Switched (11 page)

“We have to get you to a doctor. At the very least, you need first aid. We don’t even have a kit. It’s downstairs.”

His pained expression—eyes filled with sadness and cheeks flushed red with an anger she believed spoke of a need for vengeance—was for her. She loved that he cared. She couldn’t believe they’d gone from a missed chance of a date to a moment where the rest of the world fell away when she touched his face.

She also knew whatever they had and whatever first aid she needed had to wait. “After we get in that room, rescue all those people and make sure no one else dies, then we can find a Band-Aid.”

The tension around Aaron’s eyes eased. “All in a day’s work.”

Chapter Ten

When the riot of noise ended, the occupants of the small conference room slowly came out from their hiding places under the table and behind chairs. One at a time, they stood up and returned to their positions around the table.

A squeak of a shoe against the floor sent them all diving for a second round. That time lacked the gunfire and shadows on the ceiling.

By the time they’d filed back into place, tiles hung loose from the ceiling next to exposed wires. Broken glass crunched under their feet as the room croaked and groaned from the aftermath of the shoot-out.

Angie cleared her throat three times before she could force the words out. “What was that? An attack? If so, why were we the only ones shooting?”

“Who was that?” Mark asked before he dropped into the nearest chair.

“Now do you believe me when I say we have to get out of here?” Brandon headed for the door, only to be stopped be a shake of Max’s head. “Enough waiting. The next wave could be a real attack and not just someone doing recon. If we ram the door—”

Palmer took up the position at the head of the table. “We don’t know who or what is out there.”

Angie watched the
Lord of the Flies
type of breakdown of leadership in the room. Arguments that worked just minutes ago weren’t succeeding at convincing anyone, including her. Between the screaming fear bouncing around inside her and the very real pressure that came from having opened the door to this mess, she could not take any more.

She’d made a mistake. A terrible mistake. She’d refocus and move on, but she had to get out of there first, and she didn’t see where she was one inch closer to making that happen.

She bit down on her lip as her gaze moved around the room. So much despair and worry. She saw it in the harsh lines on their faces and caved-in looks of their eyes.

Until Lowell moved into her line of sight. There was not a hair out of place on him. He’d taken a seat at the middle of the table, not his usual position. He watched the room erupt in chaos around him, wearing a smirk of satisfaction.

For the span of a blink she wondered if he was the mastermind behind today’s activities. The cool demeanor and lack of panic made him stand out. He’d say those were the characteristics that made him successful. The ones that let him rise above the petty concerns that stopped lesser men.

She’d heard the speech a million times. She’d never believed it…until now. He possessed that certain something that let the world collapse while he stood on the sidelines working on how to profit from the destruction.

“It’s time.” His voice boomed through the room with the force of a megaphone.

“Exactly.” Relief washed over Brandon’s features. “Let’s get out of here and take our chances in the hall. If we stay in a group, it’s harder for anyone to cause trouble.”

Lowell folded his hands in front of him on the table as if he were holding his weekly executive meeting. Forget that he had just survived a gunfire battle. “I meant, it’s time for the person who has been hosting this little party to step forward. We aren’t leaving until we figure out who’s behind this.”

Her mouth went dry. “What?”

“What are you saying?” Mark asked.

“Someone in this room started us on this course.” Lowell looked around the room, his gaze stopping on each one of them as he spoke. “It’s time to admit the plan so we can all go home.”

Mark frowned. “You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, I assure you I am.” He leaned back in his chair and brushed the tile dust off his dark pants. “I’ve reasoned this through. It is the only explanation.”

Palmer leaned forward, his gun nowhere in sight. “And what have you decided?”

“Brandon crowded me in this room. Palmer kept us here.” Lowell pointed to one, then the other.

Palmer didn’t take being implicated very well. His usual stern frown slipped to a look of disbelief. “Me?”

“Mark has not shown one second of worry.” Lowell spun his chair until he faced her head-on. “And Angie. Seems to me you have the most to gain here.”

