Page 55 of Victor's Lethal Desire
Victor laughs.
"So? I don't plan on dying today. Do you?"
I shake my head and smile.
"No."
"Good."
He steps back as much as the cramped space allows, putting his ear to the door. The hallway outside is quiet now, but I can hear distant shouts echoing through the building.
Victor raises his gun, his expression shifting back into cold focus.
"Now's the time to show me why you're a cleaner," he says. "Let's go."
17
VICTOR
Icrack the closet door open, just enough to look through.
The hallway stretches empty in both directions. The shouts and heavy boots have moved farther away, echoing from somewhere above us.
I glance back at Danika, pressed against me in the cramped space, her breath warm against my skin. Those cold blue eyes meet mine, waiting.
I push the door wider and step out, gun raised, scanning left, then right.
It's clear, so I motion for Danika.
She slips out, and for the first time I notice that somewhere in the chaos, her red dress is torn at the hem now, revealing more of her thigh. She holds the stolen pistol with both hands, her finger resting along the trigger guard, the barrel pointed at the floor.
I jerk my head toward the stairwell at the end of the hall. It's our only way down unless we want to risk the elevators, which would be suicide.
We move fast, keeping close to the wall and our guns raised. At the stairwell door, I pause, pressing my ear against the cold metal.
Nothing.
No footsteps, no Russian voices.
They're probably focused on the penthouse and getting Dimitri out quickly.
I look at Danika. She nods once, reading my thoughts.
I yank the door open and we plunge into the stairwell, taking the steps two at a time. The concrete walls amplify every sound, our breathing, the scuff of my shoes, the creak of the metal railing.
Down we go. With each passing floor, the relief wars with the tension coiling in my gut.
We hit the ground level, and I shoulder through the door into a service corridor. The fluorescent lights are bright, and I can hear them hum overhead.
We turn right, and thirty feet ahead, the corridor opens into the casino's rear loading area, our exit to the docks.
As we run down, four men step out from a doorway, blocking our path.
From the looks of it, they're no doubt Dimitri's men. They draw their weapons, and I don't give them a chance to bring them level.
I fire three times quickly. The first shot catches a guard in the throat. He drops, clutching at the wound as blood sprays across the white walls. The second shot punches through another man's chest, spinning him sideways into the wall.
The third shot goes wide, burying itself in the wall.
