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“I’m sorry,” Geoffrey whispered brokenly. “I’m so sorry that I couldn’t…”
Jude stepped close, putting his hand on the back of the other man’s neck, applying just a little pressure to ease painfully tense muscles. “Don’t. Don’t ever apologize for being sickened by what you saw.”
“But Andrei—”
“He’s good at what he does. He’ll be fine. We’ve got to worry about ourselves right now.”
A second later, the elevator doors slid open and they stepped out into what looked like an empty lobby. Jude placed his hand on Geoffrey’s arm again, but with less force as they started to walk toward the front doors. It looked as if they were going to be able to stroll right out with no additional trouble…until a large man in a charcoal suit stepped out of a partially hidden room, placing his hulking frame between them and freedom.
Jude’s steps slowed and he felt a shiver go through Geoffrey as they both took in the man with beady black eyes and the too-large nose that looked as if it had been broken so many times that it was just a mound of misshapen clay in the middle of his face. Tightening his hand on Geoffrey’s elbow, Jude pulled the young man behind him while taking one last step forward, putting his larger body between Geoffrey and the guard.
“Excuse me, sir,” Smashed Nose said in a nasally voice. “I need you to come with me.”
“No, we’re leaving. My pet is sick,” Jude sharply said, repeating the same excuse that he’d give earlier.
“No one can leave until the auction is completed,” the guard calmly stated. At the same time, he reached inside his jacket and pulled out a gun. Jude’s heart dropped into his stomach at the sight of the weapon pointed at his chest. Geoffrey cried softly behind him, his fist tightening in Jude’s suit jacket.
Jude frowned, while mentally taking in the short distance between himself and the man. Only two, maybe three steps. His stomach clenched and he knew if he tried to take a deep breath, it would be ragged and shaky. Instead, he lowered his shoulder and surged forward, ripping his jacket out of Geoffrey’s grasp. Plowing his shoulder into Smashed Nose’s sternum with all his weight thrown into the impact, Jude knocked the man to the ground. The air in the man’s lungs rushed out of him in a whoosh before the sound of his head cracking against the ground echoed through the empty hall. The gun clattered against the ground and slid away.
Every instinct screamed for Jude to check that the man was okay, but he didn’t wait, didn’t check. Spinning on heel, he grabbed Geoffrey’s arm as he stood there stunned and pulled him through the foyer. As they exploded through the double doors and onto the concrete stairs leading back to the sidewalk, Jude slowed his steps. His eyes were drawn to the park directly across the street from Music Hall. Snow was on the other side of that park.
Digging his heels in, he stopped Geoffrey as he tried to run toward the car up the block. “No, through the park. Andrei has the keys to the car.”
Geoffrey didn’t hesitate. With a bob of his head, he darted across the empty street and over a waist-high black metal fence surrounding the park. Jude followed close behind him, the cold metal biting into his palms as he launched himself over the fence. They both dodged the lights, sticking closer to the shadows and trees as they ran, not looking back at the looming brick building. Jude’s heart pounded painfully in his chest. Where was Andrei? Was he safe? Trapped? A voice screamed in his head that he go back for Andrei now that Geoffrey was safely away from the auction, but where the hell would he look for the other man? It would kill him if their abrupt departure had hurt Andrei.
The lights of the city grew brighter as they got closer to the opposite border of the park, Geoffrey’s pace slowed to a walk and Jude stopped beside him.
“Where?” he demanded, breathlessly. “Where are they?”
Jude paused, his eyes frantically searching the area, unsure of which direction to head in until his gaze snagged on a lean, shadowy figure walking briskly in their direction. His heart leapt at the sight of the man. “There. That’s Snow.”
Geoffrey took off, launching himself directly at Snow so that the surgeon stumbled backward a step, caught off-balance. Jude watched as Snow pulled Geoffrey away and quickly checked over him with careful hands, making sure that he was unharmed before he thrust him toward a black Mercedes on the other side of the street.
“Get in the car,” he growled, already striding toward Jude.
Jude wanted to smile at Snow, but he couldn’t. His body was shaking from their escape and the horror of what they’d witnessed. He wanted a shower. He wanted the cops to descend on that place and lock up all those people after setting those poor boys free. He wanted to forget everything he’d seen and return to his own blissful ignorance. He wanted to be alone for a while and just…process.
