“We find Bella, and I get you both out of here. Then I’ll deal with him.”
“He wants the painting, right?”
“Yes.” I bump my knee into the corner of the patio chair and silence a curse.
“We can’t let him take it.”
“I won’t.”
“I’ll get fired, and I need this job. I need—”
“I need you to trust me, sweetheart.”
Her grip on my hand tightens; she didn’t miss my slip of the tongue. I can’t help it. Being near her has brought the past back in full force, and I’m tired of fighting it.
I catch sight of a shadow nearing the door, and I pause, but only momentarily. Getting the girls safe is all that matters.
I shove my phone into her hand as I drag her along in the darkness. “Go straight to Bella. Get her out of the penthouse, then call Liam. My passcode is 7502.”
“W-what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to distract him.”
“But what if he hurts you?”
“Just because I let you get the better of me doesn’t mean I’ll let anyone else.” I squeeze her hand.
“Oh, youletme, huh?” There’s a lightness back in her voice, which was my plan. To get her to calm down and think reasonably.
“Yes. I’ll prove it to you later.” I press a kiss to her cheek. “When I reach the other side of the balcony, I’ll make a noise; that’s when you run inside. Don’t look back, okay?”
She nods, and I release her, slinking through the shadows closer to the man. He sees and starts in my direction. Once he’s far enough away from the doorway, I let out a whistle.
He turns fully toward me and Maya sneaks inside undetected.
Now… it’s time to have some fun.
Chapter 27
Maya
Idon’tlookback.No matter how much I want to confirm Soren hasn’t been hurt already, I keep my focus on getting to Bella.
My legs shake as I race up the stairs, and I trip up a step, falling hard on my knees. I ignore the pain, pulling myself onto my weak legs and glancing back to make sure no one is after me. When I hit the hallway, I speed up as much as my fuzzy socks will allow on marble floors. How have I learned nothing about more reliable footwear?
Bella’s door is shut, and my hands shake around the doorknob, refusing to work right. The door finally gives, and I rush into the room and straight to the bed where the darling angel is fast asleep.
“Bella.” I grab her hand and begin pulling her from the bed, but the girl is a deep sleeper and doesn’t stir. “Bella, get up. We need to go.”
She grumbles but refuses to move. She’s deadweight, and I can’t carry her like this.
“A bad man is here, and we need to get out of here.” I pat her cheeks softly. “Come on, sweetie.”
She comes to life, cracking her eyes open and allowing me to pull her from the bed onto her noodle legs. I catch her before she face-plants on the floor.
“What’s going on?”
“I’ll explain when we are downstairs.”
