“It’s going to the next floor,” O’Malley pointed upwards. “I bet they’re going to fix the camera angle.”
“Then we’ll just knock it out of the way again.” Kelos stood patiently, while the cougar shifter shuffled on impatient feet.
“The elevator is going back down. We should go now.” O’Malley yanked the door open and sprinted for the stairs, with Kelos right behind him. They raced together, shoulder to shoulder, up the stairs and into the corridor beyond.
“We need to deal with the camera again.” Kelos dipped his hand in his pocket and drew out a coin.
“Be quick.” O’Malley looked up and down the corridor nervously. “The guy who went down on the elevator is on the floor below us.”
“I know,” Kelos ground out and then relaxed his arm, took aim, and threw the coin so hard it cracked the side of the camera casing. The fractured camera tilted to one side, the lens facing the wall at an odd angle. “I don’t know my own strength.”
“Let’s move.” O’Malley leaped forward and ran toward the exit. “I hope our friend didn’t go check the door to the roof and lock it.”
Kelos grabbed his coin as he raced for the stairwell. “I didn’t sense him go that way but then I was more focused on you and the vent. We need to hurry. The elevator is moving back up.”
“I think they know the camera is out again.” O’Malley shouldered the door open and held it for Kelos. “The elevator is opening.” He shoved the door closed but there was no time to lock it behind them.
Kelos raced to the center of the roof, the air shimmering around him as he shifted into his dragon. By the time the dragon was fully formed, O’Malley was leaping onto his back. Not waiting to check if the cougar shifter was secure in his seat, the dragon crouched low and took off into the air.
He pivoted, twisting his body to clear the raised door and flapped his wings hard to climb high in the sky before their pursuer burst through the door and began a security sweep of the building.
“We did it,” O’Malley leaned forward and whispered at the dragon.
Kelos just hoped that the break-in had been worth it, and they had the proof they needed to put Roman Ostabell in jail for a long time.
Chapter Twenty-Two – Amber
“He’ll be back soon. He’ll be back soon.” Amber walked to the door and rested her hand on the handle, fighting the urge to yank it open and go look for her mate. “He’ll be back soon.”
Amber turned away and went and sat down on the sofa where only an hour ago Kelos had been sipping his beer. Why had they agreed to this crazy plan?
For Fabian. Because if this worked, if they got the evidence against Ostabell, then they might finally be free of the nightmare they’d all been plunged into.
“Come on, Kelos.” She stood up and paced the room once more. They should be back by now. It was only a matter of time until someone knocked on the door and their alibi would be blown.
Amber stopped pacing and held her breath. Footsteps on the other side of the door coming this way. Was it Kelos and O’Malley?
Should they have even trusted O’Malley?
“Amber?” The door opened and Kelos filled the doorway.
“I’m here.” She rushed forward and threw herself into his arms. “What happened? Did you get the file?” Her voice was muffled as she pressed against his chest.
“We got it, although we haven’t had a chance to take a look at it yet.” He dropped a kiss on her head and walked into the room, half dragging, half carrying her as he made room for O’Malley.
“I should call Joanna first. Perhaps she should be here when we take a look at it,” O’Malley suggested.
“You might be right.” Kelos looked troubled as Amber finally relinquished her grip on him and stepped to one side.
“What if there’s something in the file about her dad?” Amber asked, eyeing the file as if it were a ticking bomb about to explode. “I mean a photo…or something.”
“You mean the kind of thing she might never be able to unsee?” Kelos nodded. “Amber might be right.”
“I think that should be Joanna’s choice.” O’Malley dragged his phone from his pocket and hit dial. “Want to come over for a nightcap?”
“Sure,” Joanna answered and then hung up.
“Did anyone see you?” Amber asked as she held onto Kelos.
“No.” He shook his head. “At least, not as far as we know.”
“And until anyone misses this file, it’ll be like we were never there.” O’Malley looked at the file as if it might burn his fingers if he held onto it much longer. Dropping it down on the small table next to the sofa, he headed for the door. “I’m going to go and get us some drinks. Want to give me a hand, Kelos?”
“Sure.” Kelos followed O’Malley out of the room.
“Hey, Amber,” O’Malley hissed as he was about to enter the bar area. “Did anyone come in?”
“No.” She gave a brief shake of her head.
“Great.” O’Malley entered the bar and left the door ajar so that people could see into the private room. Amber took a couple of steps forward, making sure she was visible to a couple of people at the bar before turning on her heel and going back into the room. She didn’t want to let the file out of sight.
“Wine?” Kelos asked from the bar.
“Whiskey. Make it a double.” Amber wouldn’t usually drink so much alcohol, but this had not been a usual evening.
She turned her back on the bar and went to the sofa. Sitting down slowly, she eyed the file, wishing she knew what was in it. And yet not wanting to know.
Until they opened the file, she
