Play to Win (14 page)

As though he knew what I was thinking, Parker gave a slight nod, handed me his car keys, and got out.

“We'll be back soon,” he said to us, then shut the door.

Natalie and I watched the two of them head down the street and turn into a tenement building that had seen better days. Three men were loitering outside and I saw another guy peeing in the alley.

Eww.

“Nice place,” Natalie said.

I didn't bother responding. I had nothing to say to her and wasn't inclined to make small talk. Instead, I just watched out the window.

“You don't like me very much, do you,” she asked, and it wasn't a question.

In the interest of diplomacy, I tried to be vague in my answer. “I don't know you well enough to like you or not like you.”

“Parker and Ryker like me. I'm sure you will, too. It just takes time.”

I thought it was debatable whether Parker and Ryker liked her, but kept my silence. My attention was drawn closer to the building. A man had climbed down the fire escape on the side nearest us and the alley and was running.

“I think that's our guy,” I said, shoving open the car door. “And he's getting away.”

Natalie popped out of the car, too, and we watched him run toward us, then take a sharp left into a building that could've doubled as a haunted house on Halloween.

“Let's go,” Natalie said, and before I could argue the wisdom of that decision—or lack thereof—she'd taken off running.

Shit.

I ran after her, my promise to Parker to stay in the car reverberating inside my head. He was so going to kill me for this. But what was I supposed to do? I kinda felt like her babysitter. If something happened to her on my watch, would Parker and Ryker blame me? I felt like the older sister cleaning up the messes of a younger sibling.

Natalie ran inside the dilapidated building and I followed, first casting a quick glance over to where Ryker and Parker should be. I saw some commotion and prayed they were both all right before I ducked inside.

The inside was different than I'd thought it'd be…it was much worse. A rank smell hit me first in the nearly pitch-black room. The only light was what filtered through the boarded-up windows and open doorway. I couldn't spot Natalie at all, though I'd been just ten seconds behind her.

Belatedly, I realized I was doing a good impression of a perfect target, silhouetted as I was against the light in the open doorway at my back. I scampered farther inside, toward the shadows, which was actually in the opposite direction of where I wanted to be.

Before Parker killed me, I was going to kill Natalie.

In the quiet, I could hear only the sound of my hard breathing loud in my ears—a helluva time to regret not spending more time at the gym. If anyone, such as Freddie or Jason or Chuckie, was waiting to get me in the shadows, I wouldn't be hard to find.

My skin prickled like someone was watching me and the hair stood up on the back of my neck. Where the hell was Natalie?

A muffled sound above me made me look up. Was that Natalie's voice on the floor above? In which case, where were the freaking stairs?

I debated using the flashlight on my phone, but that would make me a target, too, so I waited for my eyes to adjust the best they could do before slowly moving farther into the building.

Empty boxes littered the corners, stretching into a darkened hallway. My fingers itched for something—anything—I could use as a weapon, and I saw a glint of broken glass. Pausing to crouch down, I carefully picked up a shard about as big as my palm. It had a nasty looking point on one end, but I'd have to be real careful using it or I'd cut myself, too. Though I supposed if I did have to use it, cutting my hand would be the least of my worries.

Calling Natalie's name was out of the question, so I kept moving. She had to be in here, probably recklessly running after that guy. If she caught him, I didn't want to think what he would do to her or if that had indeed been her voice I'd heard. I didn't like her and chasing after the guy had been dumb, but I didn't want her to get hurt for being bitchy and stupid.

Dust and grime was thick on the floor, and the air smelled musty and rank. It grew colder as I eased slowly down the hallway, the sunlight not having penetrated this far into the building to warm the previous night's chill.

A soft scuffling ahead made me pause, and my pulse leapt until my heart felt it would burst out of my chest. I listened hard, focusing my eyes in the direction of the sound. Three sets of red eyes blinked back at me.

Well, rats. Like literally…rats, complete with beady eyes and nasty-ass long tails.

Eww.

A shiver crawled over my skin, but I shook it off, creeping forward again.

