Kingdom Fall

I snatched the helmet and said, “You better not be lying to me,” before putting it on my head.

Then I was forced to curl my body around his, remembering what it felt like to be this close to him, before he took off. Seconds later, a blast lit up the night’s sky. I turned my head and saw the explosion that seemed to come from the abandoned warehouse. He hadn’t been lying. I prayed my brother had gotten out safely.

We’re going to die repeated in my head as we rode at breakneck speeds until we pulled into a garage. I hopped off the bike and slapped his arm when he stood next to me.

“What was that for?” he asked.

“For almost killing us.”

He grinned and nearly killed me with his smile instead.

“I want to talk to my brother,” I demanded.

“Not now, princess,” he said, taking me by the arm and marching me forward.

“Where are we going?”

“To save our asses,” he said.

I’d closed my eyes for most of the trip and didn’t exactly know where we were. He opened a door, and inside, he pressed a button for an elevator. When it opened, he pulled me in, waved a key card in front of a reader, pressed another button, and instead of going up, doors opened behind us.

“What’s this?” I said.

“Plan A.”

We were in a dimly lit tunnel. The fact that he’d used a keycard to gain us access meant I was depending not only on that he knew where we were going but that he could get us out of the underground space if things went tits up. “This is some horror movie shit.”

“More like Mission Impossible,” he grumbled, still pulling me along.

“What? You fancy yourself Tom Cruise and me one of your many leading ladies?”

“I’m taller than Tom Cruise and better looking.”

I could have lied and disagreed, but I blamed my non-response on the thumping beat of music above us.

“You’re taking me to a club?” To make sure I properly conveyed my exasperation, I added, “And it better not be a sex club. If you think I’m screwing you, you’re one toolbox short of reality.”

He stopped in front of a door and locked his gaze with mine. “If I wanted to fuck you, princess, I have no doubt you’d let me.”

He could have added close your mouth or you’ll let the flies in for the way my jaw hung open. How dare he say that—true or not? But I had no time to cut him down a peg, because he’d keyed a code into a panel as he spoke. When he finished, the door opened, and music surrounded us.ThreeConnorThe blonde bombshell was going to get us killed if she continued with her stubborn streak. I hadn’t yet learned who was behind all of this. I could assume, since I’d been able to bargain for her, that she wasn’t the target. But what if whoever was behind this was smarter than I gave them credit for?

The scheme might be more elaborate than that. I could be leading them exactly where they wanted me to. It didn’t help that we were leaving a digital footprint. The dance club had security, and I knew better than anyone that any system could be hacked with enough patience and time. The fact that I owned the building gave me access into all spaces.

If I’d been alone, I could have faded in the background. But Lizzy in her bridesmaid’s dress—which was a little too long for a place like this—would stand out. If I’d planned to hole up here, I would have cut the thing off her at mid-thigh. As it was, we were only passing through. I had to hope we had a lead on anyone who might have followed us.

She didn’t like me holding her hand, which I’d snagged once we were through the door. She’d tried to shake me off, but I held firm and gave her a warning glare she’d received. I was damn sure she’d make me pay later.

We wound around the fringes of the room until we got to the exit. It led to a garage in the building across the street from where I’d parked my bike. If someone had been on our heels, they would be searching that building instead of this one.

“You are Tom Cruise,” she said when I unlocked the doors of an SUV with blacked-out windows.

“Get in. We don’t have time.”

Gratefully, she got in without any more comments. But if I’d thought I was off the hook, I was wrong. She waited until after I’d peeled out of the garage as though our lives depended on it, which they did, before laying into me.

“What the fuck is going on?”

“You tell me, princess. One drunken minute, I’m about to get a happy ending. The next, I see you and your brother getting taken and I’m forced to play Liam Neeson’s role, drumming up a particular set of skills to get us to where we are now.”