Page 57 of His Lair

It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask her about him. Question if she feels the same way. If she’s as into him as he seems to be into her… Although I don’t really think she’s going to have much of a choice in the matter. If Emmanuel says she belongs to him, well, there is no saving her from that.

The ping of the elevator opening has me on my feet. Then the sound of gunshots has me pulling the pistol out of my boot. I shove Evie backwards. “Stay there,”I hiss before sprinting towards the foyer.

I clock them before they can clock me. There’re three of them. The first guy goes down like a sack of bricks. The other two step forward, appearing more alert. I quickly aim and hit the second guy center mass and then step out from behind the wall until I’m in full view of the third asshole. Raising my arm, I level my sight between his eyes and pull the trigger.

Silence envelops me, but I’m buzzing with adrenaline. “Evie?” I call out, scanning the foyer to make sure no one else is going to try to get the jump on me.

“Yeah.” Her quiet reply comes from behind me.

I spin around and look her over. She’s in one piece, a bit pale but alive. “I told you to stay there.”

Footsteps from the hallway that leads to the bedroom have me spinning around again. I relax a little when I see Antonia. My glare drops to the pistol in her hand and I smile. She’s smart.

“Where’s Jazzy?” I ask her.

“Why?”

“Because we need to get out of here, Antonia. We don’t know how many more of them are out there.” I sigh.

“Who are you?” she whispers.

“I work for Emmanuel.”

“What?”

“Call him if you don’t believe me. But we need to go!” I subtly pull my phone out of my pocket and send Emmanuel a text. It’s better he hears about this from me first.

Me:

The penthouse was hit. Everyone is fine. Three dead in the foyer, though.

Emmanuel:

And Evie?

I look over to the woman in question before typing out a reply.

Me:

Fine. Shaken up a bit.

The next thing I know my phone is ringing in my hand, and I put E on speaker.

“Where’s Evie?”

“Here, safe.”

“Jazzy?” is his next question.

“She’s okay. We all are,” Antonia replies for me.

“Lai, get them to the compound. Now,” he tells me, adding a quiet “thank you” before cutting the call. And I don’t know if it’s the adrenaline wearing off or if I’m in shock, because I could have sworn Emmanuel Lopez just thanked me. He never thanks anyone.

I pocket my phone and turn back to Antonia. “Go get Jazzy. And where is Charlotte?”

“She’s in the panic room with Jazzy. I pushed her in there and shut the door,” she tells me.

“Good. Let’s get them.”