Page 12 of Stone

The elevator arrived with a muted ding. Her pulse sped up. What if they were in it? But when the doors opened, the elevator car was empty.

She stepped inside and pressed the number two.

That was the moment when she realized her cellphone was still clutched in her hand.

Oh, God. She unlocked the screen and saw the signal in the elevator was crap. She swallowed. She’d have to wait until she got off.

Each floor the elevator moved past felt like an eternity.

She needed to call Nick. He’d help her.

The elevator dinged. It slowed, and when the doors opened, she peeked out. The corridor was empty.

Heart pounding like a drum, she stepped out onto the cool wood floor. She passed another side table, with another elegant vase of flowers. This one held soft pink dahlias and roses. She tried to calm her breathing.

A door opened. The one to the stairs. Her head jerked up.

One of the thugs from the penthouse stepped into the corridor.

He had a shaved head and his dark gaze locked on her.

Oh, shit. He advanced on her, and all she could think was that he was way taller, and way bigger than she was.

Nola took a few steps back.

He got closer. “You are coming with me.”

“I don’t think so.” She whirled, grabbed the vase of flowers, and lifted it above her head. Then she tossed it at his face. It smacked into his nose, shattering.

He staggered back, shirt and jacket soaked with water, while the flowers slapped to the floor at his feet.

Nola ran. She raced past the man, hit the stairs, and raced downward.

Her bare feet slapped on the concrete as she reached a landing, turned, and kept moving down.

She needed to get out and call Nick.

Knox exited the HT office building. The sounds and smells of New York City hit him. Honking horns, angry shouts, the beeping of a reversing truck. The air smelled like exhaust.

He was about to take a step forward when a bike messenger raced past in front of him.

He jerked back. Jesus.

“You look a little shellshocked, Stone,” Nick said from beside him.

“It’s going to take a little bit of time to adjust to New York living.” Knox shrugged. “It’s not bad, just different. It’s what I wanted.”

He’d been more than ready for a change.

“You’d had enough of the Marines?”

“I loved being a Raider.” It was a part of who he was, and always would be. “But I got older, and it was time to let the younger guys take the risks, and the hits. Busted my knee on my last mission, so I moved into training. I enjoyed it, but I knew it wasn’t something I wanted to do forever.”

The truth was that he’d felt unsettled. He’d needed something new, and he hadn’t been sure what exactly that was.

When Killian had called with a job offer, it seemed like the stars had aligned.

Nick eyed Knox’s dark jeans. “I can give you the name of my tailor.” He tugged on his jacket. “I wasn’t a fan of the suits when I first started at Sentinel, but let me tell you, when it’s tailored for you, it’s amazing.”

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