A gaping blackness appeared on my left, taking me by surprise—
hello, horror flicks!
—and I sucked in a breath before I realized it was the stairwell going up that I'd been searching for.

Fabulous.

I consoled myself with images of what I'd do to Natalie when I found her as I gingerly climbed the wooden stairs. It was an older building, to have wooden stairs, and they creaked under my feet, making me wince.
Hey, ax murderer! Here's your next victim!

The building was only three stories high so when a landing appeared with a barely legible “2” displayed, I took a deep breath and peered into the hallway from the stairwell. When nothing jumped out and said “Boo!” I crept farther, listening for any sign Natalie or Rafael was here.
It's as if they've both disappeared into thin air
, I thought crankily, trying not to let my fear overcome sense.

A noise from above made me jerk my head up to stare at the ceiling. It sounded like a footfall. Someone was above me.

Going back into the pitch-black stairwell required an enormous amount of will. Natalie had been very right. I didn't like her. Not at all.

My hand was sweaty, gripping the shard of glass, and it turned slippery in my hand as I felt for the railing and took the stairs up one step at a time. I hugged the wall, figuring steps would be less creaky there, and I was right. I wiped my palm on my jeans, holding the glass as tightly as I dared.

The doorway to the top floor loomed. I listened, straining to hear as I pressed my back against the wall. My blood was thundering so hard in my ears, it seemed incredible that no one else could hear it. I was breathing too fast, from fear and adrenaline rather than exertion, and I made a conscious effort to breathe more slowly and deeply.
In through the nose, out through the mouth.

A woman's muffled scream hit my ears. Shit. Natalie.

I rushed through the door and turned right, following the sound, which abruptly cut off. Oh no; what if he'd hurt or killed her?

It was dark and I felt along the wall. My hand hit a door frame, then open space as I passed by a room.

Someone grabbed my arm.

I screamed in reflex, jerking backward, but they didn't let go. I was pulled into the room and up hard against a man. He smelled like the building.

I was too close to get much leverage, but I had my glass shard. I swung my arm and buried it into his side. There was a grunt and I was suddenly free.

Spinning around, I got two steps before he hurtled into me and we went crashing to the floor. I kicked out, but he was lying on my legs. It was dark and I couldn't see a thing, but neither could he. Squirming, I flipped over. A burning sensation in my leg told me I'd gotten hurt somehow.

He grappled with my flailing legs, and one of my kicks managed to make a solid connection. He grunted again, then growled. I felt his lunge though I couldn't see it, and flung myself to the side just as he buried the point of a knife in the floor by my head. I wouldn't have even been able to see it if the blade hadn't shimmered ever so slightly in a tiny pinpoint of light.

I didn't think; I was just fighting for my life. Grabbing the hilt, I yanked it out of the floor. My hand was slippery. Damn glass must've cut me. The guy grabbed my arm, holding the knife away from him, his breath hot against my neck and his body crushing mine. He was too strong. He squeezed, harder and harder, until I had no choice but to drop the knife.

I twisted, ramming the heel of my palm into his nose and up as hard as I could. He yelped, instinctively cringing away from me. I grabbed the knife just as he saw it and lunged toward me.

The blade sank into his arm, high on his bicep. I think he was as surprised as I was because he stopped, and both of us looked at the knife. I let go; the sickening feel of the blade going through skin and muscle was one I knew I'd never forget. He looked at me, his eyes wide and reflecting light the way a cat's might, or the way the rats' had. I got a good look at him: Rafael.

Someone called my name and we both looked toward the sound. Rafael looked back at me, then suddenly he turned and ran, disappearing into the darkness.

I was shaking and my leg hurt, but the pain was separate somehow, as if it was happening to someone else. Adrenaline and shock, I reasoned. I was alive, Rafael was gone, but I still hadn't found Natalie.

Though I really really didn't want to, I got up to search the floor. My leg hurt and so did my hand as I crept down the hallway, hoping Rafael hadn't stuck around to leap at me like a worker in a haunted house. Then I heard voices.

