Okay, this was going to be harder than she originally thought. Rio stood with his right side leaning against the wall next to the room Ben was sleeping in. That position had his back facing the door of the adjoining room where she now stood. That should have made it easier, but she was positive this man was a trained soldier and was betting he would hear her the minute she stepped into the hallway. The exit door was about ten to fifteen feet to the right, in the opposite direction of where Rio stood.
Think. Think. Think.
Ducking back inside the room, she pulled her phone out once more and dialed one of the numbers Ben had given to her last night. He’d wanted her to be able to reach any of them if she needed them so he’d given her Rio and Ace’s cell numbers along with Devlin and Trent’s. Victoria scrolled down her contacts until she got to Rio’s then hit call. Peeping her head out the doorway she didn’t hear any ringing and figured he had it on vibrate. She watched as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He said hello a few times, then hung up the phone. He knocked on the door and called to Ben. In her headshe counted, waiting, hoping he would do what she thought he would.
And he did.
He used his key card to open the door to the room she’d just left. The minute he stepped inside, she slipped out and ran as if her life depended on it to the exit door. She made it down two flights of stairs then headed for the elevator on that floor. She remembered using the freight entrance last night and took that same way to get to the back door. There she waited, tapping a foot against the floor as her heart beat a rapid rhythm in her chest.
“Come on, Gracie, come on.”
As if Grace had somehow tapped into her thoughts, Victoria heard a vehicle pull up right outside the door. With one last prayer that she was doing the right thing she eased the door open, saw Grace’s ruby red mustang and moved quickly to get inside.
“Pull off slow. If you peel out of this parking lot Devlin’s right around back. He might hear you and be on our tail in seconds,” she told Grace as she put on her seatbelt. “But hurry up I don’t want this girl to run.”
“Right. Go slow, go fast, come now, stay home,” Grace said snidely as she pulled out of the parking lot.
Victoria half thought she’d look into the rearview mirror and see Devlin at any moment. But she didn’t and for a second she wondered why. By the time Victoria had finally replied to Alayna’s text asking where she was and received a reply, she didn’t think about Devlin again. And she refused to think about Ben, or about how pissed off he was going to be when he found out she was gone.
Ben
“What the hell do you mean she’s gone?” Devlin yelled the minute he ran into Ben’s room.
“Dammit!” Ben cursed for the billionth time. Where was she? Why would she leave? Last night she’d been afraid, he’d seen it in her eyes. Then she’d toughened up, told him she wasn’t scared of dying. He’d held her in his arms all night. He hadn’t made love to her because they’d both needed another type of reassurance. He’d felt her with him all night, not just physically but mentally. She accepted they were in a relationship just as she accepted their present situation. And now she was gone. What the hell did that mean?
“How could she get out of here without you seeing her?” Devlin demanded.
“She called my phone then hung up. I thought something was wrong in here. I thought it was some type of code, so I came inside.” Rio looked like he wanted to kick himself and probably would have if Devlin wasn’t standing right in his face intent on doing the job for him.
“I think she slipped out the adjoining room when I came in here,” Rio admitted.
“You idiot!” Devlin yelled again. “Where’d she go, Ben?”
Ben was shaking his head. He stood near the window staring through the slit in the curtains that he’d made the moment he realized she wasn’t there. He could see part of the parking garage, could see the sun rising, daylight making its grand appearance. And he felt empty, totally and completely empty inside.
“She would go to her mother and to see Grace. She’s worried about them,” he said solemnly, his teeth clenching when he finished.
“That’s if she left on her own,” Rio followed.
“Vega would’ve killed us both. He wouldn’t just take her and I doubt she would’ve gone with him willingly,” Devlin said.
Ben shook his head. “She’s not with Vega. At least she didn’t leave with him. She left on her own.”
“How can you be so sure?” Rio insisted.
Ben whirled around for a minute wanting to punch the man who was supposed to be watching them as well. Then he decided against it. He’d been laying in the same bed as Victoria and he hadn’t realized she’d left either.
“She would’ve fought Vega. With everything she had in her she would’ve fought against him taking her. I would’ve heard and you would’ve heard.”
“I agree about her fighting. She seems like a fighter,” Devlin said. “I don’t agree about Rio not hearing squat! It’s apparent he wasn’t paying very much attention.”
Rio didn’t say a word, just turned away. Then when he got to the door he asked, “Did you see any cars leave the parking lot?”
Devlin was a captain, he told his team what to do and what not to do. He asked the questions, he knew all the answers. Not this time.
“I came as soon as you called,” Dev responded with a frown.
“So she could’ve driven off while you were heading up here,” Ben said. “Look for a red Mustang. It’s Grace Ramsey’s car. Victoria wouldn’t have left without having a way home.”
