Never Gonna Happen - Cynthia Eden Page 0,43

that with respect.”

You’re in way over your head. Ella didn’t know about Sebastian’s side jobs. No one did.

Well, now I do.

Ella’s gaze flickered to Alyssa. “Tell him to stand down. He’ll listen to you.”

“Excuse me?”

Ella sighed. “He always listens to you.”

“No, no, he doesn’t—”

“You told him to put in the exercise room on the third floor, and he did it a week after you mentioned it would help staff deal with stress. You told him that it would be great if we had a coffee shop closer to the building, and he put in one downstairs so I think that—”

“Ella,” Sebastian cut through her words.

Her brows rose.

“I got this,” he assured her. “But I want you sticking to Alyssa like glue while I’m inside with the perp. She doesn’t leave your line of sight, not even for a moment, got me?”

Ella immediately nodded.

“Good.” He turned to Alyssa. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

Her gaze darted around the lobby area. Down the corridor that led to Sebastian’s office, she could see the guards as they waited.

Sebastian took a step toward that corridor.

Alyssa grabbed his arm. “Do you have a weapon?”

He looked back at her.

Ella cleared her throat but didn’t speak.

“I’m good,” Sebastian assured her.

This scene didn’t feel good to her. “Why don’t you let the guards go in first? There are a lot of them.”

His face hardened. “Because this bastard broke into my office. He is trying to hack into my computer, and I will be the one that the SOB deals with. I’m not risking my people in a confrontation with him.” He lowered his head, bringing his mouth close to her ear, and he whispered, “If this is about my work for Uncle Sam, my guards might not be equipped for the kind of trouble he could bring them. I’ve got this.” When he pulled back, his lips skimmed over her cheek. “Trust me.”

It wasn’t about trust. It was about her wanting to keep Sebastian safe.

He squeezed her hand.

And walked away.

Ella sidled closer. “You two are an item now?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She knew exactly what Ella was talking about. Because maybe when she and Ella went out, they shared over the occasional glass of wine and talked about their men troubles. And the men they’d like to have trouble with.

“You are such a dirty liar,” Ella whispered. “Tell me the truth. I saw him holding your hand when you walked into the building. Security footage caught that part.”

Of course, it had.

Alyssa was still staring after Sebastian’s back.

“So, was one time enough?” Ella asked, voice barely more than a breath. “Because I think you once told me that a hate fuck would be good for the soul.”

Jeez. She had said that. After too many glasses of wine. “It wasn’t about hate,” she muttered.

Ella sucked in a quick breath.

And Alyssa realized what she’d confessed.

“Antony will lose his overprotective mind,” Ella warned.

First, we have to find him. They had to make sure he was safe. They had to help him.

After that, they could deal with the fallout.

***

Sebastian didn’t go into his office via the main door. That would have been too obvious, and Sebastian tried not to be an obvious man.

So he entered Antony’s office, instead. Fun little fact, he and his buddy had secretly installed a passageway that connected the two offices. A passageway that could double as a safe room when shit hit the fan. Because, unfortunately, they’d been in several situations when the shit had blown sky high.

The passageway would open to the left of Sebastian’s desk. When he stepped out, he’d be right on the bastard who thought he could hack Sebastian’s system.

He had his gun ready. He’d taken the liberty of bringing a few weapons with him. He hadn’t shown them to Alyssa because, hell, seeing him with the knife earlier had seemed like more than enough show-and-tell business for one night.

Before he left the passageway, he checked the weapon once more. When the panel soundlessly slid open, he stepped out. “Give me a fucking reason not to shoot you.” His voice was low and lethal, and he had his gun aimed at the shadowy figure who sat behind his desk.

The glow from Sebastian’s dual screens fell onto the man. His fingers were poised over the keyboard. His whole body stiffened.

After a tense moment, his head turned slightly toward Sebastian. “A reason? Well, how about the fact that if you shoot me, then you lose the best—and only—partner that you’ve ever had,”