Page 99 of Sweet Deception

Bozhe moy,that was close. I’m just praying that the hum of technological equipment masks my movements and breathing.

Above me, Rory’s tracker continues its sluggish progress.

Sixty-seven percent…

Seventy-three percent…

Too late to do anything now. I’ll just have to hope Rory’s tracker reaches the finish line before we all die.

From beneath the desk, I see Troy’s shiny designer shoes. He circles slowly, like a predator certain of his prey. My tablet silently signals that the Gallagher upload and link is finally complete, but I’m trapped.

Darren, who’s still being held down in the hallway, continues to provoke Troy. “I see that face job Finn gave you is healing up nicely.”

He must be trying to reclaim Troy’s attention so he’ll leave, but I don’t think that strategy is working.

For a few tense seconds, the angry man stands at the table’s edge, his feet pointing toward me. I stop breathing entirely, but that can only last so long.

Finally, his fancy shoes turn away, and he struts right out of the room, letting the door slam shut behind him.

As soon as I’m alone, I release a gusty breath.

That’s when the distinctive cock of a gun assaults my ears. I climb out from under the table as my eyes fly to the monitors.

Troy has his gun trained on Darren.

If I don’t do something, the only man to ever capture my heart will end up in that corpse pond out back.

All because of me.

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 didI 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 mymemory 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 metallicclang. 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.