He noted that she’d worn navy-blue trousers and wedge heels today. She had a pretty blue shirt on, and a fitted jacket over the top.
They walked deeper into the space. Solid pillars marched in rows. There was some charming, creative graffiti on the wall. Liam wasn’t sure that what the artist suggested was anatomically possible.
The remnants of a fire sat in the middle of the floor. Discarded drug paraphernalia lay around it.
“There’s nothing here,” she said.
They continued through the cavernous space. It was empty.
“Let’s check upstairs,” he said.
They navigated the rotten stairs. They found more graffiti, trash, and a whole lot of nothing. Frowning, Liam led her back downstairs. He pointed to a large, crumbling doorway.
“There’s an adjoining part over here. It would have been the old loading docks.”
The other section of the warehouse was darker. He heard things scuttling around in the shadows.
“We’re missing something,” she said.
Liam scanned the darkness. “I can’t think what.”
Suddenly, there was a noise out in the main part of the warehouse.
Aspen cursed and grabbed his arm.
They both pressed their backs to the brick wall.
Liam heard an echo of voices, and a second later, he heard the tinny sound of music.
He peered around the doorway.
“Who is it?” she whispered.
“I can’t see. I’m going to take a look.”
“No, wait—”
He slid through the doorway. He used some of the pillars for cover and got close to the sounds.
He spotted several teenagers sitting around. One was holding a phone that was playing music.
Liam stepped out from behind a pillar. “What are you doing here?”
There were curses, and the kids all jerked and stood. One kid almost tripped over his own feet.
An older boy—tall with broad shoulders—stepped forward. “Who the fuck are you?”
“The owner of this place.”
“Fuck,” a girl with pink hair muttered.
“We ain’t stealing,” the tall boy said.
Liam studied them. They all wore ragged clothes, and he noted several plastic bags nearby, loaded with stuff.
“You’re staying here?”
A smaller boy lifted his head, chin jutting at Liam. “We stay wherever we want.”
They were homeless. Probably runaways.
No doubt they all had hard stories to share. He gritted his teeth. “Well, I don’t mind if you stay here. I’m just looking around.”
The kids didn’t relax, just watched him with gazes that were far too old.
“Here.” He yanked out his wallet and grabbed some cash. “Get some pizza or something.”
He held his hand out. The kids all blinked, eyeing him suspiciously.
Then a dark-skinned girl darted forward and snatched the money.
“That your woman?” the tall boy asked, with a nod of his head.
Liam turned his head and spotted Aspen in the shadows.
“Yes.” Liam lowered his voice. “Although, she’s not entirely on board with it yet, but I’m working on it.
The girl with the pink hair smiled. “She’s crazy.”
Liam smiled back. “We’ll finish looking around, then go. Be careful.”
He turned.
“Hey…”
Liam turned back to see the tall boy watching him. Liam raised a brow.
“There have been some dudes here. At night. Late at night.”
Pink Hair girl nodded. “They have flashlights, but they’re sneaky. They don’t want people to see them.”
Liam frowned. “Thanks. Make sure you stay clear of them.”
He walked over to Aspen.
“That wad of hundreds will buy a lot of pizza,” she noted.
He shrugged.
“Never pegged you for a soft touch, Liam.” Her lips quirked. “Good to see you’re a nice guy under the money.”
“No man wants to hear that he’s a nice guy, Aspen. We want to be tough, rugged, and masculine.”
“Come on, Mr. Nice Guy. There’s something you need to see.”
She led him back into the other section of the warehouse that lay in darkness. She pulled out a flashlight, and they followed the narrow beam of light along the wall.
She flipped it upward.
Liam frowned. Bricks had been knocked out of the wall. There were holes dotted all through the long expanse of brick.
He crouched and studied some of the bricks. “It appears as if someone was looking for something.”
“I agree.” She touched the wall. “This looks like the oldest part of the warehouse. The front part is newer.”
Liam spotted some paper on the ground and picked it up. It was old, yellow, and brittle.
It looked like some sort of label. He pocketed it. It was probably just trash, but he’d check it later. “What the hell would someone be looking for in here?”
Noises echoed from the main warehouse again. But this time, there were deeper voices, and the music cut off.
“Get out of here!” a man yelled.
“Fuck you, asshole.” That was the tall kid’s voice.
“Turn the light off,” Liam said.
Aspen flicked the switch. They were plunged into darkness.
Liam took her hand, and they moved along the wall.
“This way,” a voice called out.
Liam heard footsteps.
“They’re coming this way,” Aspen whispered.
It had to be Nexus, but Liam had no way to know for sure.
“We need to get out,” he said.
“Is there a back way?”
“No idea.”
The people were getting closer. Liam saw beams of light.
“Come on,” he said.
They hurried through the darkness. He stepped in a puddle, and felt water seep into his shoes. He muttered a curse.
They reached the back wall.
“I want you to see this,” a man’s voice said.
The lights were cutting through the darkness, moving closer toward Aspen and Liam.
“Down.” Aspen hit him and they dropped to the dirty floor. “Shh.” She pressed a hand over his mouth.
He stayed still, with her body pressed against his.
A light shone on the wall above their heads.
“And over here.” The lights moved away.
“Crawl,” she whispered.
They crawled along the dirty floor. This was not how Liam had planned to spend his day.
The voices got quieter.
“Look.” She nudged him.
He saw the rectangle of light set in the wall. It was the outline around an old metal door.
“Let’s go.” He rose and opened the door, then dragged her outside.
They jogged down the street and turned. More old warehouses lined the streets.
No one followed them.
“Thank God.” She stopped and looked at him. Then she snort-laughed. “You’re filthy.”
Liam glanced down and saw that his hands were black, his white shirt was smeared with grime, and he’d probably have to throw his suit out.
Damn it. It was a bespoke Gieves & Hawkes.
Aspen hadn’t fared much better. She had black smears on her cheeks, and her clothes were dirty. Her jacket was stained with…well, he wasn’t quite sure what it was.