AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I could kill them for what those bastards did to you.”
Trent gives me a tired smile, ushering me to the door. “I know. Now get out of here.”
“We’re good? You still want us to be together?”
“There isn’t going to be an ‘us’if you don’t move your ass. Each second you waste is another second we risk getting caught,” he clips icily. “You need to go—now.”
Complying, I rush to the door, roughly swinging it open. It hits the wall in my haste.
Shit.Hopefully, no one heard the bang. It would be one more thing for Trent to reprimand me for.
Speed walking toward the back exit, my heart erratically pounds in my chest. I hold the air in my lungs when I spot two members of the cleaning crew emptying waste receptacles into a janitorial pushcart.
My first instinct is to hide, but I don’t get a chance before one custodian spots me.
“Evening,” he says in a rough but friendly voice.
Trent’s words echo in my mind:Don’t stick around to talk. Don’t engage.
It seems rude, but I don’t reply, ducking my head to conceal my face from their view. I walk briskly past the custodians like my feet are on fire, feeling their eyes on me all the way to the exit. I don’t stop walking until I reach my car.
Not wasting a second, I hop in, turn over the engine, and whizz out of the parking lot, leaving tire marks in my wake.
CHAPTERFORTY-FOUR
CHASE
After a solid night’s rest, our team returns to the firm, bright and early. I’m eager to get moving on the case, but not enough to part from Simone yet. With her warm hand intertwined with mine, she follows me and Butch into our conference room. Punk trails behind, his eyes sweeping our surroundings.
“We should head up, Simone,” Punk suggests as he checks the time on his watch.
“Don’t be such a buzz kill,” I tell my brother. “Stick around a while.”
“We may as well,” Simone says airily, sinking into the seat beside mine, right where she belongs. “I won’t be able to do much until Cynthia arrives. I need her to give me access to the file room.”
My molars grind together hearing that contemptible woman’s name. “Can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I’d rather Trent let you into the file room.”
“I second that,” Punk agrees, with an edge in his tone. “Cynthia shouldn’t be anywhere near you.”
Simone runs a shaky hand through her straight hair, like she’s attempting to brush off the events of yesterday. “Trent needs to remain with our tech team. I can request someone other than Cynthia, but the odds of the firm handing over a member of document control when they’re still conducting their own internal audit aren’t high. It is what it is.”
Flustered, I turn my neck to the side. The vertebrae pop under the pressure. I silently withdraw my pocket knife from the sheath attached to my belt. Simone’s eyes widen when I show it to her. I demonstrate how to open and close the knife before handing it to her.
She frowns, hesitantly taking the weapon from me. “What is this for?”
“Protection,” I say matter-of-factly. “It’s small enough to keep in your blazer pocket.”
She shakes her head, trying to return the knife. “There’s no reason for me to have this.”
“The woman assaulted you in a bathroom not even twelve hours ago,” Punk snips. “You take the knife and keep it close.”
Thank you, Punk.Glad my brother has my back.
With a sigh, Simone slips the pocket knife into the pocket of her blazer. “There. Are you happy, caveman?”
“Not as happy as I’ll be when you give me some sugar.”
Punk makes a gagging noise. We laugh before she leans in, giving me a proper kiss.
