Page 15 of Red Zone Awakened

“Because you are so good at doing what you’re told.”

“Maybe if you added a please instead of ordering me around, you’d have better luck.”

“I’ll get right on that.”

She glared at his back.It was hard to believe she’d ever found that arrogant attitude of his attractive.It was one thing to dream about a grumpy, take-charge Viking, but it was totally another thing to deal with them in real life.In real life, the caveman attitude wasn’t sexy at all.

Mostly.

Keiko hurried along behind him as he strode through the executive office to a room on the far side.It held a small dining and seating area.Mace headed straight for the window and pressed his nose against it to peer along the side of the building.A second later, he turned to her.

“We’re going outside.”His mouth firmed into a line, as though he expected an argument.

Hell yeah, he was getting an argument.“Are you insane?We’re sixty-seven floors up.I’m not going outside.The sun has set, and it’ll be dark soon—we won’t be able to see what we’re doing.Not to mention, the people hunting us will hear us break the glass.And, I’ll say it again in case you missed it, we’re sixty-seven floors up.Did you get it that time?Sixty.Seven.”

He folded his arms, making his biceps bulge and briefly derailing her thoughts—damn her libido.“It’s our only option,” he said firmly.

What kind of person thought climbing out onto a ledge sixty-seven floors up was a good idea?An insane one, that’s what kind.

“I think we need to split up,” she said.“You go out the window.I’ll find a closet to hide in until this is over.Good luck.Do you have any last words?A message I should pass on to your criminal friends after you splatter all over the sidewalk?”

Keiko didn’t expect a reply, and she didn’t wait for one.Instead, she turned toward the door.She was done dealing with this insanity.As far as she was concerned, she’d fulfilled her part of the blackmail plan.It was time to move on and take her chances with the terrorists.

Hands clasped her waist, and she was lifted.Again.A few seconds later, she found herself standing beside the window he wanted to smash.

She smacked his chest.It was like hitting a tree.“Stop picking me up and moving me around to suit yourself.”

“Look.”Mace pointed out the window.“There’s a ledge.It goes around the building to the stairwell, where we’ll find another window.All we have to do is knock out both windows, and we can head up to the apartment, where we’ll be safe.Hopefully.”

His face didn’t change, but she knew he wasn’t telling her the full story.The omission hung in the air between them and felt so solid she was surprised she couldn’t see it.

“What are you leaving out?”she challenged.

He huffed.“The other window we need to get through is on the small side.But you’ll fit.You can go into the stairwell and open the door from the inside to let me in.Like I said before, it’s a fire escape, so it won’t have a biometric panel on the inside.”

“What about the cameras, smart-ass?How will you sneak past them in order for me to let you in?”

He shrugged.“I’ll deal with it.You just need to get that door open for me.”

Keiko felt light-headed.“You’re serious?You want me to go out there?Alone?Let me list all the things I’d rather do: have my fingernails removed with pliers, have needles stuck in my eyeballs, have—”

“Stop.”He held up a hand.“You are seriously gory.No, I don’t want you to go out there alone.Who the hell knows what you’d do get up to while you’re out there.If ever a woman needed a keeper, it’s you.I’ll walk you along the ledge.I’ll break the window and make sure you get inside.Then I’ll come back in here and make my way to the door, where you can let me in.”

Well, that answered at least one question—he was definitely insane.“That is the dumbest plan I’ve ever heard.We need to go with my plan.We hide in a closet and wait for Enforcement to rescue us.”Yeah, her plan was all kinds of awesome.

His eyes darkened, drawing her attention to the thick black lashes that framed them.Feminine lashes.Completely out of place on a man who was the brutal definition of male.

“Princess,” he said softly, “I can’t let Enforcement rescue me.”

Keiko’s heart missed a beat.The way he said it, that tone.He was telling her that Enforcement would arrest him, not save him.Her first reaction was they couldn’t let that happen.Then her brain kicked in.He was a criminal.He deserved to be arrested.

Mace pointed to the seating area.“Go crouch behind the sofa while I break this window.I don’t want you getting hit by flying glass.”

She shook her head.“Do what you want, but I’m not going out on that ledge.I’m afraid of heights.”

“Then don’t look down because you don’t have a choice.Freedom’s soldiers are getting closer, and they’re searching for you.Not me.You.And they aren’t playing nice here.If they find you, you’ll die.”

“If I go out there, I’ll die.”She shuddered at the thought of plunging to her death.