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Is there any way for him to actually protect me? I have no idea. No earthly idea, but I hadn’t thought about Blake calling me, and that part is on me. I thought about everything, or so I assumed, but now one of the loose ends is flapping open in the breeze.
I’ve never heard him beg before. Never heard him sound quite so troubled as he does now.
“This man wants to kill me, Aria,” he continues in an agonized whisper.
My stuff is still at headquarters, all the backup files the imposter is threatening to take to the cops. And now he’s holding Blake hostage. Blake, and the kill order on Devan if I don’t show up.
“I’ll stop in for a second, but then I’m going off-grid,” I warn Blake. I click off and shove the phone back in my pocket.
Shit. Shit, fuck, piss, cockstain, balls. The act must continue, and this time, I’m too tired and on edge to make sure I play the part to perfection. Broderick is down, which means the organization is going to be thrown into chaos. There's a gap, a vacuum, and no doubt Blake is freaking out. He seemed about a second away from going completely unhinged on the phone.
Another few steps and I’ll be home free, I assure myself. I’ll do what the madman wants and have my stuff, I’ll save Blake, and I’ll save Devan.
Only a fool would go back after orchestrating Broderick’s downfall.
I’ve never been a fool.
Ah, who am I kidding?
I’ve lived my life as foolishly as anyone else, and there is no one I can blame for the choices except the woman in the mirror. Even the way I met Devan is on me, and it was absolutely ridiculously odd.
Every part of me goes tight on the subway ride to Broderick’s place. Tight and then oddly calm. Maybe this really is the end for me. It’s been a rough ride, but not all bad. There have been good times, too. Not as many as I’d like there to be, but if I can help the people I care about before it all goes away, then it’s a win.
In my shoes, you learn when to accept the silver linings.
And by the time I’m back standing on the front stoop, staring at a new set of guards who look identical to the last, the blood has returned to my face. They don’t pay me any mind. As though it’s just another normal day for me to show up to the office, dragging ass and crimson colored. They should.
Everything has changed.
Things are about to go down for them, too.
A large part of me expects them to stop me this time. I’m the only one who made it out of the mill meeting. Not even the limo driver survived, and I made sure of that, personally. They surely know.
“Boys.”
I tip my head, letting them see the exhaustion in the lines of my body. The one on the left tenses as though he’s going to reach out to stop me, then exhales, and the set of his shoulders relaxes.
“Miss Darklyn,” the one on the right mutters.
It’s too soon to sigh in relief. Not even when I’m in the elevator grappling with the most intense sensation of deja vu I’ve ever experienced in my life.
I halfway expect Broderick to meet me the moment the elevator doors open. Instead, they slide open, and the hall looks exactly the same. It's no darker than any other day. No more foreboding. Goose bumps break out along the back of my arms and neck.
One last hurdle. I don’t remove my shoes.
My footsteps echo eerily. Seems like the entire place has emptied out, and I wonder if that’s true or if everyone has disappeared into hidey holes in the wake of the power vacuum. Who knows.
I’ll have to watch out for Antoni.
He’ll be gunning for top spot, sure.
The office is empty when I round the open doorway. “Blake?” My eyes furrow down.
The first thing I recognize is the pressure. The hand over my nose and mouth, the arm banded around my midsection. It all takes a back seat to the stench of acrid chemical burning my insides. The rag in the person’s hand is drenched in it. The kind of chemical…
The kind…
* * *