Her mind scrambled as she searched for a way out of this situation. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“My patience has expired.” He glanced at the ripped ceiling. “Whoever it is, admit your role and I will only fire you. Make me wait through another five minutes of this and I will vow to do much worse.”

Mark scoffed. “It wasn’t me.”

Brandon held out his arms. “It wasn’t any of us. He’s doing some sort of power play.”

“Mr. Craft, if you’ll pardon the brief show of insubordination, this isn’t the time for this sort of shakedown.” Palmer’s voice grew calmer the longer he spoke. “There is real danger out there.”

“From the gunfire, I’d say there’s real danger in here, too,” Lowell replied.

He glanced at his watch. “Four minutes.”

* * *

R
OYAL KEPT WATCH AT THE
door while Aaron shucked his shirt. He’d have to jury-rig a bandage for Risa’s wound. Besides, the plan gave his hands something to do other than pull her into his arms. Hearing those shots and not being with her had taken at least a decade off his life. His head still pounded at the thought of her in so much danger.

Then he glanced at the red skin around her waist and his mind went wild. His fiancée had walked out two years ago over the dangers in his job. She’d said she couldn’t sit at home and wait for a call telling her something had happened to him. She wanted him to get a nine-to-five job at a desk and with a retirement plan.

Something safe and boring. No more guns and certainly not car chases and investigations.

She’d wanted to take everything he was and change it. When he refused to give in to her demands, she’d walked out. He could still see the empty apartment, feel the rumbling hole inside him, when he’d opened the door that night. The note that said she’d rather walk away than bury him.

He’d learned about distance that day. And he’d vowed never again to be in the position of choosing the life he loved or the woman in his bed.

Which was why he never should have sat down across from Risa in that coffee shop. She was a woman you came home to every night. She wouldn’t put up with stakeouts or gunshot wounds. Her life was calm and normal, except for the hours she spent with him.

Lost in thought, he lifted his T-shirt over his head.

Her voice broke through his mental wandering. “What are you doing?”

“I want to wrap my T-shirt around you for extra support. You’re thin, which is already to your disadvantage in this circumstance. You need the padding to keep from irritating the injury further.”

Her already big eyes rounded until they took over her entire face. She gave him an unblinking stare, but every now and then her gaze would slip to his bare stomach. Not that he was complaining.

He folded the shirt and brought it around her middle, careful not to pull too tight. As bandages went, this one was weak, but it would give her a bit of extra padding. One good hit and she’d see stars.

He picked up her shoes and handed them to her. “We’re heading downstairs. My men are outside and we’re going to get you to them and then storm the conference room.”

The rapid eyeblink signaled her return from wherever her thoughts had taken her. “It’s too dangerous.”

He slipped the shirt and jacket back on. “We’re out of options. At least I know, thanks to the intel you gathered, that it’s a confined space with limited bodies.”

“But what about the people outside?”

Royal poked his head back in the room. “Our men are watching them. They’ll be questioned and let go.”

She looked cornered. “I still—”

“It’s all clear.” Royal motioned for her to follow.

With a hand on her elbow, Aaron guided her to the door. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “We’re headed for the bottom floor. If we get there, you go straight outside. Do not look back.”

“That makes it sound like you don’t intend to come with me.”

He didn’t bother to respond to that because she wouldn’t like the answer. Instead, he focused on the hall. They walked with her sandwiched between them, their steps in tandem and their bodies close. No one was getting close to her again.

They stopped in front of the elevator.

She stared up at the lights above the doors. “Is this going to work?”

Royal continued his surveillance of the hallway. The sweep of his gun and gaze never stopped. “With new construction, the elevators work with the emergency system. You stay out in case of fire. That’s the only problem we haven’t had yet.”

She made a face. “Did you have to mention it?”

Aaron jumped in. Time to put the new plan into action. “You take the stairs.”

Royal nodded. “Right. See you down there.”

