“On it.” Then static came over the radio and it grew in volume; they were getting closer. The hallways were lit up. The lights were bright. I had nowhere to hide. The door closed. I couldn’t open it or they would
be suspicious so I hurried to the light switch. When they were right around the corner, about to turn towards the door, I plunged the hallway into darkness.
I had a small window again, and I sprinted for them, keeping on my toes to be silent. As they stopped and cursed, I pressed against the wall, moving past the first one’s elbow as he reached for his belt. A flashlight switched on and I melted backwards, keeping to the darkness.
Jace didn’t like when we were in his territory, but I’d been in his office a few times. Going to the back exit doors, I knew they weren’t alarmed like the others. His office was at the top corner. When I got there, the floor was in the dark. Good. That meant Jace wasn’t there. There were two doors on the whole floor. One was a large set of doors and the other was further down. It led to a small back room. I headed to the latter. Jace liked having his office next to the stairs that led to the roof. It was a better exit, if necessary.
The room was locked, but I pulled out two pins from my pocket and bent down to work on it. It didn’t take me long to unlock the door. I knelt down and blew under the door. He could have another
security measure, and I was wondering if he had sensors set up on the other side of the door. Nothing happened so I felt around the entire doorframe to see if any other secret paneling would spring open. He’d been known for having secondary alarms installed, but when nothing opened for me, I stood back and frowned. It couldn’t be that easy. Still. I took a breath and opened the door. I’d have to risk it. When I stepped inside and nothing more happened, I let out that breath.
So far, so good. I eased further into the room. No secret alarms flared up or went off. I sat down at his computer and typed in his daughter’s name. Not many people knew about his daughter; Jace didn’t even know I knew about her. It worked. I began looking for anything that tied Jace to Kevin Parson. I knew he had something to do with my new adoption. I needed proof before I confronted him about it.
“How do you know that name?”
His sudden voice, low and deadly, set the hairs on the back of my neck upright. I froze, my fingers poised over the keyboard, my heart pounding, before I looked over. Jace was standing in the doorway. He was dressed all in black. A black t-shirt hugged his body, outlining his ripped torso. It wasn’t tucked inside his black cargo pants, but hugged over top of the waistline. I saw the bulge in the front and knew he had tucked a gun there. My mouth went dry. Did he have other guns? My heart sped up. I couldn’t believe I was nervous about his guns. Six months ago, he’d been family.
“Jace,” I started, cautious, as I stood from the desk.
A lethal storm had taken over his face. His jaw clenched as he stared back at me. “How, Taryn?”
I licked my lips and tried to keep myself calm. I needed to think rationally around him, especially when he was acting like a caged animal. Somehow I had stepped into the cage with him. He was ready to spring, and I had no idea what he would do.
“How, Taryn!?”
I jerked back, slamming into his desk from my movement. It cut into my arm, but I didn’t feel it. I didn’t dare look away from him. “You printed out an email from her mother. It fell from your pocket one day at the house.”
His eyes went flat. “Tell me the truth. Now.”
Shit. “There was an email you printed out. I just found it one night in your pants.”
He took a step towards me. I could feel the danger radiating off him. It was coming off of him in waves. “What were you doing going through my pants?”
“I wasn’t snooping on purpose—”
“Not like now.”
I flushed. “I was looking for a condom. Brian ran out. We knew you would have one.”
He cursed and moved the rest of the way into the room. Shutting the door behind him, he turned the lock and pressed a code into a compartment beside it. I chewed on my lip. I had completely missed that. As he pressed the right buttons, the red light turned green and then yellow. He had armed it. It would go off when I left, drawing the guards to the top floor. I stored that in the back of my mind, but then he looked back at me as he took his gun out.
“Jace.” My heart was pressed against my chest. It felt like it was trying to break out of me.
“Stop.” He shook his head and moved to the table. He put the gun down, then stripped his shirt off. As he turned, his muscles moved, and his skin glistened from sweat and dirt. He reached for a clean shirt that was laid on the table and pulled it over his head. It was another black one, hugging every inch of him. He glanced back over at me, his eyes were still dead, but the fear in me went down a notch. He moved away from the gun. Instead of coming towards me, he went to the far wall and leaned against it. His head went down.
I didn’t dare say anything. I had to wait for him to start.
“I keep telling you to stay away and you keep coming back.” His head lifted, his eyes pinning me back in place again. “Why, Taryn? No bullshit lies. Tell me why right now or I’ll do something you won’t like.”
Anger spiked in me, but it mixed with fear. I read the threat in his eyes and knew it was true. He really would do something. A shiver went up my back. I didn’t want to find out what it would be. “Did you set up my adoption?”
“Yes.”
My eyes widened and my eyebrows shot up. A gutted laugh spilled out of me. “I hadn’t expected that honesty.”
He tilted his head to the side, narrowing his eyes. “Why? Because you’re so honest with me?”
“What are you talking about?”