Page 50 of A Little Bit More

“Yeah, right.” He pointed at Rachel. “We have the Queen of the Damned, who’s more likely to shoot one of us than an enemy. Although, you could probably kill someone with sarcasm, but that might take a while.” He pointed at Julia. “We have the office manager, who’s scared of her own staff and hides behind plant pots.”

Julia took offense at that. “Not all the time, I don’t.”

Ryan had already turned to Isobel. “And we have the boss’s wife, who is four hundred years pregnant. Plus, last time I checked, none of you could shoot, had any hand-to-hand combat skills, or military training. Face it, I’m all that’s standing between you and certain doom.”

“And yet, I still want to staple your damn head for being so insulting,” Isobel said cheerily.

“You aren’t the only security specialist in the building. Harvard’s upstairs. He can help too,” Julia said. Because whether or not she liked it, Ryan had a point, and they needed more than his skills to watch over all of them.

“Better call him,” Ryan said.

“I’ll buzz up on the intercom.” Julia hurried to the wall beside reception and punched in the code for Harvard’s apartment. Nothing happened. “Intercom’s down,” she said as she began to panic.

“It’s okay.” Isobel rushed to her side and put an arm around her. “We’ve got other ways of getting hold of him.”

Rachel, meanwhile, had her ever-present iPhone in her hand. “Harvard, we have an emergency in reception,” she said. “Please bring a gun.” With that, she hung up, obviously confident that she didn’t need a reply to know her orders would be followed.

And sure enough, they were. A few minutes later, Harvard appeared on the stairs. Although still dressed in his bed wear, this time, he wore shoes and held a gun in his hand. “Status?” he asked Ryan.

Rachel stepped in front of him, folded her arms over her black Prada jacket, and tapped her red fingernails. “I’m the owner here, which makes me the most senior staff member present.”

Harvard’s lips twitched as his eyes softened. “Okay then, status?”

She waved a dismissive hand. “Things aren’t working.”

He waited for a second or two. “That it?”

“No.” Ryan bumped Rachel out of the way. “Systems are malfunctioning. Comms aren’t working. The security fog came on, then went back off.”

Harvard’s dark eyes met Ryan’s. “System failure or attack?”

“Don’t know.”

“We’re going to the basement,” Rachel said. “We need muscle.”

“Then this is your lucky day.” Harvard’s smile at Rachel made Julia blush. It was exactly the same sort of smile Joe gave her. “I’ll take point. Ryan, you bring up the rear. Isobel, you’re in the middle.”

Everyone nodded, got into line, and followed the pajama-clad ex-CIA agent into the stairwell that led to the basement. Walking down the stairs felt strangely spooky. As if they were descending into a dark pit when, really, the basement was a spacious, brightly lit complex of rooms.

At least, it was usually brightly lit.

But when they opened the door to the basement, all they found was darkness.

“Joe?” Julia’s voice quavered more than she’d have liked.

No reply.

“Callum, are you there?” Isobel called, her voice rising with each word.

Silence.

“They’re probably in the control room trying to get the system back online,” Ryan said, but he didn’t sound too sure.

The two men shared a look that made Julia’s stomach tighten.

That’s when the lights in the stairwell went out too.

A hand curled around Julia’s arm and held on tight. “Breathe,” Isobel said. “Just breathe.”