“Uh, Brighton. I don’t know you well. And I know this sucks being blindfolded and led by someone you don’t know or trust. But I appreciate it.”
He shrugged.
“Right, not chatty, got it. But thank you anyway.”
Another shrug, but this one felt more like acquiescence.
At a set of double doors at the end of the hall, we were met by two armed gunmen. A nice show of force. One of them said, “Stay right there.”
I released Brighton and put both hands up. “See, we did exactly as we were told. Give us the locations of the bombs.”
There was a low chuckle, and then I was shoved forward. Someone dragged Brighton behind me. Fuck.
The two of us were then shoved into the elevator. Brighton was shoved in so hard that he almost slammed into the far wall of the lift, and I said, “Hey, take it easy.”
The guard didn’t give a fuck. He just laughed.
I rubbed my hand over Brighton’s back, and he tensed. I tensed too. “Are you okay?”
His nod was slow. “We’ll get out of this.”
The taller of the guards said, “Not likely.”
The elevator dinged, and we were led out onto a mostly empty floor. It looked like maybe a company had occupied it recently, but it was now empty except for a few random desks and office chairs. There were two chairs in the middle of the room, and we were shoved toward them. I was slammed down hard, my butt nearly bouncing off of it. Same for Brighton.
The shorter of the guards said, “Oh, Mr. Nix has been looking forward to this. But first, I think he might have a few harsh words to say to you, Miss Bridges.”
I flinched. The last thing I wanted Truman Nix to do was to view me as a woman in any way. That did not to bode well. “We’re here. We held up our end of the bargain. If you don’t hold up yours, the king and princes will come at you with everything they have. You’d best remember that.”
A door at the far end of the room opened, and in walked Nix. “Well, well, well. Miss Bridges. Long time no see.”
Jesus Christ, it was Truman. He walked close to me, but not close enough.
I could feel Brighton being tied to the chair behind me and struggling against his restraints. “Easy does it, Truman. You gave us your word. Keep it, or you’re not making it out of Alden alive.”
“Now, now, there’s no need to threaten. I’ll keep my word. Eventually.”
I glowered up at him. “Now. You will keep your word now.”
He pulled out his phone and made a call, giving two addresses. Then he ended the call.
I scowled at him. “Those are not the correct addresses.”
“I have no intention of double-crossing you, Miss Bridges. Besides, I got what I wanted out of this deal—you and Mr. Adams here. I must say, it was very, very brave of you to offer yourself up as a sacrifice.”
Behind me, someone tied my wrists to Brighton’s. But then he worked his hand around and squeezed mine. Twice. That wasn’t the signal. What was he doing?
And why did his hand feel so familiar? A shock of electricity zinged up my arm.
No!
That wasn’t—I’d seen Brighton. They’d put a jacket and hood on him.
My brain wasn’t processing right. It kept telling me that the man behind me wasn’t Brighton at all, but the man I loved.
My senses told me that it was Breck behind me. And I didn’t want to believe it.
Truman Nix came closer. So close that I could smell his too sweet breath. “God, I must say, Sparrow Bridges, you have proved most difficult to bring in. You’ve taken out several of my men. If it was possible that I could be impressed with a woman, I would be impressed with you.”
I stared up at him. “Are you done being an asshole?” I knew I needed to buy time to give Wilder and his men the opportunity to verify the information they’d been given. In the comm device in my ear, Niko’s voice was low but clear. “Eclipse. Eclipse. Eclipse. Decoys. All we found were decoys.”
Behind me, whoever it was tensed because we’d been led astray. Led to believe that there were explosives in the city, and they were decoys. That meant we’d been had, and we were going to have to fight our way out of this.
Truman leaned in closer, too close. “You see, Miss Bridges, I’m starting to think that maybe we are exactly where we’re supposed to be. You and me. My wife was weak, but you have proved a more than worthy adversary. A fight with you would be like fighting a goddamn Amazon. And God, I’ve got to tell you it makes my dick wet.”
I flinched. “Where are the explosives? Are you sure you told us exactly where they all are?”
His smile was evil, all teeth, and it went perfectly with his rat-like eyes. “Now, did I say there were explosives, plural? Maybe there’s just one. Now, your man Kannon here, he’s going to die quickly, easily. But you, I think I’m going to keep you.” He signaled to his men, and I knew that was our chance, our one and only shot.
“You’re never going to make it out of here alive, Nix, and you certainly aren’t going to have me. Thanks to your sex tape from a few years ago, I’ve seen the size of your equipment. I would rather die here than deal with a little dick. It’s just not something I see in my future.”
Fury flashed in his eyes, and he lunged at me. “What the hell did you say?”
With a flick of the wrist, the bonds broke on one of the zip ties holding me, and I lunged for Truman. He clamored backward, tripping over his own feet. The problem was I’d lost the momentum. Behind me, Brighton, because I had to think of him as Brighton, was already working on his other zip ties. And then he yanked off his hood.
I should have felt shock. I should have felt surprise. I should have felt anything other than abject terror. “Jesus Christ, Breck, what are you doing?”
“Well, you weren’t going to stop, so I had to come with you.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“Possibly. But here we are.”
To my left, I saw Truman pulling himself up. Reaching for a gun. Finally, I snapped the other zip tie from the chair. Then I was on my feet and launching myself at him while Breck had his hands full with the guards.
Truman shoved a foot out, kicking me hard in the sternum, and I fell backward.
And then he was on me. Fuck, he was heavy. It felt like he’d concentrated all of his body weight so that it centered on my lungs. When he wrapped his hand around my neck, I coughed as he said, “You stupid cow. I had plans for you. Great plans. But no, no. You had to fucking ruin everything.”
Through clenched teeth, I bit out, “Fuck you.”
“I know you’d like to, sweetheart. But, instead, you’re going to die here.”
I screamed and clawed at his hand.
Over to the side, I watched in horror as Breck fought off the two guards. In the flurry of fists and knees and elbows, his face was set in a grim line, ready and willing to do whatever it took.
I didn’t have time to worry about him.
I had to deal with Truman first and get his damn phone so I could find out where the real explosive device was.
I raised my arm up over my head and then brought it down across his elbows, breaking the grip on my neck. The release was quick and sudden, and the rush of air made me gasp. “Jesus.”
I didn’t have time to rest, though, or time to breathe. I had to keep fighting. As he grasped for my hips to pull me down, I tightened my abs as if I was trying to sit up, and I wiggled back and forth out of his grasp. Once my legs were free, I kicked him in the face with all the force I could muster.