It took two tries before Enoch squeaked, “No. That is, the agency is working for her but—”
With a single nod, he unleashed Miller, who viciously punched Enoch in the temple. The blow blindsided him, knocked his head to the side and sent him so close to oblivion, he almost slid off the seat to the floor.
Before welcoming blackness could close in, Miller hauled him back up.
“Now,” Tesh said, enjoying the ultimate power of being in control. “You have her in the building?”
“Oh God,” Enoch whimpered, his shoulders hunched and his eyes going red.
Miller let loose with a barrage of punishment that left Enoch gurgling with pain. Sections of his face turned purple, one eye swelled shut, blood seeped from a cut at the corner of his mouth and his nose looked decidedly bent.
Superficial wounds, but they had to hurt like hell.
Miller rubbed his bruised knuckles, but surprisingly, Enoch didn’t confess Catalina’s whereabouts. At the moment, Tesh wasn’t sure he could. He looked dazed into a stupor.
Tiring of the game, Tesh took the briefcase and rifled through it. He found papers he didn’t care about, files and an itinerary that didn’t pertain to him but perhaps would be useful later. He folded them, put them in his pocket...and then he found a smaller pocket with keys and keycards.
“Ah. This is what we needed.” The keycards would get him on the elevator, and the actual key would be used to—
“No,” Enoch said, making a grab for it.
Miller hauled him back with a hand in his hair, then landed a harsh blow to his soft gut.
“So this is the one, eh? Good to know.” Tesh thought of those darkened windows on the upper floors and guessed he’d find Cat there. Not that he’d risk going after her himself.
He wasn’t stupid.
“I’ll stay with our friend,” he told Miller and Johnson. “I need you to take the guard at the elevator.”
“Sure,” Johnson said right away. “Piece of cake.”
“He’s armed,” Enoch warned in a rush, the words slurred by his swollen lips. “He’ll shoot before he lets you overpower him.”
“Maybe,” Tesh mused. “But not if he thinks he has to save you. Perhaps a deadly car accident? With this ice, it’s more than possible.” The plan formed in his mind, entirely plausible. “Take the briefcase. Hold it so the guard can see it. Explain that there’s been an accident and a man is hurt.”
Enoch shook his head. More to convince himself than them, he said, “It won’t work. He won’t leave his post.”
That he was so worried about it only reinforced for Tesh that he was on the right track. “Go quickly,” he told his men. “Before anyone else shows up. Check the top two floors. And if you find Cat, bring her to me.”
“What if we run into anyone else?”
Tesh smiled at Miller. “Kill them.” Anyone who stood between him and his kitten definitely needed to go.
*
CAT INSISTED ON doing the dishes while Leese showered. It seemed fair since he’d cooked, but she had to leave everything perfect. If she left a single crumb behind, he’d find it. He wouldn’t say anything, but he would definitely clean behind her.
She understood him better now and assumed his upbringing had helped to forge him into such a neat freak. He hadn’t said it, but she got the impression his folks hadn’t taken much pride in anything, not better employment, not better clothes for their son and likely not in their home either.
He’d been in her house, so he knew she didn’t share his affinity for organization. Not that she was a slob; she did like things neat and orderly. But Leese took it to a whole new level.
Not a terrible trait at all.
Besides, tidying the kitchen after their breakfast gave her some much-needed alone time, allowing her to drop the bubbly facade.
Loving Leese was bittersweet, both the easiest and the hardest thing she’d ever done.
It was past time she confessed everything. Continuing the lie was no longer an option now that she cared so much for him.
It felt like a massive betrayal.
Yet telling him the truth could put him at added risk.
Bracing her hands on the counter, Cat dropped her head forward and fought off the desolation.
There had to be a way to handle things on her own, but no matter how she considered all the angles, it remained impossible.
She pushed away from the sink and hugged her arms around her middle.
Leaving, walking away without a word, wouldn’t guarantee Leese’s safety—especially since she had the distinct feeling he’d come after her.
Staying would be worse, because once he knew, Leese would insist on confronting the trouble instead of running from it.
Unfortunately, it was a fight he couldn’t win.
And she’d just brought herself full circle.
Honesty now was her only option. Maybe, though, she should try confessing to Sahara first. That indomitable woman might find an alternative that eluded Cat.
Knowing Enoch would be back any minute with the pastries, she decided to hurry Leese along. She wanted him to see the kitchen all spiffed up before she got it messy with crumbs.
She started down the hall and a noise at the door made her pause.
Not the intercom, and not a knock. Curious, she looked toward the door, listening.
The doorknob moved.
Instincts rioted but, undecided, she took one step toward the door. It was probably Enoch, probably fine.
She was still safe.
No.
No, she wouldn’t take that chance. Not with Leese in the shower, naked, unprepared...
With fear steadily building, she back-stepped, one foot behind the other, until the door started to open. Alarm bells clanged in her brain and, breathless, she turned to run silently for the bedroom. Her sock-covered feet didn’t make a sound, and she didn’t call out.
Timing was everything, she knew that.
She needed a weapon, and she needed to alert Leese.
Slipping into the bedroom and slowly closing the door, trying to lock it without the ridiculously loud click, she secured them the best she could. Next she dived for the nightstand and her gun.
Thank God she kept it fully loaded.
In a few long strides, she opened the bathroom door, strode to the shower and turned off the water.
Leese took one look at her face, then at the gun she held, and without a sound he comprehended it all. Wasting no time, he stepped out of the shower. Bypassing the towel, he grabbed her arm and drew her back into the bedroom, pushing her down beside the bed to keep her concealed. As hushed whispers came down the hall, he snatched his own gun off the nightstand, but also his cell.
Sliding his thumb across the screen, he unlocked it, pressed a button and handed it to her. With a finger to his mouth, he warned her to silence.
Cat saw that the phone was dialing, but who? The building was all but empty. Even Enoch was off buying treats.
Crouched there on the floor, her heart in her throat, Cat set the phone aside and braced her gun over the bed.