We were leaving the auditorium when an earsplitting beep cut through the air. The crowd stirred, people looking around in confusion and fear.
Terry grabbed my arm, instantly in professional mode.
“Smoke alarm,” he muttered. “Keep moving.”
He dragged me by my elbow and walked straight to the exit, lifting his phone to his ear.
“Kim? What’s going on?”
The crowd began streaming in the same direction. The security folks were hollering at people, trying to funnel them out through a couple of narrow doors. It would havehelped had they opened the three large exits along the glass wall of the foyer. Maybe they were working on it, but Terry jerked me to the side and marched toward a dark corner, away from the masses. A green exit sign hung from the ceiling overhead.
“We’re going to the garage,” Terry said into the phone. “I’ll drive. See you in a bit.” Then he slipped the phone into his pocket.
“Where’s Kim and our driver?” I asked.
“They’re on the other side of the building, leaving on foot. We’ll take the car and pick them up on the street.”
“And is there an actual fire?”
“Maybe. Kim says smoke was coming from one of the toilets by the foyer bar.”
“Probably some stupid prank, right?”
Terry didn’t reply. He pushed the emergency exit door open. Luckily, Kim had parked our car in an underground garage in an adjacent building and not in the theater’s official parking lot. Only a few people ran about as we crossed the narrow alleyway and entered the garages. The sound of the fire alarm was muted down here, and I exhaled with relief, rubbing my ears.
“What a racket. We didn’t even manage to grab a drink. Wanna go to Rosebud?”
Terry flashed me an incredulous look. “We’re going home.”
I threw my arm around his shoulders and leaned in to get a whiff of his scent from his neck.Yum. “C’mon. It’s barely nine. Maybe we’ll bump into Zach.”
“Lothair, please be reasonable. We don’t know what happened back there, and I sincerely hope it had nothing to do with you, but until we know for sure, I’d much rather have you safe on guarded premises.”
I opened my mouth to protest but closed it a heartbeat later. Terry was right, and I’d been trying not to add to his stress.
“Okay. I’ll be your good boy tonight.”
My mate let out an exasperated chuckle. “Thank heavens for that.”
He unlocked the car and slid into the driver’s seat while I settled on the passenger side and dutifully clipped in my seatbelt.
“I’m hungry, though. Maybe we could…”
The sound of the back door opening was my only warning. Cold metal pressed into my neck. I recognized the feeling—I’d had a gun put to my skin many times. Always only on a film set, though. I was smart enough not to move, but I glanced at Terry from the corner of my eye.
He sat frozen, hands on the steering wheel, glaring behind me with fury and disgust. His mouth was pinched and his nostrils wide.
The back door closed with a soft thud.
Somehow, I wasn’t in the least bit shocked to hear Carlos’s voice. “Start the car and exit the garage. When you’re on the street, go left. Keep your hands on the steering wheel.”
If he did something to Terry… A pulse of raw power rushed through my muscles. I could shift this instant and tear the fucking car apart. But what if Terry… My mate was in danger.
It was me with the gun to my neck, but everything in me yearned to throw myself at Terry and shield him with my own body. Except that wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do right now.
Think!
How quickly could I reach back and grab the weapon? Ihad shifter reflexes, and Carlos was a mere human, but the angle was bad, and I couldn’t see shit in the mirror. A fumble and I could have a bullet in my spine.
