Page 64 of Rescuing Micah
As she shoved her feet into her sneakers, Teresa brushed a fingertip along the inside of her wrist. She was taking a hugegamble, and she knew Micah was going to be furious about it when he found out. But she wasn't going to leave herself vulnerable to an attack and reliant on anyone, even her team who she trusted implicitly, to luck out on finding her, it was part of the reason she’d insisted on going into Prey yesterday.
Both Eagle and Raven knew what she had planned, and if the worst happened, she had to believe that it would work out the way she hoped. The risks were high, but the potential benefit could be everything they needed to close the ring down once and for all, rather than just putting dents in its operation.
“I'm ready,” she said as she straightened.
Giving her a quick once-over, Micah nodded, then they both hurried down to the living room. They paused only long enough for Micah to throw on jeans and a T-shirt, then put on his shoes, and tuck his weapon into his waistband, before he grabbed both their cell phones and shoved hers into her hand.
At the door, he paused, his large hands covering her shoulders, kneading a couple of times before pulling her close and crushing his mouth to hers in a fiery kiss that under any other circumstances would have wound up with them both naked and in bed again.
“I want you to call me, keep the line open, that way if we do get separated, at least we’ll still be in contact,” he ordered as he unlocked her door, and they both stepped out.
Teresa quickly brought up Micah’s name in her contacts and called him. He answered, then he took hold of her hand, his long fingers holding firm to her own, and she prayed they weren't going to get separated.
Knowing they were walking right into a trap didn't mean they could avoid it.
They couldn’t stay there so they were just going to have to hope for the best.
Her neighbors were streaming out of their own apartments, filling the hall as they all headed down the stairs by the elevator. They joined the throngs, and with each step they took, Teresa felt her anxiety rise.
Just minutes ago, she’d been snuggled in bed, Micah’s comforting presence beside her allowing her to have pleasant dreams. In fact, she’d been dreaming of the two of them, they’d been right in the throes of passion when that fire alarm had ruined everything.
If she thought there were a lot of people in the hall, it was nothing compared to the number in the stairwell. Her building had fifteen floors, and she was on the ninth, so there were still a lot of apartments above them, which meant a lot of people all having to use the stairs to get out.
As they started down the stairs, Teresa was acutely aware that any one of these people could be the enemy. They were here somewhere, if they weren't in the building, then they were outside it, just waiting for an opportunity to strike.
All about her, people bumped into her. Everyone was on edge, some people openly panicking, none of them knew that she was the cause of this. She doubted there was any real fire anywhere in the building, any real problem at all, but these people didn't know that, and they were acting accordingly.
It was slow going down the stairs, there were too many people, more than the stairwell was made to accommodate, so they had to trudge along with all the others, constantly getting pushed and pulled in all directions.
Throughout it all, Teresa clung to Micah’s hand.
Not only was he her lifeline, her protection, but he acted as a buffer as much as he could, trying to keep her close so he took more of the bumps.
But the sea of people was like the ocean.
It pushed and pulled.
It had a mind of its own.
And sometimes it was almost impossible to handle.
They were almost down to the ground floor when she felt it.
A tiny prick against the exposed skin on her arm.
She knew immediately what it was, but whatever she’d just been drugged with was fast acting.
Already, her head began to swim, making it hard to focus.
Teresa tugged on Micah’s hand, but with them being jostled as they were, he didn't seem to notice.
“Micah,” she called, scared when her voice came out weak, not loud enough to be heard over the noise of the masses.
Then an arm wrapped around her from behind, and she was yanked away from her lifeline.
Whoever was taking her was moving quickly, taking them backward into the sea of people going down and into the door that took them to the second floor.
She saw Micah turn around, his gaze searching for her.
