Page 67 of A Very Titan Christmas
Bryce shrugged on his parka and stepped into the blustery cold, where gray clouds hung low and spat ice and rain like sad, grumpy confetti. He started to redial, but his body jerked at the sound of approaching voices and heavy footsteps before he could complete the call.
Roman and Cash were hauling ass toward the conference center. Bryce shoved the phone into his pocket and hustled toward them—only to stop when Roman waved his forearms like he was directing a jet for takeoff.
“Go!” Roman called down the icy sidewalk. “Compromised.”
With his heart in his throat, Bryce spun toward the doors, tearing off his parka and unholstering his weapon. He could hearhis heartbeat. He could hear Cash and Roman crashing through the doors behind him.
Bryce rounded the corner. “Where’s Rachel?”
“I—I—” Eloise turned from the window, looking around and then to the gun in Bryce’s hand. “She was just here. I think… she went to talk to someone.”
Roman and Cash flanked Eloise.
“Bryce?” Eloise cried. “Where is she?”
He could see chaos flood through the security details. Radios crackled. Agents surged toward the meeting room Senator Porter had entered for a conference call. Voices barked orders. An immediate threat was known, but no one seemed to understand it.
His stomach bottomed out. Despite the flurry of activity, the surrounding space seemed empty.
No Rachel.
No sound. No scream. Nothing but Christmas bunting and decorated trees.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Rachel followed thesecurity officer through the winding, windowless passages of the service hallways. The low ceilings and humming fluorescent lights always made her feel like she was lost in a maze. Once, when she’d been in elementary school, she and a friend snuck into the service hallways and found themselves turned around. They didn’t see anyone while searching for their way out, and once they got outside, they were nowhere close to where they had started.
“Why are we going this way?” Rachel paused as the officer turned down another corridor.
Dressed as an undercover agent, he had explained that her father wanted to speak with her again. She guessed that using this man to separate her from her mother was Dad’s way to assure they had a private conversation without having to deal with Eloise’s snark and sarcasm.
“This way.” The man gestured down the hall.
“No, my dad’s not down here—”
The undercover officer grabbed her arm. “Let’s go.”
Rachel yanked it back. “Excuse me.”
His grip tightened.
Dread surged in her stomach. “Hey, let go.”
He didn’t let go and dragged her forward. “Just following orders, ma’am.”
Orders? That wasn’t what he’d said. She leaned her weight back onto her heels. “No.”
If there were orders, Bryce—or anyone from Titan Group—would be the one to dish them out. If there was an issue, they would have brought Eloise along with Rachel. “I’m going to go back and ask—”
He shoved the business end of his service weapon against her temple. “Keep moving.”
All thoughts left her, replaced by cold fear at the realization that she’d fucked up. Rachel was lost in a maze of hallways where no one would hear her scream. “Whatever you want, my parents will give it to you.”
“Iwantyou to keep moving.” He pressed harder on the gun, as if she missed the loaded weapon inches away from her brain. “Go, or I’ll make you.”
He wouldn’t take her just to shoot her. He needed her for something, and she had to figure out what because she would be dead if he got it. She’d seen his face. White guy. Pale with a scar above his eyebrow. Close-cropped brown hair. Hard-set jawline. He didn’t wear a uniform, but by combining his looks with khaki pants, ass-kicking boots, and a generic jacket, he screamed undercover cop. He’d blended in with the other undercover officers milling about, and she hadn’t thought twice about leaving with him.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. The mother of all fuckups.
