Heart pounding, he eased open the door and peered into a hallway. Sunlight streamed in through the open doorways. A couple soda cans sat in a cluster near the closest entry—with no door. The floors weren’t done; the steel and concrete frame was visible down the majority of the hallway. Insulation was also visible through the nearest open doorway, as if the construction crew had started installing it, then stopped mid-job.
He took a step into the hallway but froze at the slight echo of his footstep. Inwardly wincing, he slipped his shoes off and tucked them out of sight in the nearest room. Weapon up, he moved silently room to room, sweeping each one with a glance. There was no furniture, nothing to hide anyone.
When he heard a muffled sound three doors down from the opposite stairwell, he froze, listening. He heard it again.
It was too much to expect that it was Dominique, but the hope burst inside him, a burning wish to find her alive, unharmed.
He glanced once over his shoulder before continuing his path. His heart was an erratic tattoo against his chest as he moved like a predator hunting prey. If Hollis was in there, the man was dead. Viktor wouldn’t allow him to surrender.
At the next doorway he heard the scraping, shuffling again. Moving in low, he swept the room with his weapon, immediately dropping it when he saw Dominique restrained to a chair, a gag in her mouth. Alone.
The spotlight was off her, at least.
Her eyes widened when she saw him. A bruise was forming on her cheek and a tiny trail of dried blood streaked down her chin, but she was alive. For the first time in the last hour he felt as if he could breathe again. Pistol still in his hand he hurried across the open room.
Crouching next to her, he turned so that he had the doorway in his periphery. He wanted to comfort her, but if Hollis was nearby Viktor didn’t want the man to hear him. Holding a finger to his mouth, he then tugged her gag free. He didn’t have a way to get the cuffs off, not without a key or a way to cut them free.
“He’s crazy,” she whispered. “He’s got guys waiting at that other building. If Abram’s gone there—”
“He hasn’t. I’m going to get you out of here. I can’t get these off yet. Do you know where he is?” He kept his voice pitched low.
She shook her head as tears spilled over her cheeks.
He cupped her cheek with his free hand and swiped them away. He wanted to pull her to him but couldn’t risk the distraction, couldn’t risk losing focus on their surroundings for a moment. “You’re okay now,” he said quietly before pulling his phone out. He needed to call Harrison and get his brother and Lyosha up here. They needed to get Dominique free then hunt down Hollis.
Even killing that fucker took a backseat to getting her to safety. As the phone started to ring Shane Hollis stepped into the room, hockey mask shoved up on top of his head—and a pistol in his hand.
Viktor whipped his weapon up lightning fast, moving to stand directly in front of Dominique so that his body blocked hers entirely. “Drop your gun,” Viktor ordered.
Hollis’s eyes were wild, a little too big and red-rimmed. “You stupid fucker!”
“Drop your weapon. The police are on their way up. There’s nowhere to go. Just put your gun down and you’ll get out of this alive.” The guy had hired men to come after Viktor and kidnapped Dominique so he was dead, regardless, but Viktor couldn’t risk Dominique getting hurt or worse if the guy started firing.
“There are no cops!” His gun hand wavered slightly.
“Why did you do this? Why target me?” Viktor wanted to keep the guy talking. If the call to Harrison had connected, the other man should be hearing all this.
“You took everything from me!”
“I bought the businesses you put up for sale.” At a fair price, he thought. Too fair, because he’d wanted to let the guy save some pride.
“Then you wouldn’t work with me.” His voice was whiny, matching the trust-fund jackass Viktor had pegged him for at their first meeting. “The fucking criminal wouldn’t work with me. Me! I’m a fucking Hollis.” His gun hand wavered. “My family built—”
Viktor pulled the trigger, hitting Hollis square in the chest. Hollis’s eyes were wide as his body jerked back.
Boom. Boom.
Viktor fired again and again until Hollis tumbled backward, his weapon clattering to the concrete floor. He moved to it, kicked it away. Not bothering to check for a pulse, he patted the guy down until he found what he was looking for.
As he pulled the handcuff key out, he whipped his weapon up at a slight sound—then dropped it when he saw Abram and Lyosha rushing toward him.
Palming the key he hurried to Dominique, who was silently crying. After he’d freed her, she lunged at him before he could pull her into his arms.