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He wanted to say more, but he couldn’t. He knew I was right. We had one chance to make things right, or we’d have more problems than we could contend with.
Spreading out near the door, we waited for two of Moore’s men to slip inside and check for surprises. Since we hadn’t had time to plan our little heist, they’d volunteered to go first so we weren’t walking into a deathtrap from the start.
Five minutes later, they came back out with the all clear, and unease skittered across my skin. It all felt too easy. “There was no one inside?”
Warner, the eldest of them, shrugged. “There were plenty, but we found a path to the painting that won’t be too bad.”
I looked at Moore, and he gave me an affirmative nod. He trusted the man, and I trusted Moore. That had to count for something. “Let’s go.”
Once inside, we split into three groups. Two would go through the building and take out anyone still awake—a small sacrifice because Cash would kill them for losing his bargaining chip—and my group would find the painting and get it out.
With every step that we didn’t find someone, the prickling sensation of dread got worse. Peering back at Greyson and Dominic, I could tell they felt the same. Something wasn’t right, and knowing Cash, that meant things were about to go very wrong.
We made it into a narrow hallway when it all came to a head.
“Painting’s up ahead,” Warner whispered. I stared at the wood paneling, wondering why it looked so strange. I tried to pull myself away from it, but there was something so odd about it…
“There’s a security panel we’ll have to get through, but I figured he’d know what to do.” Warner jerked his head at Grey like we weren’t all thinking the same thing. Overachiever that he was, Grey pulled something out of his pocket and stepped toward the door.
“Good idea, although I have the keycard if you’d prefer that.” The prickling ran through my body again, and I searched the area until I found what I was looking for. Not far from us, an Ace smirked, dangling something from his hand. The keycard. “I’ll trade you the painting for the girl. Boss would love that.”
Grey and Dominic both took a step forward, looking ready to beat the hell out of him, but the Ace just laughed.
“There’s no need for that. It was just an offer. Tell you what. You get this from me, and we’ll let you have the painting.”
I was about to tell him where to shove his offer when that strange wood paneling swung open, and I realized it looked weird because it had hinges. Each section was a door.
“Fuck.”
Instead of freezing at the sight of more Aces, we moved as one. We shifted until we had most of the hall covered. I instinctively checked on the boys. Grey was on the farthest edge of the group from me, though Dominic was close by, and they were looking at each other. I tried to decipher their silent conversation, but I didn’t have the time. Before I could figure out what was happening, the first Ace rushed us.
The good thing was, we were all trained to fight, so even though we’d already had one round with the Aces, I was sure we’d make it through another.
At first, we all stayed close to one another. It felt like a group training session in the gym, one I forced my men into at least twice a week. You had to learn how to work together, not only developing muscle memory, but knowing how the others in your group thought. It was much harder than it looked, but we nailed it. Punch, kick, punch, kick. Where one needed help, the others were ready. We moved like we’d fought together for years because, other than Dominic, we had.
And the Aces fell at our feet.
But they figured it out soon enough. It started with one cutting between us, and we dealt with it. Then another. And another. Finally, I was too focused on keeping myself upright to see anyone else. I knew we were winning because despite there being more men than we were expecting, they were slow to be replaced.
Then everything changed when Moore yelled. “Greyson, gun!”
None of us had pulled guns because, like in the warehouse earlier, we were in too tight of an area to do it smartly. But Grey was at the fringe of the group, working on the door with Warner close by, giving him room.
No. I didn’t know how, but I had to get to him. I threw off my current attacker and ducked the next one, only for him to grab me at the last moment. My shoulder ached from his grip, but I didn’t care. I had to save Greyson. I kicked and punched, doing anything to get away. I’d fight against the devil to get to Greyson.
The pop of a gun stopped me in my tracks. Every part of me froze with panic. Heart racing with fear, I twisted, praying with everything I had that I wasn’t about to see the love of my life dead.
The first thing I noticed was Greyson on the ground. The second thing was Dominic on top of him. A little blood was dripping from Grey’s temple, but that was all I could see.
Dominic met my eyes, and my heart lurched in my chest. Then he nodded. Relief hit me so hard, I nearly sobbed.
He’s alive.
I barely had time to think about it before I was pulled into the fray again, but it didn’t matter.
I was about to pull my gun and start shooting, tight space be damned, when someone grabbed my wrist. Moving on instinct, I twisted to punch them, only to have my other hand caught too. By Dominic.
“What the hell are you doing?”
