Page 75 of Being Bold
When the suits shoved her into the elevator, she stumbled toward the back wall. Pushing off the mirrored surface, her eyes widened as the bright bouquet Herc carried filled her vision. She spun around as he squeezed inside.
“Man, glad I caught this. My delivery’s already late.” He stepped in next to her, his bodybuilder frame making it impossible for the suits to box her in. “Mind hitting 52 for me, ma’am?”
Before she could make her mouth work to respond, Shorty stabbed a finger into the floor Herc had asked for.
As if he had no clue what was going on, Herc kept talking, slowly edging closer until he was between her and the men. “This place is brand new, isn’t it? It’s my first delivery here. I hear there are penthouses starting on the fifty-fourth floor.” Ostensibly, his vision slid to the wall of numbers, but she could tell he watched the suits carefully. “Sixty-one! Is that where you’re going? Man, I’d love to see those. What’s it like up there?”
When he got no answer, Herc’s hand shifted, adjusting the flowers, then a couple of muffled thumps sounded in her ears. The next thing she knew, the two suits had crumpled to the floor.
“What just happened?”
She didn’t realize she’d asked the question aloud until Herc said, “Suppresser.”
She peeked around his side and swallowed. Each man had a bullet hole in his forehead. Dark red blood dripped from the wounds.
Her stomach roiled again, and she instinctively covered her face, backing away until she hit the wall of the lift. Her legs gave out, and she slumped to the floor.
A large hand squeezed her shoulder. “Deep breaths, Selene.”
His comment made her realize how short her inhales were, but she couldn’t seem to fill her lungs with enough air. Not when the rest of her was too busy freaking the hell out.
It’s not as if she hadn’t known TOP would be taking lives today. She just hadn’t expected the front-row seat.
“Herc, report.” Victor’s command knocked the shock from her limbs, and she opened her eyes, pushing to her feet.
She only half heard him relaying what he’d just done because the comms had been quiet until now. Her ear started to buzz with commentary while she tried not to think about the two dead men she was sharing space with.
Duke’s cocky tone confirmed, “Four more in the penthouse with Dao. Hey, did you guys know this thing has a private terrace?” He monitored the building through an aerial drone with thermal capabilities. Keeping an eye on things inside and out.
“Yes, because some of us actually looked at the floor plans,” Herc spoke over Duke’s response after moving the bodies of the two men so they wouldn’t be visible when the elevator opened.
“I want one.”
“Great, you can put an offer in after Dao’s comes on the market.” Romeo goaded.
“Lock it up, people,” Victor’s order made everyone go silent.
Still, Selene wished she’d heard Bo’s voice.
Where is he?
The elevator opened on floor fifty-two. Herc cursed, leaping forward to slam the ‘door close’ button.
Things seemed to be moving in slow-motion for her, so she shook her head and focused on him. “What now?”
“You knock on Dao’s door while Romeo takes out the cameras in his hallway. When they open it, we’ll go inside together.” He gave her a quick smile. “You won’t be alone.”
“How’s that going to work, exactly? They won’t let you just waltz in.” Herc seemed comfortable making the plan up on the fly, while she was used to weighing and measuring outcomes before taking action.
“That’s why you’re bait, remember?” He grinned, nudging her with his elbow and almost knocking her over.
When she teetered, he caught her arm. “Sorry,” he laughed.
Selene blinked up at Herc, completely dumbfounded at how he could find anything humorous right now. The fact that he’d just taken two lives didn’t seem as if it were even on his radar.
She opened her mouth to ask him how he did that when the elevator stopped, the doors opening with a ding.
“Shit, we have a problem.” Duke’s voice filled her ear before surprise fuzzed everything out.
