“Kaci. Wake up.” I shook her shoulder then darted through the room as adrenaline spiked through my bloodstream.
The lack of windows meant no one could see in. But I could see out. I stopped in front of the TV monitor that hung beside the front door.
The bedding rustled behind me as I flipped through the channels, searching for the camera angle that showed the driveway. Darkness shrouded the street twenty-yards from my front door, but floodlights lit every corner of my property.
“Logan?” Her groggy voice drifted from the bed.
“There’s a gun under the mattress. Get it.”
The monitor showed the view of the drive and a black limo under glaring outdoor lights. My heart thundered, and ice filled my lungs.
I sprinted toward the kitchen area, grabbed my primary Glock off the counter, and checked the magazine. Fully loaded. I shoved it in the back of my pants and pulled the leather jacket over it.
Kaci appeared at my side, wearing only her bra and panties, with the gun from the bed in her hand. Her eyes widened as they locked on the monitor by the door. “Please tell me that’s not Trent’s limo.”
The doors hadn’t opened yet. It could’ve been Trent’s or Collin’s or who the fuck knew? But none of the options were good because no one knew my location.
I hit the button above the refrigerator, and the oak panels beside it rolled up. Then I moved her, damn near carrying her in my urgency, onto the hidden elevator. “When you get to the basement, hide. Do not come back up. I will come to you.”
Tension snapped through her body, and her eyes sharpened into pinpricks. She shifted to step off the lift. “Bullshit. I’m not leaving—”
I kissed her, hard and fast, then gently pushed her to the rear of the lift. My heart hammered as I tapped the code on the keypad and turned my back. Behind me, the elevator whirred its descent as I sprinted to the far side of the room to the shelving unit. There, I collected my six-inch blade and slid it and the sheath in my boot.
On my way to the front door, the oak panels returned to their closed position, concealing the elevator behind the wall. I blew out a strained breath and grabbed my helmet from the back of the couch. No matter what happened, she was safe two-stories down, and both elevators required a code.
Kaci didn’t have the code, but Benny did. If I didn’t make it through this, Benny would retrieve her.
The monitor showed the limo doors opening, and a man in a suit was shoved out. He sprawled on the ground, his hands bound behind him. When he turned his head, the sight of his terrified eyes, black hair, and familiar face locked my jaw in a painful clench.
Who had Collin and how the fuck did they find me?
He stumbled to his feet and backed up, yanking against his restraints.
Another man rounded the limo from the driver’s side, the gun in his hand trained on Collin. I knew that motherfucker. Big arms. Barrel chest. Crisp suit. Watchful eyes. The burly fucking babysitter from the office.
Trent stepped out of the limo, wearing one of his typical designer suits.
I shut down every violent emotion that ripped through me and measured my breathing. As they approached the door, I switched the camera views on the monitor.
Collin led with the burly man on his heels, the gun at his head, and his face shocked to a bloodless pallor.
I activated the intercom system, powered on the helmet to conceal my voice, and shoved it on. The facial recognition software immediately identified the gunman as Jed Williams.
They were going to threaten Collin’s life to convince me to open the door. Could I trust the fear glazing Collin’s eyes? Maybe he was good actor, and this was all a ploy to get inside.
Had he told Trent I was Evader? Probably. Was Trent here to kill Evader to ensure his winning bet? Most definitely.
It was a racing rule that had never been played. The race would proceed regardless if one of the racers no-showed. Anyone who placed a bet knew this. If Trent was here to kill Evader, he assumed Lady Silver would still race. He either didn’t know Kaci was the challenger or he didn’t know she was connected to me.
But Collin knew. How much had he told Trent?
Trent stepped around Collin and Jed and stared into the camera lens, his voice booming through the intercom speaker. “Where’s Kaci?”
Blood drained from my face. Motherfucker. I flexed my hands. Either Collin told him she was with me or he was operating on an assumption and hoping for a validation.
One I refused to give. “You’ve got the wrong house.”
Trent glanced at the phone in his hand, his posture relaxed, his tone completely void of emotion. “Her phone is twenty feet away.” He looked up. “Technology is amazing, isn’t it? She uses her personal phone to log into Trenchant’s private network and unwittingly installs little hidden tools on her device, like my GPS tracker.”