Chapter 755 Chapter 755
Zain hurried over to see if she was all right. When he reached her, he realized she hadn’t slipped at all. This had been the distraction.
“I didn’t see the wet spot on the floor.”
Brock had turned around. “Are you all right?” His twang was thick. He looked at the scared man. “You. Help her somewhere. She probably has glass in her shoes.”
“I’m afraid to move,” Oaklyn said louder than necessary.
The man with the scared neck came over quickly.
“You.” Brock pointed to a man coming out of a door. “Go grab a broom. We need to get this cleaned up pronto.”
The surprised man nodded, turned around, and went back in the door.
“Hey. I can stand here all day stinking up the place, or you can take me up to get a signature.” Jett said. “Your call, guys. I’m paid hourly, so I can stand here all day.”
Zain took Oaklyn’s elbow and glanced over.
“There’s a bathroom over here.” The scarred man said in a low, hesitant voice.
Zain scooped Oaklyn up into his arms. “Lead the way.” He headed toward the elevator, even though the man was walking right across the lobby.
“What is that smell?” Oaklyn said.
“Told you.” Jett shrugged.
The two men exchanged a look, and then one of them turned around and pushed the button for the elevator.
“When you get to the bathroom, you need to get the guy to go in with you, Zain.”
“What was that liquid? Is it going to stain my pants?” Oaklyn asked.
Zain glanced over to see Jett wheeling the dolly onto the elevator with both men. The man stopped and held a door open for him. “Can you come in? I don’t know if we’ll need anything.” It was the only thing he could think of. He nodded and stepped back.
Zain went in and set Oaklyn on the counter; he looked down at her feet. “Any glass in your shoes?”
She shook her head. “Just a few splashes.” She looked over at the man standing there, holding his hands in front of his body. “We’re with the Alliance.”
Zain went over and stood by the door in case he thought to leave. That wouldn’t do well for any of them if he ran out telling others that Alliance people were in the building.
He looked at her and then turned quickly and looked at the door. The panic in his eyes was plain to see. “There is no more Alliance.”
Zain studied him. His pale eyes were empty beyond the fear. They had broken him. He’d seen other men rescued that had scarred necks, and they all looked the same. “There is, and we’re here to get you out of here.”
The man backed up. “I-I can’t…”
“How long have they had you?” Oaklyn hopped off the counter.
“My whole life.” He looked from her to Zain. “I-I have to go…”
Zain watched Oaklyn pull a tranq gun out of her purse, and a few seconds later, the man slid down the wall to the floor.
“He’s out,” Oaklyn said into the mic.
“Bear and I are coming to get him,” Eaton said quietly.
The door opened two seconds after that, and Bear wheeled a large garbage bin in. He was wearing a grey uniform and red-rimmed glasses. Bear grinned. “Eaton’s idea.”
Eaton came in wearing a long, shiny jacket and had makeup on. “You two go.”
“Bringing the elevator to the parking level,” Jett announced.
“You sound winded,” Luka said.
“I’m fine. I tranq’d one then the gun jammed. I had to stab the other one with a dart after a short wrestling match.”
Eaton smiled and shook her head. “Bear will be down there in two minutes. Using the service elevator.”
“I found the door that Griffin told us about,” Luka said.
They all stopped and exchanged a look. That door led to the lower basement and according to Shepard’s tracker, he was down there and who knew how many others of their kind.
“A few more days, and we’ll deal with that.” Kenzo’s voice came over the comms. Zain hadn’t even realized there were others on the call that weren’t there.
Oaklyn watched Bear gently put the man in the garbage bin and then turned around to Zain. “We need to go home so I can change, sweetie.” She smiled briefly.
Zain nodded. “Leaving is the best idea I’ve ever heard. I need to wash off this smell.”
Someone snorted into the mic. “I smell like a pine tree threw up on me.” It was Jett.
“Everyone get out of there. Good job, Brock.”
“I’m staying, right? I want to see the drama when they realize those men have vanished.” He sounded amused.
“You’re staying. We need you the night of the party to be on the inside.”
“Yay. I have to go mix drinks now. Toodles.”
Zain took Oaklyn’s hand and opened the bathroom door. They’d done it. Removed three men in the middle of the day. His heart was racing like crazy, but he hadn’t had a complete meltdown during it, so maybe he was able to do more than just sit at a desk and be a supply extraordinaire.