Cain struggles to regain his rigid composure as tension sizzles between us. I’m laid out, fighting a boner from hell, and he’s acting like he wants to carve me up for it, but he’s too scared to put his hands on me again.
The door knob turns, and Cain moves out of its path as it swings open.
“You’ve got a call on line three,” a male voice sings.
The man who appears in the doorway has striking blue eyes and a shag of silver hair. The rest of him is all grayed out, too. Silver earrings. Charcoal suit. The outline of silvery white-ink tattoos barely visible on his pale hands. They almost look like scars.
“Is this the little thief who broke in?” he asks.
Cain tucks away his knife. “Told you not to disturb me when I’m in a meeting.”
“Is this a meeting?” Silver guy questions. “I think I’m going to need your definition of meeting. Last week, it was wet work in the interrogation room. Today it’s torturing intruders in the empty corner office thatshouldbe mine. Next week it’s going to be sex swings in the break room. Again, your definition is so broad.”
Shit, wet work?Yeah, I’d say these guys are bad news, and I somehow avoided getting dragged into whatever torture chamber they’re hiding in this building. Doesn’t mean they won’t still take me there. Maybe this is just the initial “give me hope” portion of their fuckery.
Cain growls. “Wouldn’t have to waste my time here if you’d done as I’d asked and tracked the guy down, Rev.”
Rev’s face lights up with pure joy. “This is the runaway witness? Why, he’s on the wrong side of town!”
Cain brushes past him. “Finish this up. I want a summary report on my desk by the end of the day.”
Rev sighs. “Always stuck with the grunt work. You owe me.”
The door clicks shut, and Rev turns those startling iceberg eyes on me. “Exceptionally sunny day outside, isn’t it?”
“Torturing me isn’t going to work,” I tell him, though my pulse is pounding under my skin.
“No?” He approaches slowly, hands reaching out to pat over my body. I grit my teeth through the process, and when he draws back with the stolen employee badge, he flashes me a wicked grin. “There’s Seth’s badge. You telling me you snuck in here and you didn’t bring a single weapon? Should we be offended?”
“I don’t get caught.”
He raises a brow. “Like… ever?”
“Ever.” I nod, and the movement causes more blood to drip into my ear.
He looks amused. “And how often do you go about breaking and entering?”
I rub fingers over the marks the zip ties left behind, my brain working every angle to get me out of here. I can’t leave without the hard drive. That was the whole purpose of this trip. The only way to assure Jakey doesn’t become a target again.
“Couple times a week.” I shrug. “West Bank is a bit easier to navigate for me. This isn’t really my scene.”
Rev cocks a brow. “I see. And what would motivate you to foolishly break into our company?”
Witnessing Cain’s efficient way of disposing of criminals has me wondering if I shouldn’t disclose information about Gabriel. Maybe Sinro could get me and Jakey out of this mess. Cain might not be so easily convinced of my innocence, but Rev seems entertained enough by what I have to say.
“I had no choice. Either I steal the hard drive or my friend gets fucked up again by some bad guy and his gunmen.”
Rev clicks his tongue. “And I didn’t even have to get my hands dirty. Got a name for me, kid?”
I nod. “Head of the rodeo had on a shirt stitched with the name Gabriel. He seemed like a typical drug lord, but he had a ton of weapons.”
Rev considers this information, running his thumb under the curve of his bottom lip. “Sounds like we may have a common enemy. Why don’t we see if we can help each other out?”
Heart skipping, I roll up to a seated position on the desk to better examine him. Blood rolls down my cheek to the corner of my mouth, and I flick my tongue out to swipe it away before it dribbles onto my shirt. Ihadplanned on returning the stolen clothes, but I don’t think the shop owner will appreciate the new stains.
“Cain’s the bad cop, isn’t he?” I say.
Rev flashes a grin. “Caught on to us already. We’ll have to shake things up. Though Cain really sucks at faking sympathy.” His head drifts to the interior window, and I watch Cain march out of an office, phone in hand, body coiled up with near-palpable fury.
