Page 44 of Guarding Truth
“I’ll meet you out front,” the man said to the person on the phone. “They aren’t going anywhere. I made sure of that.”
Juliette crawled over the hole, rolled, and pointed her feet through the opening. Bracing her hands on either side of the vent, she lined herself up with the man and let go. She dropped onto his back and wrapped her arms over his throat in a choke hold. He couldn’t yell for help with the pressure on his windpipe. The guy flailed and smashed her against the wall. She sucked in a breath but doubled down her grip. He wasn’t getting away.
The building’s sprinkler system kicked on with a hiss. Water saturated them, and her slick arms slipped from around his neck.
The big guy had no issues with his grip, and meaty hands wrapped around Juliette’s throat. He shoved her up against the wall until her feet dangled. She kicked and clawed at the man’s face, but he pressed down on her neck with a mighty force. Her vision blurred and she gasped for air.
A crack sounded and the pressure on her throat relented. Another thud and the man hit the floor. Her vision returned and landed on Caleb, standing over the man, holding a laptop like a hatchet.
Her throat was raw, but she managed to croak out, “Run. Second man.”
“We need to see if this guy has any weapons.”
Caleb bent to check the man, but Juliette grabbed his hand. “No time.” The sprinklers had doused the trash can fire, but the smoke was sucking the oxygen from the air. Juliette’s eyes burned as they raced to the reception area. How had these guys made it past security? She shuddered at the idea that these men may have taken down the security guard at the front of the building.
They were on their own.
Juliette skidded to a halt and put her hand on Caleb’s chest as he was about to open the front door. “There’s a second guy,” Juliette said. “The guy you took down said he was going to meet someone ‘out front.’ I’m assuming he meant the front of the building, like maybe with a getaway car, but just be careful. We don’t want to be ambushed.”
Caleb nodded and opened the door a crack. “The hallway is clear other than smoke. Let’s proceed to the stairs and keep an eye out for our adversary.”
He pushed the door open wide, and they entered the hallway, both swiveling their heads from right to left. Juliette glanced over her shoulder as they moved forward. Her brain wouldn’t let go of the premonition that they were walking into a trap.
“He could be hiding in the stairwell,” Juliette whispered.
“And I don’t trust that the guy we knocked out will stay down for long.” They approached the metal door to the stairwell. Caleb pushed the bar to the door, inching it open so as to not announce their presence.
“Clear,” he said. Juliette followed behind him, her hand on his back, peering through the gaps in the stair railing to check for any signs of movement.
She put her foot on the first step, but the sound of pounding footsteps from below sent ice through her veins. She froze.
“Don’t take another step.”
Now she regretted her decision not to stop and frisk the other guy for weapons. Because the second man rounded the corner of the stairwell with a gun in his hand. The guy must have heard them coming.
The masked man stood halfway up the stairs and leveled the weapon at Juliette’s head.
“Move and she dies.”
* * *
THURSDAY, 11:00 A.M.
Caleb’s pulse jackhammered in his ear at the sight of a gun trained on Juliette by some punk in a ski mask.
He wasn’t going down like this, and he’d fight this guy hand to hand if it meant protecting Jules. His thoughts flashed back to their basic training days. Hazard Pay had always managed to get out of tough spots. Maybe if he thought like her…
Her eyes widened, reading his mind as if they shared a brain. He gave her an imperceptible nod. Without allowing himself a chance to second-guess this plan, he pivoted, put his feet on the edge of the top step, and launched himself at the man. Solid muscle broke his fall, and they tumbled down the remainder of the stairs. Caleb landed on the man’s chest and ducked a punch. He pinned the man’s arms down. This guy wasn’t going anywhere.
“Run, Jules. Call for help.”
Of course, she wouldn’t. She retrieved the guy’s gun and turned it on him—at his temple. “Now you don’t move.”
The man sagged in defeat. Caleb rolled off him to check his pockets for other weapons. He passed Jules some zip ties, and she secured the man’s hands to the handrail.
The door above them clanged. Smoke filled the stairwell, and the other gunman emerged.
“Time to go,” Juliette said. She whipped the man’s ski mask off, and Caleb got a good look before Juliette grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet.