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“You heard the boss. Do it,” she instigated in a quiet voice. “Shoot me.” She leaned forward, putting their faces closer. “Open a fucking hole in my brain. But you listen to me. I’m the reason you’re still alive. So shoot me,and you’ll never know what HIT YOU FIRST!”
Filled with hatred to the brim, Michael punched her ribs and threw her chair to the side, making her fall, gasping for air. That was when all hell broke loose. I was coming out of my skin, while Zach turned into a beast I’d never seen as Mia moved her arms—which I thought were tied—pulled a knife out of nowhere, and stabbed Michael’s leg. Izzie jumped forward, grabbed a paperweight from the table, and threw it at the other man’s head, making him lose his balance.
As he stumbled, roaring, Mia stole his gun and shot the man at the door. I had no time to comprehend what was happening when she yelled, “RUN!”
Izzie took off running toward the door that connected the storage to the entry hall.
“They’re trying to run away,” Danny announced.
Instead of following Izzie to the door, Mia took a detour and moved even more into the storage.
“Where is she going?” Zach panted while thrusting his hands into his hair in distress. “What the fuck is she doing?”
“It’ll be harder for her to get out like that.” Danny was disturbed. “Why isn’t she following Izzie?”
That’s when it dawned on me. “Because she’s not planning on getting out.”
We needed to be fast. There was only one chance to get it right, and I couldn’t screw that up for Izzie. Or Benny. Or Ducky.
As soon as Izzie ran through the door to the right, heading for the one to get her out, I took the opposite way, ditching Michael and Matias as I bolted through the left door. When I reached the storage, I could see the other men coming our way—four of them to me, and the other to Izzie.
I couldn’t let that happen.
I fished the lighter from my pocket, lit a smoke bomb, threw it behind us, and charged ahead. I knew the place like the back of my hand. I was the one in charge of hiding our files. I could walk around with my eyes closed, which would serve me right at the moment. After I advanced a little, taking advantage of the heavy fog keeping them clueless, I slipped the calculator out of my filled pockets and threw it far to the opposite way I was headed, hoping that would make them look for me in the wrong place.
The motion made me flinch as a shot of pain coursed through me from my most likely bruised ribs. I felt the company phone vibrating against my leg again, and it pained me to ignore it. It wasn’t the time to reassure them.
From what I could hear, the four sets of steps that were following me took a detour, Michael and Matias were still screaming in pain and anger—which made me smile—but the seventh guy was still trying to maneuver between the shelves and huge coils of bubble wrap that littered the space.
He was looking for Izzie as she neared the door, and my panic skyrocketed when I noticed he was getting closer. I pushed through my pain and ran to the last shelf before the raised platform. I climbed the shelf, and from the top of it I was able to see that Michael and Matias—both limping—were wasting their time looking for me in the bathroom and gym. The goons I distracted were still trying to find me under the raised platform, but the one chasing Izzie was dangerously close to her. As the smoke began to dissipate, she’d be at great risk.
Praying she could make it, I shifted my body so I could lean my back on the top of the shelf and place my feet on the platform. When I heard her opening and shutting the door, I pushed against the stand and forced my body back.
The shelf I was hanging on leaned back and hit the next one, which hit the next one, and kept it going, creating a resounding domino effect on the line of shelves that faced the door she’d just left from. I threw myself to the side, and my ribs screamed from the blunt force. Shooting pain irradiated to my limbs, making it hard to breathe. The clang of metal on metal reverberated through the space, making my heart speed up.
The last shelf fell on the man tailing Izzie right as he was about to reach for the door. The sound of breaking porcelain and other apparel filled the huge space. It might sound sordid, but it was satisfying hearing him get crushed under the weight of the shelves and their contents.
I had one less man to worry about.
Besides taking one of them down, the domino accomplished what I intended for it to do. It blocked the only way out, so I knew Izzie was safe enough and away from those men.
That also meant I was trapped with six armed, deranged men who wanted my head and knew where I was.
“I’m officially screwed.”
I did as Mia instructed, and not once did I look back. I crossed the threshold, and the door slammed closed behind me, followed by a chain of deafening sounds. I had no idea what was going on, but I was firm in my mission.
I charged to the reception desk and found the handle on the floor. I closed it behind me and was surprised when the lights went on without any prompt. Moved by the haste the situation warranted, I looked for any way to reach one of the guys. I found a button with Ben’s name written on a sticky note under it and pressed it. I hastily put on the headphones and waited.
“Hello?”
“Ben!” I cried his name.
“Izzie? Oh my God, where are you? I didn’t check my Caller ID. Are you safe? It’s so good to hear your voice.”
I nodded, although he couldn’t see me. “I’m so happy to hear you again.” I sniffed, then remembered what I needed to do. “I’m in the bunker. I’m waiting for her to come.”
His silence was brief, but it left me uncomfortable. “We’re getting to you, Forest. Hang in tight. Zach. Danny,” I heard him call away from the phone. “In the bunker.”
