Page 24 of He's All In
“This place is a lot better on the inside,” Rue chirps, glancing around and taking in her surroundings.
“Can I gag her, sir?” Stoker asks as we step onto the elevator.
“I might do that myself later.” My father clicks his tongue, and out of the corner of my eye I catch the first appropriate reaction from Rue. It happens quickly, but she twists her lips in disgust before relaxing them back to normal.
Maybe she’s putting on a brave face. Or she has a lot of bravado. That kind of backtalk is going to get her more than killed. She stole from me, but I think she might have tried to save us. Who's to say Rue isn’t a thief with a conscience? I suppose some criminals have lines they won’t cross. It’s too bad Vince Sledge isn’t one of them.
I tense when a hand moves to my hips and squeezes hard. I bite the inside of my cheek and will myself not to move when what I want is to elbow Jackson away from me. I'm back within his reach, and my stomach clenches.
When the doors to the elevator slide open, I release the breath I was holding. Everyone starts to step off, but Jackson keeps his hold on me for a beat.
His mouth comes to my ear, and there’s a chill that follows. “You’re not going to get away this time.”
As quickly as I can, I jerk away from him and rush into the apartment.
The door slams behind us, and I realize we’re not home.
We’re back in hell.
Chapter Sixteen
LUKE
I’m freaking out as Maxim practically drags me from the diner and back to my car.
“Keep it together,” he says and waits for me to look at him. When I do, I can see his eyes are focused, and that’s what I need right now. It feels like I’m coming apart from the inside, but he’s right, I can't lose it.
“What’s your great idea on how to get her back then?” It’s not his fault, but I’ve got to take my anger out on someone, and he’s the closest thing to me.
“Your safe house is near here, right?” When I nod, he goes around the car and gets into the passenger seat. “Let’s start there. We need to suit up and find out how they got to them.”
Following a plan feels like I’m somehow in control, and it’s better than spiraling. When we get to the safe house where Kelly and Marco should have been protected, I don’t see anything out of the ordinary.
There aren’t any alerts that the alarm was triggered, so when we go inside, I check the cameras. I have one set up at all the entrances and exits, and when I run the video back, I see Kelly helping Marco out of the house and he’s holding his arm. Looking around, I see the rug in the hallway is turned up on one side, and the table nearby has been moved. It looks like someone fell into it and maybe that’s why they had to leave.
“I’m guessing it was an emergency,” I say to Maxim, who nods and watches the video again. “I really don’t think she would have risked leaving otherwise.”
“They probably got them at the hospital then.”
“Fuck.” I thought through all the scenarios of someone trying to find them here, but what good did that do if they had to leave? It’s an oversight I don’t plan on letting happen again.
“Where’s your armory?” Maxim asks, breaking through my thoughts.
“Upstairs,” I tell him and lead the way.
On the second floor, there’s a spare room that I use as storage. Or it appears that way. Walking over to where I’ve got a mattress leaning up against a wall, I slide it over and reveal a hidden panel. After I punch in the code, the door swings open, and we step inside. In my line of work, you can never have too much protection, and I’ve used this house for several clients. It’s a good place to lay low when I’ve got VIPs that need to disappear for a bit. That can mean they require extra reinforcements for their own personal security.
“This should do,” Maxim says sarcastically as we go through and take what we need.
“Now what?” I ask him when we’re back downstairs and armed to the teeth.
“I know someone on the inside," he tells me as he checks his weapons. “It’s costing me a lot of favors, but I’ll get you in there. Getting them out is on you.”
“What are we waiting for?”
We take a different car this time and park a few blocks away. When we’re close enough, Maxim sends a text and then we wait. It’s long enough that I’m about to tell him to text again when I see the service door at the back of the building open slightly.
Maxim takes the lead, and I follow behind him. As quietly as we can, we slip inside, and the door closes silently behind us. When I turn around, I see a woman standing there, and although she looks familiar, I don’t know her.