Exposure - Kelly Moran Page 0,104

one of the security members. Let them know I'll be in the storage room so they don't freak out."

Leaving Nicole to it, Raven made her way through the crowd and down the private hallway. Punching in the code, she halted in the doorway to discover the lights already on. Since they were on a timer, she shrugged and figured Nicole had just been back here. Her assistant must've tripped the sensor.

Spotting the plates, she moved to the shelf along the wall. Nicole had already washed the dishes and set them out of their container. Raven went to put her phone down and stopped, an idea forming. Unlocking the screen, she pulled up Noah's contact and began thumbing a text.

While he'd been gone, she'd missed him terribly. The ache, the void, was immense. As if she hadn't suspected, her conversation with him today in his office confirmed it. She was in love with him. Insanely, desperately in love. The talented artist, the dedicated uncle, the smart businessman, and her best friend. She loved him. Crazy, the giddiness inside, especially because, for so many years, she didn't think she had it in her.

After the realization had hit, she'd wanted to shout it to the rafters, but this wasn't something to tell him in a note, with a room full of people, or in a text. So for now, she'd just send him a hint. Tonight, when they were alone, she'd finally give him the words he needed to hear.

Something cold and hard pressed against her temple, followed by a slow… resounding… click.

She froze. Oh God. A gun.

"I'll take that." A gravelly, tight voice filled her left ear. The stench of stale smoke clung to him. A hand covered with a black glove took her phone and set it on the matting table. "Move and you die."

"O-okay," she breathed. She started shaking and couldn't stop, violent tremors that wracked her whole body.

He pressed the barrel into her temple with more force and came into her line of sight. She'd recognize that massive body, cold eyes, and bald head anywhere.

Soreno. He'd found her. Worse, she was alone with no help in sight. If he got her out of the building, she was as good as dead. She was shocked he hadn't pulled the trigger to be done with it already.

She pinched her eyes closed and tried to keep her stomach contents down.

A quick thwap had her eyes flying open. On the matting table, he'd pinned a picture of her to the surface. With a knife. Right between her eyes.

Oh God, oh God, oh God. Think, damn it.

Running was not an option. Neither was screaming. He'd have a bullet in her brain before anyone even got past the access code. It would also put everyone in the building in danger.

He grabbed her arm and shoved her toward the emergency exit. "Walk."

With no other choice, she walked to the door on legs that barely held her upright. Going with him would keep Noah, Nicole, and everyone else safe. If she could buy enough time after she was gone, maybe McCannon or the bodyguards could find her before…

He pressed the gun to the back of her head. "Open the door and get in the truck. Make one sound and I'll paint the snow red with your blood."

The building's alarm code was turned off or else a siren would announce their exit. He'd planned this well to do it on a night of a showing. The FBI and Noah's security were all over the place. Someone had to see her leaving. Right?

She pushed open the door to an icy blast of wind. Her bare arms prickled with cold, bumps immediately raising her skin. Just outside, in the back alley, was a black pickup. The same one that had followed her and Max weeks ago. One of Noah's bodyguards was unconscious and bleeding in the snow. A man who'd never been on her detail, but she recognized him. He'd been watching the back of the building when she'd arrived.

"Behind the wheel." He opened the passenger door and pushed her in, forcing her to slide across the seat. The truck was idling with the heat blasting, but it did little to warm her. "Drive."

Setting her shaking hand on the gear shift, she slid it into position and eased the truck forward through the alley. When she got to the road behind the building, she warily glanced at him for direction.

"Left. Head toward The Sound."

As she drove, her mind clicked a