking seatbelt and he exits first, slowly. He crouches and steps out, examining the area, and I follow closely behind.