Dane

​​

His father was trying to frame him for Tish.

And Lila was right there in the Penthouse.

He might already have his hands on her.

Dane's long legs ate up the office floor—straight to the stairwell, ignoring John's shout behind him. He punched the emergency call for the car and prayed they were where they were supposed to be. He'd be at the parking lot in thirty seconds.

He couldn't think, couldn't breathe. Everything was autopilot.

Call the Police, or Lila? Would the Police simply find whatever his father had done and blame it on him again? But if he had Lila…

A sound tore out of Dane's throat as he rounded another stairway landing. He was calling Lila. He had to know.

But just as he brought up the phone, her name flashed on the screen.

Delilah Farris calling.

Accept or Decline.

He stabbed the accept button. "Lila!? Are you safe? Where are you—"

"Dane! Tish is the spy! She's at my apartment. She tried to—"

"Your apartment?" his voice broke, but he kept running, punching through the door at the bottom of the stairs and throwing himself into the car that was already running and waiting, the guard holding the door while the driver waited for orders. "The apartment building. Now!" Dane roared, then back to the phone. "How did you end up—where are you?"

"I'm almost to the bridge. I just ran. I sent Josh in to deal with her—I don't even know if he's okay. I ran up through the laundry and I just… I'm running, Dane. Like you told me." Her voice shook with her pounding feet and heavy breaths. "I got scared. I didn't know who to trust and you weren't here—"

"Baby, you did the right thing. Thank God you're safe. Did you see anyone in the Penthouse?"

"What? No. It was empty. Why?"

Dane sank backwards into the seat and leaned his head back. His heart felt like it would explode. "I think Dad got someone in there. We aren't certain but… don't go back, okay? Did you close the fireplace behind you?"

"Yes, I just… Dane I'm scared. How did they get to her? She was trying to trick me. She wanted me to stay with her and not call anyone because she said people were listening to our phones. She had this story about a room in the office building—"

"Shhh, shhh," he leaned forward, hands shaking, feeling so helpless that he couldn't touch her, couldn't protect her. Couldn't put himself between her and whoever, or whatever was coming after her. "Listen to me, Lila, this is really important. Are you at the apartment yet?"

"I'm just getting the door unlocked." Her voice was choked with tears, but he could hear the determination in her.

"Okay, okay. Good. You get inside and as soon as you get in you bolt the door behind you, then you walk straight through to the kitchen pantry. Tell me when you're there."

He heard the door bang closed, then ticks and thunks as she flipped the deadbolts. There was silence behind her, so he was able to hear her little feet on the floor. "Okay," she said a second later, her voice a little calmer. "I'm in the kitchen."

"Good. You see that tall pantry cupboard to your right? Open it and slide the bags of flour and sugar on the bottom to the side. There's a safe behind them. The combination is 7677. Open it."

She didn't answer, but he could hear the tick of the buttons, then the heavy stick of the lead-lined box opening. "There's phones in here," she said.

"Yes. They're burner phones. No account information attached to them. And that safe… it's lead lined. Phone signals can't get out of it. So, what you're going to do, Lila, is take one of those phones, turn it on, and text a number I'm about to give you, okay? Then you're going to turn your phone off, and put it inside that box, and you're going to lock it again, do you hear me?"

"But how—"

"The number I'm going to give you is a burner phone I've got. We can communicate that way until I get to you. Lila, do it, please. Tish was right about the phones. Every minute you're in there with that thing on, the risk gets higher. So turn the phone on and send the word "Love" to this number." He read her the number twice until she sighed and said the text had gone.

She swallowed audibly. "So, we have to say goodbye right now?"

"Only for a little while, and I'm going to be right there. I'll be in the building in two minutes. But I can't come over there until we've found Tish's phone and got things under control. So, if you don't see me in the next couple hours, don't panic. Keep the phone on and wait for me to respond, okay?"

"Okay. Okay. I can do that. But Dane… please be careful. They're close. Please come quickly. I need you."

Dane's head sank back on the seat. "Honey, I'm not waiting a second longer than I need to. I promise. But I don't want to lead anyone to you, so… just be patient, okay?"

"Okay. I love you, Dane."

"I love you, too. You did good, Lila. Just relax now, okay? And you don't open that door for anyone except me, you hear me? Not a soul. Not even the Police."

"O-okay."

"I love you."

"I love you."

"I'll see you as soon as I can."

"Okay."

Dane closed his eyes. "Bye, baby."

"Bye."

He clicked end on the call before he could change his mind. He knew it was right. More than that, it was needed to get her phone off the grid. She'd done exactly the right thing, and he was so glad he'd given her that key. But… dear god, he was shaking like a leaf.

It was happening.

His father was coming for her. And he'd almost done it. He'd gotten so close.

Dane put his head in his hands and bit back the shudders that rocked his body. He couldn't let this overwhelm him. He had to keep her safe.

And he had to get the bastard so it never happened again.