Nothing.
It was after eleven at night. The place was deserted apart from the security guards and the colonel who she presumed was still in his office, though she hadn’t seen him in hours.
Where the hell was Ryan?
She still hadn’t eaten. Nothing since the small amount of Chinese she’d managed to force down last night, and she was starting to feel light-headed. But she knew she wouldn’t be able to eat anything and keep it down.
Ring.
A sound from above made her glance up. Gunfire? She got to her feet as the colonel’s door was flung open from inside. He came out, his pistol held loosely in his right hand. But he didn’t seem panicked.
“We have a security breach. I’ve sent a team to investigate. They—” His words were cut off as he stared at something behind her.
She turned slowly.
Christian Roth stood in the open doorway. He held what looked like an automatic rifle in one hand and a…her eyes refused to take in and comprehend what he was holding in his other hand. She swallowed. A severed head? As she watched, he tossed it across the floor and it rolled to a halt a foot from where she stood.
A shot rang out. It appeared to hit Christian squarely in the chest, but he didn’t even flinch. Just aimed his rifle at a spot behind her and let out a burst of bullets. The colonel fell to the floor with a crash, but a groan showed he was still alive.
She braced herself for the bite of bullets. They hadn’t called. She knew what that meant. They didn’t trust her. It came as no surprise, but all the same, an ache started in her heart.
Christian lowered the weapon, and she breathed again. He strode into the room as Ash and Carl appeared behind him.
Ash was all bad-ass black leather, a gun in his hand, but no severed head. His gaze skimmed right over her as though she wasn’t even there.
She forced herself to stand upright.
Carl came toward her. He didn’t speak and his face was expressionless, though she thought she saw a glint of compassion in his eyes. He felt sorry for her and that couldn’t be good. He held up a pair of handcuffs and gestured for her to turn. She peeked at Ash, but he was staring the other way. She shuffled around and put her hands behind her back, felt the coldness of the steel against her wrists, heard the click as they locked in place.
She couldn’t see Christian’s eyes hidden behind dark glasses. When he removed them and a shiver ran through her; they glowed crimson. “Is he alive?” he asked nodding at where the colonel lay behind her.
Carl crouched down beside him. “Just.”
“Is he your boss?” Christian asked, his voice dark as midnight.
She nodded.
“Bring him with us.” He turned to Faith. “Take us to her.”
She stumbled and thought she saw Ash move toward her out of the corner of her eye. But when she glanced his way, he was still intent on ignoring her. It was what she’d expected, but it still hurt more than she could bear.
She led the way down the corridor, Christian at her side, Carl behind her, with the colonel slung over his shoulder, Ash bringing up the rear. She knew he was watching her now, she could sense his eyes on her back. When she got to the first checkpoint, Christian snapped her ID badge from around her neck and slid it into the slot. He put a hand behind her neck and forced her face to the panel for the retinal scan. That was why he had been carrying the severed head. A wave of nausea washed through her. At least they’d kept hers attached—so far.
At the second check, she bent down before he could touch her.
The main lights were out, leaving the dim orange glow of the emergency lighting. The place was in lockdown. She hoped everybody had gone. She’d done this, brought this down on them, and while some of them no doubt deserved to die, there were others who were innocent.
A door opened down the corridor, and the young priest stepped out. He took one look at their little group and shot back inside. They rounded the last corner. The guards were on alert, their weapons drawn. Christian shoved her behind him as the first bullet exploded through the confined space.
Bullets flew in all directions. Something hit her in the face and blood trickled down her cheek. A hand shoved her from behind. She crashed to the floor, clumsy in the cuffs and landed awkwardly on her side. Her head slammed against the wall and for a second everything went black. When she blinked open her eyes, she lay on her side on the concrete floor. Two of the guards were down. Christian Roth was holding the third; the man’s head back pulled against his chest. It seemed to happen in slow motion. One handed fisted in the man’s hair, yanking his head to the side. Sharp white fangs gleamed from between Christian’s lips, and then he sank them into the man’s throat. At the same time, he twisted his neck. The snap of bone sounded louder than the bullets.