Page 75 of Ferocious Nightmare

It led straight to the angel painting I’d been admiring before.

Dante stepped forward, gripping the edges of the frame, and pulled it off the wall. Behind it was a safe, but instead of a keypad, it had a keyhole.

“Damn it," Dante's eyes furrowed.

I swiveled around, my eyes going to the shelf again, trying to think of where he may have hidden a key.

The search began again, and as I moved things around, my desperation grew.

What if Coulter really wasn't okay?

What if Nero came in while we were ransacking his office?

What if he kept the key on him, or maybe it was in his house? Or in another safe, or a warehouse. It could be anywhere!

I slammed my hand against the wall, cursing in Spanish under my breath.

"It'll be here somewhere," Dante tried to reassure me. "If he needed to get into it quickly, he’d have it here."

The sun across the sky began to dip lower, and I knew that we didn’t have much time left. Nero would be here soon.

We had to get that information to Bourbon, and quickly.

Coulter's life was on the line. Our life was on the line.

I turned around and walked behind the desk, then pulled up Nero's chair and sat in it, looking at things from his viewpoint.

The painting was directly in front of me.

Okay, good. He would want to keep an eye on it at all times, even if it was only a subconscious decision.

So, where would he keep the key? Somewhere close.

My eyes fell to his desk, roaming over it. It was practically empty, with only a few pens and empty file folders. Nero wouldn’t take the chance of keeping anything in plain sight.

And then, my gaze landed on the only thing left.

The statue I’d stolen.

That had to be it.

Grabbing it, I slammed it against the desk. The ceramic crumbled, breaking into pieces.

A silver key landed on the desk.

Bingo.

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