Page 92 of Stay Little Fighter

“I’m sorry for your loss,” she replies, but no emotion crosses her face, and that only has my anxiety screaming at me to get the fuck out of here.

She looks over the documents before pushing them back across the desk at me. “We’ll need to check your fingerprints and retina once we’re inside the vault.”

I nod my understanding as her gaze moves to Corbin, who still has his arm around me.

“Only you will have access.”

“That’s okay, my boyfriend is happy to wait out here. I won’t be long.”

Without another word she steps around the counter and gestures for me to follow her down a long hallway.

“Be careful. You’ll lose connection with us when you’re in the vault, but don’t panic. I’ll be watching the cameras inside just in case.”

I nod and step out of his comforting hold.

Following her down the hallway, I notice the black pumps she’s wearing and frown. Those are Louboutins. Not an uncommon shoe by any means, but they’re expensive as hell.

I bite down on my bottom lip and drag my eyes up to the way her long blonde hair swishes from side to side. Occasionally she glances back at me with annoyance, and when she looks over her shoulder as we approach the doors, I notice her diamond earrings and the matching necklace so like the ones Ronan gifted me on my sixteenth birthday. The same ones I never wore because I was terrified to wear something that cost so much outside of the house.

Isolated, the jewelry and the shoes wouldn’t have the hair on the back of my neck standing on end, but I can’t shake the feeling that something’s not right with her.

“You checked her background?” I murmur so softly she can’t hear, but I’m hoping Corbin can.

“She came back squeaky clean,” he confirms. “Do you have a bad vibe?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“You’re safe,” he assures me.

I swallow heavily and step up beside her, waiting for further instructions.

“Place your right hand here.” She points to the panel before gesturing to a small camera above it. “And look into the retina scanner. They scan at the same time.”

I follow her instructions, doing my best to keep my breathing under control because the last thing I want to do is alert her to the fact I know something isn’t right here.

The panel lights up beneath my palm, and after a few seconds, something clicks and the door unlatches.

When Kingston mentioned that this existed, I had no idea how that was possible because I couldn’t remember ever coming here to do the security checks, but now I’m inside, and it does seem vaguely familiar.

She opens the heavy door and gestures for me to go ahead, and against my better judgment, I step into the vault with a lump in my throat.

I’m about to lose my connection with Corbin and Enzo, and I’m confident I’m going to be locked in a confined space with someone who wishes me harm, I’m not sure any other response than anxiety would fit the moment.

We step through a metal detector, and my shoulders relax when it doesn’t light up like a Christmas tree.

I guess the gun Corbin handed me in the car really does go undetected in these things.

Having a way to protect myself if things go wrong is offering me a degree of comfort I didn’t realize I needed.

Her lips purse, as if she was expecting the alarms to sound, and then she has no choice but to unlock the gate to our left.

I reach for the weapon I have stashed in the back of my cargo pants as she guides me to the far wall and points to the box with the same number as what was on the documents from Dad’s lawyer.

“I’ll give you a minute,” she says and turns on her sky-high heels before I can respond.

Dragging in an unsteady breath and slipping the key into the lockbox, a soft sigh of relief slips out when it turns.

There was a small part of me that was convinced it wouldn’t work, that this was a wild goose chase that Salvatore had planted for me.