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Guns stop. The howls of pain die. Only the sound of rushing water fills the surrounding space.
“How did they get in here?”
“James sound off!” Bastian’s chest rumbles under my palms. The vibrations work to take the edge off my frayed nerves.
“All dead. Senior and junior won’t be a problem.” I turn to see a heaving James pull Con and Arthur in for a hug. For killers, they sure are touchy-feely.
Which reminds me that Liam has a brother. “Yeah, that’s great and all but the other brother is still out there.” I’m shivering so hard my teeth clatter together.
Arthur looks at Bastian who gives a shrug like it’s no big thing.
“One problem at a time. Arthur, we need to shut the water off at the valve. Con, get the building in lockdown.”
I watch Bastian’s lips curl into a snarl. “Someone let these fuckers up here. Bring the doorman to level twelve. I’ll deal with him after I tend to Lili.”
Con scrubs a hand down his face. “Yes, boss.”
Behind him James is collecting the fallen and Arthur is heading for the water valve somewhere out of sight.
Bastian walks over to the wall and hits some invisible button. A panel swings open and he flicks a switch upward. In seconds, the water pooling around our feet drains away.
“Neat trick. That could have come in handy earlier.”
He grunts. “Something jammed it closed. I’ll look into it.”
I take a couple of steps back and just take in the man in front of me. He’s a damn tank in the finest clothes. He’s drenched, but even then he’s a man I can’t take my eyes off. He’s flawed in so many ways, but his heart is in the right place.
God, why do I love looking at this man so much? His shirt clings to every muscle. His dress pants are soaked and highlight the fact he never misses leg day at the gym.
“And check the killer amount of water your sprinkler system released,” I suggest, and pull my head out of the gutter. This would make a good time to apologize for lighting the fire in the first place, but I don't think I will. He earned every bit of me ruining all his furniture and pretty white carpet.
He’s messing around with something else on the hidden panel that makes a large amount of air flow through the penthouse.
“It won’t take long for this place to dry out.”
As he talks and explains how the water system works, my head is stuck on how the shirt clinging to his muscles latches onto every contour and bulge. The material is transparent when it’s wet and I never thought I was into tattoos but this man is covered in them.
Huh. A little detail I never knew about him. Then again, he never took his shirt off or got soaked in front of me either.
Come on, Lili. You almost died here. And so did your friends.
I mentally shake myself.
I guess it's just easier not to think about how close we all came to not making it out of this water death trap with our lives intact.
“Yes, that too. Some wires must have gotten crossed between level twelve and here during the security system upgrade. There’s more work to be done.”
I back track on what he said a moment ago and start connecting dots. I level a narrowed-eyed look on him and plant my hands on his chest when he comes back to wrap me in his arms.
“Level twelve. What goes on down there on level?—”
He cups my chin before I can voice my full question. “Level twelve is off limits. No questions. Drop it right here and right now, Lili Irons. You’re innocent love and light will never know what goes on down there.”
I cock my head to this side and give a little shrug like I’ll give in and back off.
Ha. For now. But I’ll eventually find out. I’ll pick another hill to climb for the time being. “It’s Bellemore, Bastian. So, if I can’t know about level twelve, then what’s on level twenty-nine? And why is my birth date the elevator code to get there?”
His eyes fall to my arm before he slowly lifts his gaze to caress the side of my face with a warm look. He just made a mental decision not to correct me. Arrogance pulls his expression into a smug smile. I’ve known the man long enough to know his tell signs. He wants to fight me on my last name but until he adopts me or marries me I’m not an Irons.
