Dusted Star

Chapter Twenty

Lakyn wanted tosnatch Trac bald. Had there ever been a human more annoying? He was taking the bodyguard thing to a whole new level of ridiculous. Knowing Cooper approved was proof enough the whole thing was out of control. Hell, she’d barely been able to go to the bathroom alone. Juan was staying busy, acting as her manager, so he hadn’t been available to act as a mediator,something he’d easily managed until they’d returned to New York.

Walking down the street to the studio where the re-shoot was scheduled, Lakyn noticed there were several dark sedans with tinted windows parked along the street. The morning sun was bright despite the shadows from the skyscrapers, and she was grateful for the added anonymity of her dark glasses and wide-brimmed hat. She wasn’t sureif they were friends of the men flanking her or not, and before she could ask, Lakyn saw Trac tap the earpiece he was wearing.

“All clear?” He’d spoken so softly, she had barely heard him, but evidently whoever was on the other end had because he seemed to relax, at least marginally, as they entered the building. She hadn’t been to this particular studio before, so she took her time walking throughthe large lobby, enjoying the architectural details and craftsmanship of a bygone era.

The small cream and black octagon tiles had been laid in an intricate sunburst pattern that wouldn’t be nearly as impressive with today’s technology. Knowing the craftsmen who built this building designed and built it without that advantage was remarkable. The bronze angel faces featured along crown moldingmade her wonder what the building’s original purpose had been. As if he’d read her mind, Juan looked down at her and smiled as they entered the elevator.

“It’s remarkable, isn’t it? I’ve always enjoyed period architecture, the meanings behind various elements because they are often so different from what they seem. The various pediments, dentil ornamentations, finials, and medallions—so manyof them are deeply entrenched in history.”

Lakyn was astonished to find out he had such a keen interest in the beauty surrounding them. Most people walked into and by amazing buildings every day without giving them a second glance. Lakyn often found herself walking into things because she was always looking up, fascinated with the intricate details most people ignored.

Trac hadn’t said anything,but she’d seen his lips twitch while Juan had been speaking. She started forward when the doors of the elevator slid open, but Juan wrapped his hand around her upper arm holding her back as Trac stepped into the dimly lit hall. The lobby had been filled with light, so it seemed odd this floor was so poorly illuminated.

“Don’t move. The building was cleared, but something isn’t right.”

“I don’thear anything. Usually, I can hear the chatter of my agency’s make-up and hair team. Did they confirm with you?” When he nodded, she frowned. “Then they must be here.” The next thing she heard was Trac shouting from the distance for them to go before the hallway exploded in a ball of fire.

*

Trac noticed thetrip wire the minute he stepped off the elevator. He’d easilystepped over it and the next two but hadn’t seen the security camera above him pivot until he was already pushing open the heavy metal door to the stairwell.

Shouting over his shoulder at Juan to get Lakyn out, he jumped down the first set of steps, easily landing on his feet, but the explosion above him blew the door to the hall onto the stairs. The damned door was well made and slid quicklydown the stairs knocking his feet out from under him. When his ass hit the horizontal surface of the door, it was enough weight shift to send him sledding down the next set of stairs, slamming him into the concrete wall.

Fucking hell, his ears were ringing like a son of a bitch from the explosion, and now his vision blurred from the blow he’d taken when his head collided with the wall. Staggeringto his feet, he could hear a door several floors down slam open. The muffled sound of boots running up the stairs was the last thing he remembered before darkness closed in around him.

*

Cooper Hicks waswatching the monitor in a nearby van when he saw a glint of light along a narrow wire picked up by Trac Hughes body cam. He knew instantly what the other man was facingand was already sprinting across the street when he heard Hughes shout, “Go. Go. Go” to Juan and Lakyn. Kent’s voice came over his earpiece, telling the team Lakyn and Juan were still descending, so he hit the door to the stairwell at a full run, slamming the door against the wall and taking the stairs two and three at a time.

His heart skipped a beat when he found Hughes slumped to the floor,but a quick check of his pulse showed he was alive. The damned man was huge, carrying his dead-weight down three floors was going to be a bitch, but Cooper wasn’t going to take a chance waiting for the fire department to arrive. Calling for back-up, he lifted one of the men his sister was so damned fond of over his shoulder and started down the stairs. Christ, his broken ribs were already throbbing,and he’d only managed to go down two flights of stairs.

Leaning against the wall, trying to catch his breath, Cooper heard Hughes shout, “Put me down, asshole, before you puncture a fucking lung.” He would have laughed out loud as he set the man on his feet if it wouldn’t have hurt so much.

“Wait here, help is on the way.” He took in Trac’s appearance and wondered how he’d gotten the big gooseegg on his forehead. “Where are you hurt?”

“What?”

Cooper tried not to smile at Trac’s shout.Okay, safe to say his hearing took a hit.Cooper had been close to enough explosions to know how annoying the ringing was and how damned long it lasted. Hopefully, Trac’s concussion wasn’t so severe, they couldn’t give him something to knock his ass out because the only thing Cooper had ever found tohelp him escape the annoying sound was sleep.

Kent ran up beside them and gave him a questioning look. “Is there some reason you two are standing in the stairwell of a burning building, shooting the shit?”

“What?”

This time Cooper did laugh, then held his ribs and groaned.

“Christ, you two are a fucking pair.” Kent shook his head and chuckled. “Hell, my brother is going to blame me for this.God damn it all to hell. He’s going to swear it’s my fault the two of you are hurt, you know? And, he’s a real pain in the ass when he has something to lord over me. Fuck. Come on, let’s go before we get run over by the guys from NYFD.”

They stepped out onto the sidewalk, just as the first fire trucks slid to a stop out on the street in front of the building. He could see Juan and Lakyn standinghalfway down the long block near an ambulance and hoped Juan managed to get her out of the building unscathed.

Juan’s muscular arm was wrapped around her waist, and it looked as if he had Lakyn picked up off the ground—no doubt trying to keep her from rushing back toward danger. He knew she was worried about her brother and probably him as well, but he wanted her to stay where she was. He shookhis head when he saw her arms flail and her mouth running a mile a minute. Chuckling to himself, he bet Lakyn had just blown all the progress she’d made cleaning up her language.

“Can either of you hear what our woman is shouting down there? Damn, it looks like she’s racking up punishment points right and left.”

Kent coughed to cover his laughter at the looks they were getting as they helpedthe shouting, battered, and bruised man down the street. Thank God it was New York, and the passersby giving them curious looks wouldn’t give any of them a second thought once they’d moved on.

Just another day in the jungle.