The exhaustion weighed on him as he headed up the stairs. Going up was ten times worse than coming down. It felt like his paws were burdened with concrete blocks, and his heart could barely pump blood to his brain.
For Emma!
Fear coursed through him, more powerful than his exhaustion. One thought was clarifying in his mind, obliterating everything else.
Where is Benny?
Ace flung himself up, taking several stairs at a time. As he approached the landing for Emma’s floor, he smelled blood and the mingled aromas of strange people.
It would be fine. It would all be fine.
Ace really didn’t believe that, though. There was a chance that Emma was cut from the broken glass and that other people had come to investigate. As much as he wanted that to be the truth, it didn’t explain where Benny was.
He slammed through the door on the landing and into Emma’s loft, shifting as he did so.
“Emma!” he screamed. “Emma!”
He looked around, even though he knew she wasn’t there. The dining table and several chairs had been flipped over. He knew there was no way Emma had done that herself, and she wouldn’t have just left at a time like this.
Ace searched the apartment. Fear and loss seared his heart. There was only one explanation possible.
She’s gone.
They took her.
Chapter21
Emma
Emma was huddled against the floor when she heard heavy footsteps in the hall. She knew it couldn’t be Ace. His step was much lighter, and this sounded like an army.
When the guys charged through the door, Emma whimpered and flattened herself even closer to the floor. She could see only three sets of boots, and she was slightly relieved that it wasn’t actually an army.
The dining room table over her head suddenly lifted into the air and flipped, crashing against the wall. She screamed as the big, burly guys grabbed her and hauled her to her feet.
Benny glared at her, pointing the gun right at her face.
“Looks like this mission has been completely fucked,” he snapped. “Bring her now. We haven’t got much time.”
The two guys holding her arms dragged her out of the apartment, following Benny down the stairs to the underground garage. Emma didn’t struggle much. There was no point. The fear that had steadily grown over the past few days had now dropped away, leaving her weak and exhausted. She was prey in a trap, just waiting for death. Her death had to be easier than her life, and maybe she could save Ace if she was gone.
The guys threw her into a van and sat her on one of the benches. The vehicle pulled away immediately, a little too fast. Emma had to brace herself to keep from falling over, and one of the guns poked her in the ribs.
“It should have been easy to take you both out with sniper fire,” Benny muttered. “I thought Fritz had you both covered. I didn’t expect this to get so messy.”
“What are you talking about?” Emma whispered. Clearly, something had gone down that she didn’t know about.
“Fritz managed to get out a message to me, saying that Ace was coming after him, that he hadn’t been able to get a clear shot at him. He said to check out the apartment and see if you were still alive.”
Benny shook his pistol at her. He sat across from her, the barrel aimed at her chest. The other goons sat to either side of her, keeping her trapped. The van screeched around corners, making all of them sway.
“When the phone went dead, I realized that my buddy must have lost against Ace. That makes me mad, Emma. Really fucking mad.”
He glared at her, his eyes red-rimmed and full of fire. She shrank back against the seat, but the other guys held her tightly. Emma imagined her brains splattering all over the wall behind her for one horrifying second.
“Don’t worry, little princess,” Benny chuckled. “I’m not going to murder you just yet. This plan has all gone to hell, you see? I need a bargaining chip to use with Don Fontana, so I don’t get my fucking head chopped off.”
“You what?” Emma asked softly. She couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. Benny grinned.