“So they saw me come and go from your room?”
“Probably so. It’ll only be a matter of time before they put two and two together.” And he was almost certain they already had.
As if on cue, a hard knock came on the door.
She jumped and he brought a finger to his mouth to quite her. He stepped over and whispered in her ear, “Ask who it is.”
Her skin paled and her bottom lip trembled. She stepped over to the door and said through the barrier, “Who’s there?”
“Sorry, ma’am. It’s John. Can I speak to you?”
Egan mouthed, “Ask what about.”
“I was sleeping. Can I ask why?”
“We’ve had a security breach and we’re checking on all staff and guests.”
She tucked her bottom lip in, and her eyes were glossy. Egan didn’t like seeing the fear in her, but she had every reason to be scared. They were vulnerable as sitting ducks here at Lake Jade.
He took out his gun from the waistband of his jeans and motioned for her to stand away. Egan took a spot against the other side of the door frame and reached over to turn the knob, swinging it open. He’d been prepared for what happened next so seeing John with his gun lifted didn’t come as a surprise. Egan gave the man’s arm a quick chop and the gun went flying, landing by the bed. “Get inside,” Egan demanded, and once John was in, he closed and locked the door.
John’s shoulders slumped as his hands came up in surrender. “What are you doing, Banks? You’re on our team, remember?”
“I should be asking what in the hell you’re doing and what did you plan to do with the gun?”
“Just following orders.”
“Orders? Do you even have a clue what’s going on?”
One corner of his lips lifted. “Look, man. We don’t ask questions. I’m sorry, Ms. Coffman, but the team just needs to speak to you. We have an intruder on premises, and you might know something about that problem.”
“An intruder? Two men from your team brought her here, after they drugged her,” she said with a tilted jaw.
“Then speak to the team. They just want to ask you questions.” John remained calm although he was held at gunpoint.
“Won’t happen. However, you’re going to follow my orders now. Get on the floor and lean against the footboard.”
“Banks, make this easier on yourself—”
Egan waved the gun. “Get on the floor!”
Realizing he didn’t have a choice, John sat down on the floor. “You’ll never get out of here. It’s only a matter of time before they’ll be here.”
“Yeah? Why aren’t they here yet? Is that because most of them are off the property? Very convenient when Langley planned to have a few men kidnap a woman and bring her here.” Egan didn’t know that for a fact, but it fit. Otherwise, there’d be a crew of men breaking the door down by now.
John remained quiet.
“Novah, bring me the lamp.” She quickly brought it to him and when he had it in his hand, he dropped it to the floor, smashing the ceramic to pieces. Twisting the cord around his knuckles, he pulled it free of the base. “Lay on your stomach,” he demanded.
“Listen…”
“No, you need to listen to me. Your boss is up to his eyeballs in shit. Count yourself lucky that I’m going to let you off easy. So you can get down on your stomach on your own or I’ll help you,” Egan ground out. His patience had thinned long ago.
When John was on his stomach, Egan told him, “Put your arms behind your back then bring up your feet and grab your ankles.”
Using the cord, Egan tied his wrists and ankles together. Without rope it wasn’t escape-proof, but it would buy them some time. He gave the cord one last tug. “Sorry. This might hurt a little.” He punched the man in the face, knocking him out.
Novah screamed and covered her mouth. She dropped her hand to her side. “Egan? Why? He did what you wanted him to do.”
“We need as much time as we can get. Let’s go!”
“What about Lindsay? We can’t leave her.”
“Fine.” He rubbed his tired eyes. “I have a plan.” He grabbed his radio “Pao, ship one needs water. Meet at the location.” He hung up and shoved his phone into his belt.
“What’s happening?” Her concern showed in the creases around her eyes.
“We’re getting out of this room then you’re going with Pao. You’ll be safe with him.” He didn’t like separating from her but what choice did they have? When the rest of the security got there, things would turn into a shitshow.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to get the woman out too. I’ll be right behind you.” He returned his Glock to his waistband.
“I have to come with you. She won’t trust you.”
“Not happening. Taking you with me is making us both a larger target. I can’t protect myself, this woman and you. Pao will protect you with his life.”
“I don’t want to leave you.”
“It’s safer for me to go alone.”
Her bottom lip quivered. “Egan…”
He placed his hands on her shoulders and caught her gaze. “Listen, trust me. I know you say you can’t, but I’ll get Lindsay to safety. This is the only way.”
An understanding crawled across her expression and she nodded. “Please. Be careful.”
With a wink, he took her hand. “Let’s go. Pao will be waiting.”
She went to grab her suitcase and he stopped her. “Leave it. But I do need this.” He grabbed a paperweight shaped like a cat off the desk.
Once they were in the hall, he threw the paperweight, destroying the
