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“Uh…sorry about the mess.” How was she going to get out of this one? She gripped her car key in her hand. She’d use it as a blade if she had to defend herself.
Tyler looked around the console and in the glove compartment. “I don’t see a phone.”
“It’s gotta be in there. Keep looking.” She glanced over her shoulder, hoping to find an emergency exit sign. “You can’t miss it. It’s bright pink.”
Tyler ignored her and looked at Mercedes. “No phone.”
“Here, let me look.” She just needed to get in the car, lock the door and drive full speed ahead. Maybe swerve a little so she could run over Mercedes’s Louboutins.
“I don’t think so,” Tyler said as he got out of her car.
“Maybe I should call it.” Her eyes widened as she considered the idea. She’d call Eric. They may have just had an argument, but he’d drop everything to help her. She knew it deep in her bones. “I always have to do that when I put down my phone.”
Mercedes glared at her. “You are getting on my nerves. Stop talking.”
“You want the phone,” she reminded her.
“I’m not falling for it. You and I both know you’d call that hottie you’re working with.”
Damn. Mercedes obviously read the same books.
“Julie!” Eric’s voice echoed in the parking garage. Julie whirled around and saw him running toward them. He was shirtless, barefoot and wearing a faded pair of jeans.
Eric’s presence was all the distraction she needed. As Tyler went to block Eric, Julie turned and swiped the metal key across Baldy’s face. He let go of her arm and howled, clutching his face. She pushed him with all her might and lurched for the open car door.
She scrambled into the seat and was about to slam the door when Mercedes blocked her. Julie clawed and kicked. Mercedes took the blows as she pressed something cold and metallic against Julie’s neck.
“Sweet dreams,” Mercedes said with a wicked laugh. Julie heard a crackle of electricity. She went rigid as the pain coursed through her body before everything went dark.
14
JULIE WOKE UP WITH A START. Her heart leaped against her chest, her throat squeezed tight and her muscles locked as if under attack. She noticed three things: she was not in the parking garage, she was lying on thick beige carpeting and she felt as if she’d been run over a few times.
She groaned and gingerly touched her neck. Mercedes must have used a Taser. There was no wound or burn yet the electric charge had been enough to make her drop.
Julie slowly sat up and noticed the room she was in. It was designed to impress and intimidate, from the big expensive desk to the bookshelf that had very few books but plenty of awards. Weird art hung on the walls that only a twisted soul could appreciate. Then again, she might be a little judgmental about someone who would use a Taser and then dump her on the floor.
She slowly turned and gasped when she saw Eric sprawled on the floor. He was a few feet away but she could see the bruises on his chest and abdomen. A small cut bled on his forehead and there was a swelling on his cheek. “What happened to you?” she asked as she crawled over to him. “I swear, that Mercedes is going down.”
“By you?” He winced and held his arm at the elbow. “You suck at self-defense.”
“I am so sorry this happened to you.” Julie placed her hand on his forehead and looked into his eyes. She could tell that he was in pain. “Let me help you up.”
“Seriously, you should get your money back on that self-defense course.” He grimaced as she assisted him into a sitting position.
“I drew blood on one of them,” Julie reminded him as she took the edge of her skirt and pressed it on his bleeding knuckles. She noticed that he didn’t pull away and couldn’t tell if that was a good or a bad sign. “Give me a Taser and I could have done some permanent damage.”
“Don’t be too sure about that,” he muttered. “You probably wouldn’t know how to work it.”
“Oh, now that’s just mean.” She clucked her tongue as she silently catalogued his injuries. “And this from a guy who came out of the fight bloodied and captured.”
He gently touched the swelling on his cheek with his fingertips. “You should have seen the other guy.”
Julie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right.”
“No, really,” a female voice said at the far end of the room. Julie turned and saw Mercedes at the door. Damn, she should have known they wouldn’t have left them unattended.