Risa caught Royal’s arm when he pivoted toward the emergency stairwell door. “You’re not coming with us?”

“He’s the backup.” Aaron nodded for him to go before she could dissect each step and get them arguing rather than moving.

Aaron saw the floor numbers above the door change. He pulled Risa to the side and tucked her behind him. Ready to shoot, he pressed his side against the wall and out of the direct line of fire should anyone come out shooting.

The bell dinged and the doors opened. Risa jumped, but Aaron didn’t move. He listened for any sound or sign of movement. When the doors started to shut again, he slid his foot in the opening. With his hand in hers, he pulled her into the car and let the doors slide shut this time.

He stabbed the lobby button before putting his body in front of hers again.

She shoved against his shoulder until he faced her. “What about the conference room and the people in there?”

He found smart woman so sexy, but this was the downside. “We’re going to the lobby. I hand you to my men and we go back upstairs to see what’s happening there. I have some concern the room is wired with explosives, but someone on my crew can help with that. Someone else can take you to safety and bring the police back with them.”

Her face fell. “You’re leaving me.”

“Only for as long as it takes to end this thing.” He glanced at the numbers and figured he only had seconds before he had to be ready for whatever came through that door. “I want you to know one thing.”

“What?”

He didn’t touch her because he couldn’t. One brush against her and his control would break, and right now he needed his mind in the game and his hands off her.

But later everything would be different. “When this is over I’m going to kiss you.”

“Okay.”

“Not just okay. It will be one of those long sexy ones, all heat and passion.”

She smiled as she shifted her weight around. The moves looked like dancing but likely had more to do with nerves. “I’m not arguing.”

“But you’re not understanding me.” When her eyebrows lifted and her legs stopped moving, he knew he had her attention and kept talking. “This is going to be a hell of a kiss. The kind that knocks your shoes off and has you wondering why you ever bothered to kiss a man before me.”

She leaned in so close that all he had to do was meet her halfway. He pulled out of kissing range.

Her head dropped to the side, sending her hair falling over her shoulder. “You’re awfully sure of yourself.”

“It comes from the slow buildup from simple dates to a complex disaster. This has been brewing. It’s all wrapped up with adrenaline and excitement and now it’s spinning out of our control.”

She balanced her hand against his chest. “Aren’t you worried?”

“About what?”

“Losing the excitement of it all.” She closed her eyes for a second and pressed in closer until her breath blew across his lips. When she opened them again they were cloudy with an emotion he hoped telegraphed desire. “It’s the perfect moment when all you have is the intake of air and a wealth of anticipation.”

“Yes.” His mouth slanted to line up with hers.

“When you lose it, it’s gone forever. You can’t get that prekiss part back, and that’s a shame because it’s the best part. Sometimes I think it’s better than the actual kiss.”

“If you truly believe that, I’m not sure you’ve been kissing right.”

“But you’ll teach me.”

The whisper of words shot straight to his lower body. She was so sexy, so right and yet so wrong for him.

“Yes.”

When the lights blinked out, he almost didn’t notice because his eyes had shut as his mouth lowered. But he didn’t mistake the sharp slam of the elevator or the grind as all electricity inside shut off for a second.

His center of gravity shifted as his body went airborne. With his arms wrapped around her, he twisted and flew. The hard knock threw them sideways into the wall. His back took the brunt of the slam, but he didn’t miss her groan as he crushed her close.

Remembering her injuries, he put out a hand to keep them from bouncing and hitting a second time. He didn’t know how much she could take.

By the time the lights snapped back on, they were pressed against the wall, but the car had stopped moving. Risa’s face turned into him and burrowed into his chest. The crack against the wall had his vision blurring. He blinked several times to bring the small space back into focus.

She lifted her head and sent him a frown. “I hate this conference center.”

“Agreed.”

She let out an exaggerated breath, blowing her hair out of her eyes. “What happens now?”

Aaron glanced at the trapdoor at the top of the elevator and waited for it to burst open. “Nothing good.”