“Heathen,” Kemen pronounced.
“Let’s go,” I grumbled. Ian cuffed him, and I opened the door.
Gunfire in the hall stopped me, and several state troopers rushed forward, weapons drawn. They were prepared to go out, but to me, the balcony I’d glimpsed when we came in was the better option.
“What?” Ian asked.
I tipped my head toward the glass door.
“No.”
“Yes.” I nodded. “Come on.”
“Fuck, okay. I’m right behind you.”
Moving fast, we were at the sliding glass door when the gunfire spattered again and I heard yelling behind us.
“That’s not—” Kemen gasped. “—for me, is it?”
“It is,” Ian and I said at the same time.
“Pimps don’t normally come after their meal tickets with semiautomatic machine guns,” I continued, sliding the door open and peering over the side.
“And?” Ian asked.
“We can hang down and drop; from this floor to the third, there’s a lot of room sticking out. We can’t miss it.”
“Okay,” he agreed, tipping his head at me. “You go and I’ll lower him down.”
I knew him better than that. I’d get there, he’d drop Kemen, and then he’d run off into the firefight without me. “No, you first, I’ll cover you.”
He tensed for a fight. “Listen, Miroslav, you should go first because of your wrist.”
“No, it should be you because of my wrist,” I corrected him. “You’re stronger right now. I don’t wanna drop him.”
The gunfire got louder and screaming joined the shouting.
“Now,” I barked, cutting off any further protest.
Shoving Kemen at me, Ian walked to the edge of the balcony, checked the distance, climbed the railing, scowled at me, and then lowered himself down. Only his hands were visible for a moment, and then I heard him hit the balcony below us.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, it’s only like maybe six feet when you’re hanging. Just a quick drop.”
“Easy,” I said to Kemen. “You next.”
“No-no-no,” he said, panicking suddenly. “I can’t go off a balcony.”
“Please, this is not a big deal,” I said, picking the smaller man up and slinging him over my left shoulder like he weighed nothing.
“You’re not even uncuffing me?” he squeaked.
“Nope.” I chuckled, walking to the edge, leaning over, and letting him slip.
He screamed for the second and a half before he was in Ian’s arms.
“You two are insane!” he shrieked as I flipped over the railing, held on for a moment with my one good hand, and then let go.
Ian braced me when I landed, hands on my hips again, like the night before, his chest pressed to my back.
“Thanks,” I said, smiling from inches away.
“Your ideas suck,” he said grumpily. But the bitching was affectionate, and I got that before he shoved his face down into my shoulder. He needed just a second.
“All better,” I taunted.
“Ass,” he proclaimed before spinning me around to face the locked balcony door. More gunfire echoed above us, and because I didn’t like the idea of drawing attention by shooting the lock or the glass, I got out my wallet.
“What are you doing?” Ian whispered.
“These doors are cheap,” I said, sliding my Visa between it and the frame. “Good ones slide into a groove so you have insulation and more security. Cheap ones like this meet up flush, and there’s only a tiny catch on—” I heard the click. “—the lock.”
“Where the fuck did you learn to do that?” Ian squinted at me.
“Misspent youth,” I said, straightening and sliding open the door. “You knew that.”
“I know some of it, but clearly not enough.”
“That was hot,” Kemen said, flirting with me.
Pulling my gun, I went in first, checking under the beds and in the bathroom and the closet before motioning them in.
Ian pushed Kemen ahead of him and locked the balcony door behind them. He sat Kemen down on one of the two double beds as I went to the door, where I flipped the security lock and waited as he called for backup.
I took my first breath when I heard sirens.
Kemen and I glanced up when we heard pounding over our heads, followed by short bursts of gunfire. He turned slowly to me.
“What happened?”
“Someone recognized you. Maybe one of the girls, maybe one of the pimps, or maybe even a cop, but whoever it was, they knew who you were and put in a call to Ledesma.”
He started shaking.
“Are you getting it? Is this starting to sink in?”
Silently, he nodded.
“If you’re gonna stop being an asshole and stay with us and trust us, we’ll take off the cuffs.”
He mouthed the word yes, making no sound.
Ian took them off, and the second he did, Kemen wrapped both arms around my left, attaching himself tight.
“You’re gonna be okay.”
He was quiet and didn’t move.
Minutes later, there was a knock at the door.
Moving sideways so I wasn’t in front of it in case bullets came through, I lifted my gun. Ian stood on the other side mirroring me.
“Federal marshal,” Ching yelled from outside.