Page 155 of Rush of Jealousy

“Stay down,” he instructs. Austin cocks his gun and evaluates the situation before sliding back down to the dirty floor with me. His eyes level on me, and he takes a deep breath. “We are getting out of here through the kitchen. I need you to stay low. Do not stop and look. Just keep moving and do not let go of my hand. If for some reason we get separated—”

I let out a small whimper. Austin cups my face and forces me to look at him.

“Listen, Miss McFee. If for some reason we get separated, I want you to stay low. And stay unseen. Hide. Someone will find you.”

He pulls out a bracelet from his pocket that is made out of a bendable rubber and has a rectangular plate at the top. He grabs my trembling hand and snaps the device around my left wrist.

The sound of a dozen or so gunshots reverberates across the room. Are they getting closer? The volume of noise inside has not dissipated at all. If anything, it has gotten louder. The exits are probably completely blocked with people trying to get out at the bottleneck.

“We’re moving now,” Austin says—more so to the invisible person listening on the other end of the earpiece than to me.

He locks his hand around mine and shields me with his body as he guides me to the door behind the bar. It is locked. He points his gun at the handle and stays back. I hide my face into his back. The gun must have a suppressor because the sound is not nearly as bad as I was expecting.

Austin kicks open the door and then shuts it hard behind him. We move quickly through the prep stations and the oven area. When we make our way into the supply area, we are inundated by a mob of people rushing from the main floor like a herd of elephants. My hand slips out of Austin’s, and I am crushed against a metal standing freezer. I scream out in pain, as darkness floods my vision.

Pitch black.

“Austin! Austin, where are you? Austin!”

The roar echoing through the kitchen makes my head hurt. The banging metal sound ricochets through my ears from the pots and pans slamming together. I get bumped to the side, staggering into a shelving unit. Things fall onto my head, as I get shoved forward. On my hands and knees, I crawl into what feels like a corner and curl into a ball. Light flutters into the space, flashing images of panicked faces as people try to escape.

My bracelet lights up with a bright green color, and I scan the area. Dread fills every inch of my body. I feel trapped, like I will never get out of here.

The crowd pushes through, knocking down the weak, like a stampede. In the background, I can hear the pelting of gunshots.

Then I see it. The light. It is the same one that is illuminated on my wrist. Sitting up, I scream at the top of my lungs, “Austin!”

The matching light moves toward me, and strong arms envelop me.

“Thank God I found you,” Austin grunts out with relief.

He picks me up from the floor and carries me into an alcove where there’s a window. Lights from the parking lot shine through the pane. My eyes try to adjust to the change. With the handle of his gun, Austin busts through the window, clearing the glass. He rips off his jacket and uses it to pad the wooden part of the frame.

“Climb up,” he directs. “I’m going to jump down and then I will catch you.”

I get hoisted up. Within seconds, Austin descends. I take a deep breath and climb through the glassless frame, taking the leap toward the gravelly parking lot, into Austin’s awaiting arms. My scream burns my lungs, and I gasp for the fresh air that I thought I would never breathe again.

Chaos unfolds as the entire building is consumed with first responders and people fleeing the scene. Austin starts to move, toting my limp body with him as I just channel all my focus into gulping up the oxygen that I am starving for.

When we are away from the mob of people and safely on the sidewalk, Austin puts me back on my feet, running his hands over my arms and trying to see if I have been hurt.

“Are you okay, Miss McFee?”

“Claire?” I pant, bending down and placing my hands on my knees.

“Angie!” she yells, running to me and wrapping me in a hug. “I was so worried.”

Austin and his security partner pull us away from the building as the police and SWAT teams have finally arrived to handle the mayhem still happening inside.

“We need to get away from here,” Austin announces, pulling me along to a fast-paced run. Claire and the other security guy join us as we run past all of the cars trying to get out of the parking lot. Roads are blocked, and people are running and screaming from the building. It is a disaster.

I hear my name being called up ahead, and I look up to see Graham and Ethan running toward us, in the shadow of the streetlight. Claire and I break free and charge as fast as we can to our men. I jump into Graham’s arms, and he lifts me up and cradles me to his chest. He kisses all over my face and wraps his hands into my hair. I sob and wipe my damp nose into his shirt, breathing in his smell.

“I thought I was going to die,” I wail. “People were fighting and shooting at each other. And I have no freaking clue what was happening.”

“You are safe. I have you.”

“I was so scared.”

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