"It's not my cock," Woody said dryly.
I rolled my eyes at him. Honestly, if anyone was going to be turned on by this, I would have thought it was him. Apparently I was wrong.
I pushed thoughts of Woody's cock out of my head. I didn't need to think about how he tasted right now, or the way hegroaned when he came. I certainly didn't need to think about the way his hand felt wrapped around my hair.
"The stairs." I licked my lips and nodded toward them.
"If you say there's something wrong there, that's where we'll go," Forrest said with a hint of judgment or amusement. He trusted my instincts. Or maybe his were telling him the same thing. Either way, he took me seriously, which blew my mind a little bit.
He stepped ahead, putting himself between me and the door leading into the stairs. Leif and Woody stayed close, one on either side of me.
I could have been surrounded by three hot bodyguards, all dressed in black. Were they armed? I couldn't see any weapons, but I suspected they were there, tucked away out of sight, ready to be pulled out and used in a heartbeat.
Ready to kill.
Forrest eased the door open, stuck his head inside and looked both ways before stepping inside.
"I don't see anything," he said carefully.
We all listened, but the place was silent except for the hum of electricity.
The stairs wound around, all the way up to the top of the building. It was a long way up, even to Savannah's floor.
"We could take the elevator to the top and walk down," Woody said.
"You can do that if you want," I told him. I moved past Forrest and started up the stairs.
CHAPTER 2
SABLE
I slowed my steps to minimize the soft slap of rubber on concrete. One step at a time, I moved slowly, silently up the stairs.
The guys started up behind me a moment later. I didn't look back to see if they were all following. I knew they were; I sensed them. Caught their shadows on the walls every so often, illuminated by the dim, overhead fluorescent lighting. Heard the shuffle of their shoes.
Besides, each had his reasons for coming with me. Forrest, because he believed me. Leif because he was, well, Leif. And Woody because his pride wouldn't let him do otherwise.
"Savannah," I called softly.
I listened for a response. None came. I didn't expect one, not here. Not unless she hid somewhere above us. Crouched in a corner of the stairs waiting for someone to find her.
Us, I mean us. No one bad. Not if they knew what was good for them. They'd be facing three armed killers and me, the angry bestie. That should scare the shit out of them.
We reached the first landing, the second, the third. By the time we passed the sixth, I was panting, my armpits damp.
"Looks like I can skip leg day," Leif quipped.
"Don't make me throw you back down," Woody growled at him.
"Right back at you," Leif said with a laugh.
I glanced at them now. Woody was scowling. No surprise there. Leif was smiling. Also not surprising. Forrest's expression was grim, as if he expected to come upon a corpse at any moment.
In that moment, I realized that while I couldn't hear anything, I couldsmellsomething. Sharp and tangy. Unwelcome but familiar.
"Is that…" I asked tentatively.
"Blood." Forrest nodded. "Lots of it, unless I miss my guess." His expression was crystal clear; he wasn't missing any guesses. He wished he was, but he'd done this before. Possibly notthisthis, but close enough.