The Planck Factor

At this point, my knowledge of self-defense kicked into high gear. He stopped a moment and stepped back just far enough for me to jab my knee up into his groin. He fell back and doubled over in pain.

The man behind me dug his fingers in harder. I brought my foot up and smashed it down on his instep. He screamed and his fingers loosened. An elbow jab to the gut moved him back enough to let me karate chop his groin. As he bent over, I used his momentum to throw him to the floor. At which point, I stomped on his head.

I started for the door, then sprinted to the table, snatched my flash drive, and ran. But not before breaking both men’s noses with a swift kick to each of their faces.

Did I just kick two men in the face? Did I really just break their noses? For a moment, as I fled toward the stairwell—checking the door before entering to make sure I would

n’t end up trapped like Alexis—I actually felt a pang of guilt. I’m not a violent person. But that man was going to rape me. And I don’t think the other guy intended to stop him. So, what the hell do I have to feel guilty about?

I bounded down the stairs as fast as I could go, wondering where the hell I was going.

It seemed to take forever to reach each landing. My room was on the eighth floor and I counted down each floor every two flights. Seven . . . six . . . five . . . .

I reached floor two and paused. Maybe I should get out here. Just in case. I tried the knob. It turned. I pushed through the door. It opened into a hall. The elevators were located to my left in an alcove midway down the hall. As I ran toward the alcove, a man rounded the corner. Another man followed. It was Flattop and Red—the men from the van. I skidded to a halt and scrambled to switch directions.

“Wait!” Flattop caught up with me in short order and grabbed my arm, then eased off with surprising gentleness. “We work for your sister. And we’re here to protect you.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Jessica

My mouth must have resembled that of a landed grouper. My lips kept flapping, but I couldn’t find the words.

“What?” Sadly, it was the most intelligent thing I could think of to say.

Flattop smiled and reached into his back pocket. I tensed, then relaxed, feeling stupid as he pulled out a wallet and opened it.

He handed me a card. It read Joseph Cotter, A-Team Security.

I gaped at the card, until I finally found my voice again, hiding somewhere beneath my liver. “Wait. Are you telling me my sister hired you as my bodyguard?”

Flattop (or Cotter, if that was his name) nodded. “Your sister gave us the okay to tell you. She knew you were caught in something bigger than you could imagine.”

“Hold on,” I said. “A couple of people have died.” I waved the card under his nose. “I need more than this to be convinced. Anyone can have business cards made up.”

Cotter frowned. “I’m sorry. Will this do it?” He opened his wallet again and displayed his driver’s license, then flipped to a card that showed he was state-certified in California as a bodyguard.

“I . . . I have to call my sister,” I said, my voice faint with disbelief.

“Go ahead. But I think we need to get you out of here.”

As Cotter and his redhead assistant led me further down the stairs, I was able to reach Liz on my cell.

“Jess! Are you okay?” Her voice sounded tight with near panic.

“I’m okay.” For a moment, I thought I’d burst into tears but I struggled to contain myself. “Well, that’s a lie. I feel like shit. I met my bodyguards, by the way.”

“Jess, I hired them to make sure no one hurt you.”

We had clambered down to a basement garage and my bodyguards hustled me toward a car. (Like Alexis. Not again!)

“Just so I’m sure, tell me their names.”

“Joe Cotter and Billy Sullivan.”

Billy Sullivan? Now, how weird was that? My protagonist Alexis’ surname was Sullivan. This had to be a bad dream. They say truth is stranger than fiction, but honestly . . . this was way too much.

“Okay,” I said, sliding into the back, while Cotter and Billy took their places up front. I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Liz had actually hired these guys. However, I still had a few questions for her.