Page 41 of Sweet Deception (Irish Kings #4)
Chapter Thirty-Six
Despite the pain caused by these two bozos wrenching my arms behind my back, I fix my focus entirely on Troy, using every technique I can think of to distract him from the server room.
My heart nearly gave out when he went inside. I was struck numb by the fear that he would come out with a fistful of Nika’s hair, or worse, that he’d have shot her on sight.
Fucking hell.
Why did I agree to let her do this?
We’re trained professionals, but she’s a freelancing tech expert with some ballet training and a damn iPad. What was I thinking?
She could be killed in all this, and it’d be my fault for not having the strength to tell her no. Nika needs protection, and I’ve got to get up off this floor. Now.
I use my core muscles to fold my legs under myself, preparing to lunge at him, everything inside me coiling tight to strike?—
When we’re suddenly plunged into darkness.
“What the fuck’s going on?” Troy shouts into the void.
Taking advantage of the disorientation that comes with the dark, I spring to my feet, break free from his men, and use my memory of the layout to back away and find myself a spot along the wall.
There, I dig into my satchel and retrieve a pair of the night-vision goggles Rory developed.
They have infrared and other types of vision capabilities, and as soon as I snap them in place, a green glow covers the world.
I can now see the hallway, the two muscleheads that tried to contain me, the obstacles in our path, and Troy…
creeping around and attempting to pin me back down.
Nika?
Troy can’t know she’s here.
I sprint and barrel into Troy intentionally, tackling him. His gun goes flying with a metallic clang . I ignore the weapon and punch him three times in the head. Once I’m sure he’ll be down for a while, I stumble to my feet and race for the dark figure.
When I reach her, I shove my palm over her mouth and whisper, “Shh. It’s me. Quiet.”
Quickly, I retrieve a second pair of goggles from the satchel and affix them to her head before the others behind us can get their bearings.
Together, we ease our way down the hallway, staying as silent as possible.
We dart left around the corner toward the emergency stairwell entrance. We need to return to the basement, get through the grate, and crawl down into the drainage pipe.
I shove through the stairwell door, but just as we reach the landing, the lights flicker back to life. Nika and I both halt, sharing a wild glance before we hear the pounding of footsteps coming from both above and below us. Shit.
After yanking the goggles down so that they’re hanging around my neck, I rip open the door that leads back to the main floor only to find Troy and his idiots in pursuit.
“Fan-fucking-tastic.” I slam the emergency door in their faces and jam it with a collapsible telescope baton from my satchel.
It’s two feet long extended. Perfect. Then I basically throw Nika up the flight of stairs on our right.
The pounding boots coming from above are still several floors up.
We’ll have to escape onto an in-between floor if we don’t want to confront them.
Grunts, shouts, and weapons being cocked echo through the stairwell as we dash up the next two flights of steps. I throw open the first door we come to and drag Nika inside. Sprinting for the elevator, I jab my thumb at the call button as fast as I can.
The thing is slow as a fucking snail on benzos. My stomach sinks when I realize it’s not going to get here in time.
“Over there!” Nika points to a ventilation shaft set into the wall. “I think all these shafts lead to the basement.”
She’s right.
I rip the ventilation grate open and shove my head inside. Just as I’d hoped, I find a built-in ladder for repairs inside.
Praise God. We’re in luck.
“Ladies first.” I give Nika a lift, and she climbs in before I maneuver myself behind her. I ram the grate shut as we descend into the darkness below, hearts flying and the noise of our would-be captors thundering all around us.