Page 49 of Flame it Up

“Really,” Mazie said dully. She wasn’t buying a word of this … Pyrus cared about people. She knew he did.Richard is a fucking liar.

Richard took another step closer to the door as if he knew he was losing her. Mazie swung it as if she was going to slam it shut.

“I’ll pay you!” Richard whispered furiously through the gap. “Millions of dollars … whatever you need. Just help me set him up, and I’ll get you anything you want.”

Mazie actually laughed. She couldn’t help herself.

“I suspected from the first moment that you guys had absolutely no right to be here, and you’ve just dug your own grave. You aren’t a law enforcement or government agency, otherwise, you’d have badges. You’d have told me who you worked for and never would have offered to bribe me. You look like a bunch of guys on the wrong side of the law.”

“Is that what I look like?” Richard muttered.

Mazie nodded. “I don’t believe a word you’re saying. Pyrus cares for people. He would never do anything to hurt anyone.”

“Really?” Richard said, his eyes hard. “He hurt me.”

Mazie wanted to snap that he probably deserved it, but the situation was getting out of hand. She felt very alone and just wanted to get away from the door as fast as possible so she could call for help.

Mazie went to slam the door at the exact same moment Richard told his goons to grab her. She managed to slam the door shut, but before she could pull even one lock, the guys on the other side smashed into it. She threw her whole weight against the door and held it steady for a total of ten seconds before they smashed into it again.

Mazie went flying. Behind her, the chain snapped as the door busted open. She hit the floor hard, smacking her chin so hard that her teeth clacked together.

She tried to get to her feet and run, but a big, strong hand grabbed her shoulder and pushed her back down. She was pinned to the floor, utterly helpless and more terrified than she’d ever been in her entire life.

EIGHTEEN

PYRUS

Pyrus worked quickly through a stack of paperwork when a call came in on his priority line. It was security from his condo’s building, and he answered immediately, his mind reeling.

I left her alone…I didn’t even think about it. I just assumed she’d be safe.

The security team told him there had been a disturbance at his condo, like a break-in. Pyrus did not even wait to finish the call. He just hung up, threw the phone into his pocket, and ran. He wanted to head to the roof, shift and fly. Then he could get back to the condo in seconds. He knew he couldn’t, though. Too many people would see him. Even though every single second hurt him as it passed, he drove home as fast as he dared.

As he ran toward the door and saw it hanging open, fear shot through his chest, carving his heart in two with an icy blade.

“Mazie!” he yelled. “Mazie!”

Pyrus bolted through the doorway, seeing the shattered edges of the door and scatter of splinters showing it had been forced open. He opened up the security panel near the door and called up the camera footage from the last hour.

When he saw Richard and the goons show up at the door, he groaned aloud. He couldn’t believe that he’d left Mazie here alone without any protection. He just never imagined Richard would stoop this low.

Pyrus pulled out his phone and called the security center.

“Mr. Bloodmoon,” a calm voice answered on the first ring. “Do you require assistance at this time?”

“No,” Pyrus snapped. “The bad guys are long gone. I just need to know what measures have been taken so far.”

“We have not notified any authorities, Mr. Bloodmoon. We were waiting on your word. Is this theft or something of a more violent nature?”

Pyrus couldn’t hold back a small grin. All the guys that worked on the building’s security team had seen all kinds of hell go down. He had no doubt that they’d had to cover up more than one dead body over the course of their job.

“It’s a personal matter,” Pyrus said. “Not theft.”

“I understand,” the security guy replied. “Is there anything you need from us?”

“No,” Pyrus said. “Keep it on the down low and look out for these guys. They are very dangerous. If they decide to come back, the cops can’t help you.”

“Understood. Good luck, Mr. Bloodmoon.”

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