Page 25 of Saving Mr. Norcross
She followed him in. The room was pitch black, but as her eyes adjusted, she made out the outline of another four-poster bed.
This one had a large lump under the covers.Crap. She tapped Justin’s shoulder and pointed.
He nodded and held a finger to his lips.
Female voices sounded in the hallway. Peering through the crack in the door, she saw two maids pushing a wooden cart loaded with plates of food. Hell, they were even wearing black-and-white maid outfits. Navarro really was old school. The pair disappeared from view.
She nodded and jerked her head toward the door.Time to move.
Thankfully, the occupant of the bed didn’t even move. Silently, they moved down the hall. They reached the top of a grand, wooden staircase with ornate, carved railings. She peered down, then jerked back.
“Three guards.” They were milling at the base of the stairs. “They’re blocking our way down.”
Justin frowned.
It wouldn’t be long until the maids returned. That’s when something occurred to her. “The maids were pushing a cart. They didn’t come up the stairs.”
His eyes flickered. “Elevator.”
Brynn darted down the corridor that led onto a mezzanine level overlooking the ground floor. She stuck to the wall so the guards below wouldn’t see her. That’s when she spotted the shiny, silver elevator. “There.”
“It’s too risky to take the elevator to the basement,” Justin said. “We have no idea of the layout, or the number of men Navarro has down there.”
“We’ll take the elevator to the ground level.” That left them more room to move if they ran into any guards. “Then we find the stairs to the basement.”
As they stepped into the small elevator, the lingering scent of the food the maids were delivering hung in the air. Brynn pushed the button.
The elevator slowly descended. They both pressed to the side walls, ready for anything.
Please don’t let there be anyone waiting at the bottom.
Her hands flexed. The doors opened.
There was no one in view, and she released a breath. There was a small foyer with marble floors, and an accent table topped with a huge vase of fresh flowers.
Nearby, she heard sounds coming from the kitchen. People talking and the clang of pots and cutlery.
Justin jerked his head, and they moved down the hall.
“The entrance to the basement has to be close,” he murmured.
They turned the corner.
And ran into a guard.
Shit.
The man’s eyes widened, and he barked something in Italian at them. The guy was huge. Even taller than Justin, who had to be six foot three.
Justin leaped forward and hit the guy. They scuffled, and the two big men strained against each other.
Crap. They couldn’t let him alert any others. Brynn touched the gun on her hip. Shooting him would make too much noise.
The men whirled, and Justin took a hard elbow to the face. She winced.
They spun again, and this time Justin put a knee into his attacker’s midsection. The man grunted.
Come on. Take him down.
