“DeLuca knew you’d be back,” an accented voice said behind me. “Where’s the case?”
I mumbled behind his hand, but he wasn’t really interested in an answer right now. Jostling me forward, he shoved me through the doors of the building. I tried making eye contact with a few people, not really sure what I was hoping to gain out of it, but nobody bothered to look at me. It was like it was just another Tuesday.
As soon as we were past the doors, he shoved me forward. Stumbling, I nearly fell to the ground, but caught myself at the last second, then spun to face the goon, breathing hard as I stared at his dark demeanor.
“I’m not Alicia,” I said, my voice shaking hard.
Seriously, how did the guys do this? Face down danger and pretend everything was fine…it was insanity.
“Sure, sweetheart,” he grinned, stalking toward me. “The boss wants to see you.”
“Good,” I said, straightening my back. “I’ve been meaning to have a chat with him, too.”
It wasn’t confidence that let me talk to him like that. It was one hundred percent fear. But whatever got me through this was fine by me.
He looked just slightly surprised, but strode forward, then grabbed me and spun me around, shoving me toward the elevators.
The metal box was terrifying in its own right. As soon as I stepped in there, that was it. There was no going back. But I took the step and prayed that I would come out of this alive.
As the doors closed, sweat broke out over my body. This was really happening. I was really going to the penthouse to my doom. I watched the lights switch from one number to the next, each signaling the beginning of the end.
“You’ve got this,” Derek whispered in my ear.
His voice was smooth and calming, but not the one I wanted to hear. Still, it was good to know I wasn’t alone.
As the doors slid open, I was shoved from behind into an outer area of the penthouse. Double doors stood before me, the very doors that needed to be opened at the same time as Rob opened the side door. Licking my lips, I took one step, then another, remembering the words I was supposed to speak to signal I was opening them. There could only be a second difference. Anything else would raise suspicion.
One second.
When we were just about there, I took a quick step forward, placing my hand on the knob before the goon could stop me. “Fancy doorknob.”
I shoved the door open, wincing internally as I expected loud alarms to go off.
“Hey, wait!” the man shouted, rushing ahead of me.
He shoved me against the wall, eyeing me suspiciously.
“I’m sorry, was that gallantry or did you just not want me touching the extremely expensive doorknob?” Cocking my head at him, I huffed out a laugh. “You know you’re rich when even the small things are made of gold.”
“Just keep moving. And don’t touch anything.”
I took the shove to the back in stride, mesmerized by the sheer extravagance surrounding me. Seriously, who lived like this, high in the sky like a king?
“Keep moving!” the man shoved me from behind.
I spun around, not sure where this defiant attitude was coming from. “Hey, I came to you. Stop pushing me around.”
“Or what?” he laughed.
I narrowed my eyes, but bit back the urge to tell him I’d knee him in the balls. It was never a good idea to give away all your secrets.
“So, you’ve returned.”
I spun around, staring at the handsome face of Angelo DeLuca. I could see why Alicia went after him. Even with a scar cutting through his right eyebrow and down his cheek, he was still handsome.
“My name is Krista Parker,” I said, hoping my voice wasn’t shaking too hard.
“Krista, huh?” he asked, grinning as he stood with his hands shoved in his pockets. “That’s funny because you look and sound like Alicia Kay.”