Page 36 of Hot Chocolate & Hitmen

“Stay close and do exactly as we say,” I murmur. She nods, squeezing my hand in understanding.

Casing the hallway and finding nothing, we move on to sweep the room with the hostage in it. We just step over the threshold when I freeze at Teddy’s panicked voice.

“Atlas, get her secured. The hostage is gone.”

She squeaks as I lift her off her feet and dart back across to the bedroom, keeping my head on a swivel as I go.

Everything’s quiet, though. Too quiet.

Placing her on her feet just inside the room, I ensure she’s steady before stepping back into the hallway. “Stay in here and lock the door. Do you understand me?”

“Yes,” she responds quietly, a subtle shake to her voice.

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, I bend down so we’re face to face.

“Do not open that door unless you hear one of us call out for you, okay?” She nods. “We’ll keep you safe, I promise.”

Offering me a tentative smile, the lump of hard rock in my chest threatens to start pumping again at the sight of her stoic, yet angelic face. Even in the face of adversity, she wears her fear like a suit of armor, ready to head into battle.

Giving her one last kiss that seals my worry away so I can concentrate on finding the motherfucker who somehow got free,I leave the room and wait beside the door until I hear the tell-tale click of the lock and her feet softly padding away from the door.

“Where is she?”

“She’s locked in the bedroom. No one's getting in there without us knowing.”

He nods. “Good. Let’s go to the bar first, and then we’ll check the breaker box.”

The fact that he’s directing us there and hasn’t provided us with our firearms means the hostage must have taken our weapons, making this even more of a deadly game. Luckily we stowed various firearms around the house while doing the initial sweep, both the hostage and dick-face were knocked out at the time, so we know they won’t be compromised.

Following Teddy’s lead, he turns off the flashlight as we head slowly down the hall in silence. Reaching the bar without any interference, we retrieve our weapons and do a quick once-over on them to make sure they're loaded and not tampered with.

Heading straight downstairs, we’re at the breaker in no time, having seen or heard nothing out of the ordinary so far. Turning the flashlight on it, we do a quick inspection. Teddy curses, running a hand through his hair as Key steps up to take a look.

It’s obvious someone has attempted to destroy it, but before we can get a proper look, gunfire erupts and has us all diving for cover behind different objects.

Adrenaline spikes through my system as a bullet clips my arm, giving me the thrill of the fight I always crave. Relief also hits me, knowing the hostage is down here with us and not upstairs with Grace.

At least we know she’ll be safe until we can deal with his sorry ass.

Chapter Fifteen

Turning the lock with shaking hands, my heart thrums in my ribcage. I rest my forehead on the door, listening to them move away, hoping with everything that I am that they remain safe.

I only back away from the door once everything goes silent, and even then, my heart is with them. I’ve fallen for them way too quickly. I know that. Yet, I also know that this isn’t a rebound from whatever me and Jason had.

Some would say I’m moving on too fast, but when love takes control, there’s no stopping the hands of time. Powerless to stop it, it simply runs away with you in its grasp.

Taking a deep breath and shaking my limbs out to try and calm myself, I glance around, watching the shadows dance on the back wall from where the fire lights up the room. Instead of offering peace and comfort, their mesmerizing display only serves to unnerve me and has me on high alert. Or is that the adrenaline rush?

“Gah! Get a grip, Grace.” I smack my cheeks. “You’re no good to them as a blubbering mess.”

Sighing, I move over to the window and look out into the darkness of the night. Wrapping my arms around my chest, a shiver races down my spine as a mixture of coldness and anxiety works its way through me.

Logically, I know they’re trained and can handle themselves, but I still worry. Jason on the other hand-

“Son of a nutcracker,” I start pacing. The panic starts all over again at the realization that he’s somewhere in the house–defenseless–while the well-trained hostage is free and on a rampage. His behavior may have been less than savory towards me, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t mean something to me once. I know I shouldn’t, but I still worry about him.

The problem is, I can’t do anything from here. I likely can’t do anything out there either, but I’d at least be able to let the guys know so they could look out for him. I did promise Atlas I would stay, though...

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