I stopped in my tracks, straining my ears to listen. I couldn't tell what they said or whether they were male or female. But then they stopped and I heard scuffling, then glass breaking and a man's full-throated yell. It was filled with terror and sent a shiver down my spine. The yell abruptly cut off.

I didn't know what to do. I knew I'd heard more than one voice, which meant there was someone else up here with me. But if I moved, they'd know I was here.

The sound of footsteps coming toward me made my breath freeze in my lungs. They were moving quickly. In seconds, they'd be on me.

My cell rang, the shrill noise nearly making me jump out of my skin.

Muttering curses, I fumbled for the phone, hitting the button to take the call, but I didn't speak. I waited, listening. The footsteps had stopped. They'd heard my phone, of course. They knew I was here.

I began to back up. One step, then two, until I turned and ran for the stairs, throwing caution to the wind—that ship had sailed—and rushing down the flights.

“Hello?” My voice was breathless as I spoke into my cell.

“Where the hell are you?” Parker barked.

“Looking for Natalie. But she's not here.” I told him about her running off as I quickly descended the stairs to the exit. I couldn't get out of the building fast enough. Tears threatened and I blinked them back. I would not start bawling like a little girl, though that's exactly how I felt.

Parker was waiting for me outside and the moment he saw me, he grabbed me into his arms, holding me close. “You do realize this is one of the worst places to go wandering off, don't you?” he murmured into my ear.

I nodded, too overcome to speak. My arms were around his neck so tight, it was a wonder he could breathe.

“You're bleeding,” he said, pulling back and looking me up and down. His face turned hard. “What happened in there?”

Haltingly, I told him about being jumped from behind. Ryker walked up halfway through my story and I had to start again. Neither man looked pleased when I was finished.

“He sliced your jeans and into your leg,” Parker said, “and your hand.”

“It was Rafael,” Ryker said. Parker stripped off his T-shirt and wrapped it around my bleeding hand. “He took a swan dive from the third floor.”

“What? What do you mean?” I asked. Parker tied the T-shirt and I winced.

“He's dead,” Ryker said. “The fall killed him. Could've jumped or been pushed.”

“Someone was with him,” I said. “I heard them talking.”

Ryker's gaze sharpened. “So there's someone else in the building?”

“Doubtful now,” Parker said. “They're probably long gone.”

“Oh my God, there you are!”

We turned to see Natalie sprinting toward us. She was pale and covered in grime. My relief at seeing her alive quickly faded to fury.

“Why the hell did you do that?” I snapped at her when she stopped in front of us. “You nearly got both of us killed.”

“I'm so sorry,” she said tearfully. “I didn't want him to get away, but he ambushed me and knocked me out. I just woke up inside that awful building, shoved in a corner.”

Nice. So she'd been ambushed, but he'd tried to kill me? What'd I ever do to him? Guess the whole gentlemen-prefer-blondes thing worked for non-gentlemen as well.

“I'm calling it in,” Ryker said, pulling out his cell and moving a few yards away from us.

“I need to get you to the hospital,” Parker said to me. “You may need stitches. And probably a tetanus shot.”

“Maybe a rabies shot, too, considering the filth in that place.” I gave Natalie another dirty look, but my heart wasn't in it. Now that the adrenaline had worn off and the pain of my injuries was setting in, I just wanted to sit down. Thinking of how close a call that had been made my knees turn to rubber.

Parker's arm tightened around me. “Let's go,” he said, mostly supporting my weight as we headed for the car. “Natalie, wait for Ryker.”

His order stopped her in her tracks and I wanted to kiss him. The look on her face was inscrutable for a moment, and then she recovered.

“Okay. Call me and let me know how she's doing. Sage, I'm so sorry.” She did sound repentant, and I relented. It had been sheer luck and whim that I'd been targeted instead of her. For all I knew, he would've gone back to finish her once he'd finished with me.

“It's fine,” I lied. “I'll see you later.”

Parker hustled me to his car, pulling open the passenger door, but I hesitated.

“Get in,” he urged.

I glanced down at my blood-soaked jeans. “I'll ruin your seat.”