"I don't want you to go in," he murmured.
"I don't want to go in."
"Then—"
She cut him off. "I'm going."
He had two choices: kidnap her, or help prep her to send her in with the best possible chance of coming out the other side unscathed. With reluctance, he chose the second option.
His call to Derek rang several times before his brother answered with a gruff, "Yeah."
"Davenport made his move. He kidnapped Hannah's best friend. Hannah has to be at the warehouse in thirty with the ledger or he says we won't like what happens next. You'd better get back here in ten with the surveillance shit, or I'm packing her and the kid in the car and we're out of here."
Dylan hung up without waiting for a reply. He didn't want to spend the few minutes he had left with Hannah arguing with Derek. He'd much rather spend it with her in his arms.
He lifted the trembling woman, carried her back to the couch and sank down, cradling her in his arms. Neither spoke, until they heard the front door being unlocked.
They were out of time.
Chapter Nine
Hannah
"Can you hear me?" Dylan's voice sounded in her left ear. As comforting as it was to maintain a connection with the outside world, Hannah was terrified Jake would notice the tiny transmitter.
"Yes, but I still worry he's gonna see the earpiece," she answered, trying not to move her lips in case she was already being watched.
"He won't. We're using state-of-the-art tech gear—shit even Davenport doesn’t have in his arsenal. The most important part is keeping your earrings in. They are our eyes and ears in there."
They didn't need to tell her that. The only way Hannah could even consider stepping foot in the warehouse was knowing that four hulking men were listening in, ready to pounce as soon as they could gather the much-needed evidence. They'd returned to her apartment with another intimidating man named Z who, on the surface, looked even more menacing than Jake Davenport.
She took comfort in knowing he was on her side.
Hannah parked in the first empty slot she came to. The parking lot was surprisingly full for late afternoon. Stepping out into the sunny heat, she walked tentatively towards a solid steel door marked simply with 'ENTRANCE' in block letters. Each step she took came slower... shorter... it grew harder to voluntarily put one foot in front of the other. Too soon she was at the last barrier protecting her from Jake, not sure whether she was brave enough to ring the bell for entry.
She didn't have a chance to find out. A fierce-looking man sporting a goatee, with a tattooed neck, and wearing an expensive suit opened the door. He looked of middle-eastern descent, his hair and eyes black—matching his soul if he willingly worked for Jake Davenport. He yanked her forward into the dimly lit foyer, closing the heavy door behind them with a loud thunk.
I'm committed now.
A matronly woman in her forties sat at a desk behind the small sliding window that reminded Hannah of being in the foyer of a doctor's office. Instead of being asked to put her name on a clipboard, as she might in a real doctor's office, the hard man clamped her right elbow tightly in his grip as he stepped up to a retina scanner at the steel security door to the right of the window. A quick beep sounded before he leaned back, placing his right thumb on a pad under the scanner. The steel door popped open a crack, allowing him to push forward, pulling Hannah along behind.
The thick door slammed closed behind them with an ominous, automatic locking sound. As she was dragged along, Hannah noticed his leather holster containing a fierce looking handgun. She'd known she was going into danger, but the fact that he wore his weapon so visibly alarmed her.
They were in a narrow hallway, lined with six-panel doors. Cheap wood paneling covered the walls, giving the space a 1980's feel. There was a musty smell in the air, as if the threadbare carpet was in need of a good scrubbing.
The hall was quiet enough that the muffled sound of people having sex in one of the rooms they passed could clearly be heard. There was no mistaking the steady pounding rhythm of a headboard banging against the wall, accompanied by masculine grunts and female groans.
They passed several more doors on each side of the corridor before coming to a double door at the end of the hall. Another retina scan and another thumbprint had to be given before the door popped open just as the first had.
Hannah tried to watch as closely as possible, hoping she was giving the men watching from afar the information they needed to get to her when they needed to. She pushed down the panic that threatened to rise when she wondered just how they would get past the intense security measures.
This time, a cacophony of sound barraged her senses as the heavy door opened. It started as a loud din, but within seconds, the noises began to separate, reaching her ears in frightening snippets. Her heart had already been thumping with fear, but the screams, moans, and cracks filling the air kicked her pulse even higher.
Hannah stopped dead in her tracks, refusing to proceed further into the large open space. Her escort's hand pinched her arm harder in an attempt to get her feet moving again as she scanned the expanse.
The huge, two-story space was sectioned-off into a half-dozen recording stages that ran down the entire length of the room to her left. The stages, each with a different theme, consisted of three walls, leaving one side open for camera equipment. Sound system equipment hung from the tall warehouse
