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She stood and packed up her gear, then headed for the back door. “Shoes, shirt, skedaddle. Now.”
“I still don’t—”
His speech was cut short when the building’s power shut off, the room going dark and silent around them. As their eyes adjusted, the predawn gloom provided barely enough light to see by. “What the…?”
“FBI. I might have alerted them to our presence with my hacking.”
“Smooth move,” he said as he jammed his feet into his combat boots and stashed his weapon in its holster.
“Thanks. You ready yet, Rambo?”
“Wrong branch, sweetheart.” He stuffed a few energy bars and a couple of bottles of water into a side pocket of her messenger bag, then pushed her toward the hall. “How many of them do you think there are?”
“No idea.”
“Well, we can’t just walk out the door. They’ll be waiting for us.”
“So, what’s the plan?”
“C’mon.” He took her hand and led her upstairs.
Shadows passed by the windows on the first floor, and her heart kicked harder inside her chest. “There’s a big oak tree outside,” he said. “I think it’s close enough to the building that we can crawl out on the branches if we can get onto the roof.”
“That’s your plan?” She tried to dig in her heels at the top of the stairs, but he yanked her forward anyway. “Odds are against this being successful, you know. Less than five percent of all oak trees in the United States are healthy enough to produce branches capable of supporting the weight of two grown adults. And given your size—”
His hard kiss cut her off. Even in the dark, in the middle of an ambush they weren’t likely to escape, Scotty’s touch made her blood zing. He broke away, her head still cupped in his hands. “You got a better idea?”
The front door crashed open. “FBI!” someone yelled.
Nope. She was fresh out of ideas.
Hayley exhaled and closed her eyes. “Fine. Let’s do it.”
“Good girl.” Scotty kissed her fast once more, then took her hand and pulled her to the last room at the end of the hall. After locking the door and jamming the back of a chair beneath the knob, he slid open the lone window and peered out. “It’s a bit farther than I thought, but I think we can make it. Trust me, Red?”
Way easier said than done. She’d been burned too many times to trust anyone other than herself. Footsteps pounded up the stairs, and her pulse jackhammered in her ears. “Not like I have much choice.”
“Right.” He slid one leg out, then the other, balancing his weight on a slanted section of the roof. Then he leaned back in and waggled his fingers. “C’mon.”
This was a mistake. It wouldn’t end well. All her numbers and probabilities said so.
Thump, thump, thump.
“FBI! Open up!”
Hayley took his hand.
Trust me.
Scotty helped her out onto the roof alongside him, then pointed toward a large, thick branch about ten feet away. “I’m going to run and jump, grab that, and hoist myself up.”
“What do I do?” She swallowed hard against the growing lump of panic in her throat. Heights weren’t exactly her thing.
“You climb on my back and hang on for the ride.” He squeezed her hand and smiled. “Okay?”
She glanced down. Big mistake. Squeezed her eyes shut and nodded. She heard the agents busting into the rooms downstairs, moving closer, closer… “Okay.”
“I’ll protect you. Promise.” He tugged her to his side.
