Dangerous Attraction Romantic Suspense Boxed Set (27 page)

“Looks like for now, anyway.”

“Did you get cut?”

“A few nicks, but I’m okay.” He started to towel off his hair when suddenly the sprinklers stopped working and the lights went out, plunging them into near darkness, the only light now spilling in between the gap in the curtains at the front window. She barely made out the way Hunter’s hand froze on the top of his head.

Khalia whispered to him. “What’s going on?”

“Either they’ve cut the water supply, or the fire’s already destroyed the system.”

Her stomach took a nosedive. Already the smoke was thickening. It floated in a shroud near the ceiling, strong enough that she could smell the acrid tang of it. “How close do you think the fire is?”

“No idea, but I’m guessing fairly close.” They lapsed into silence, her mind racing frantically. He was motionless and tense beside her, and she desperately wanted to know what he was thinking. Out in the hall she could hear people beginning to move out of their rooms and into the corridor. They were shouting, coughing, some of them crying. Khalia shuddered. The smoke was getting worse, the air hazy with it. She couldn’t draw a breath without pulling it into her lungs. Hunter still hadn’t moved and she knew in her gut that he was keeping something from her.

“Shouldn’t we go?” she asked.

A tight shake of his head. “They’re waiting for us.”

“Where?”

“They obviously knew which floor we were on, but not which room. The fire’s a distraction, to force us out into the hallway because they know our only way out is through one of the stairwells at the ends. They’ll be waiting when we do.”

She hadn’t thought it possible to get any colder, but at his words her blood iced up.

Hunter exhaled and slid an arm around her waist. “Smoke’s getting bad enough out there that they won’t be coming back in for another sweep. Not without gas masks, anyway. I texted Gage and Tom to update them. The police and fire department will be here soon.” He stroked a hand over the back of her wet hair. “We’ll wait until they clear the building before we leave the room.”

She nodded, unable to think of a single thing to say. The turn of events left her feeling like she had whiplash. Mere hours ago she’d stood under the spray of the shower in this very same bathroom while Hunter pleasured her with his mouth and his body, and now they were hunkered in the tub for protection from another militant attack. She bit her lip and concentrated on taking small breaths, wondering how long the air would stay breathable at their level.

Hunter’s phone chimed a few minutes later and he checked the lit up display. “It’s Gage. He and the others are on their way. They’ll update us about the situation as soon as they can.” He typed something back and lowered his arm across her waist again. “Bet you can’t wait to get out of Pakistan, huh?”

A hysterical laugh bubbled up and she choked it back. “You have no idea. I’d say I wish I’d never come here, but I know I would have been ashamed of myself if I hadn’t. And…I would never have met you.”

He pressed a firm kiss to the middle of her forehead. “Some consolation I’ve turned out to be, huh?”

Khalia wet her lips. “If I have to be shot at and trapped in a burning building with someone, I want it to be you.”

His shoulders shook in a silent laugh, though nothing about this was even remotely funny. “Well, that’s good then.”

The wobbly smile on her lips vanished when he gathered her close and tucked her face into the broad expanse of his chest, the fabric of his T-shirt damp against her cheek.

Please let us out of here. Please let us live.
Khalia squeezed her eyes shut and turned more fully into him.

Precious minutes ticked past while they waited for word from the others. Hunter held Khalia the whole time, using her as a distraction from the reminder that this was eerily similar to the night when Scottie died. The fire, the gunmen hunting them.

No matter how hard he tried to block them, the demons of his nightmares snapped their jaws at the edge of his consciousness. Khalia was silent and her initial trembling had stopped, but the way her hands were still bunched in the back of his shirt told him just how terrified she was. He wracked his brains for something to say to lighten the tension again, and came up blank. Giving her useless platitudes right now would be beyond shitty. They had only two options at this point, and both of them sucked ass.

Smoke continued to collect in the bathroom despite the closed door, seeping beneath the lower edge in a toxic veil. They were on the fifth floor. It would take some time for any first responders to reach them. They wouldn’t have much longer before the smoke became lethal, but staying put for the moment was a calculated risk they had to take.

Khalia stirred against him and let out a little cough. “Smoke’s getting bad.” He could feel her heart racing, the panic building inside her.

“Hang on.” He got up and snagged some wet towels, shoved them under the crack at the bottom of the door to buy them a bit more time. Even close to the floor it was hard to get a good breath and he coughed at the irritation in his lungs. Khalia made room for him again when he came back to the tub.

“I’m really sorry you got caught up in all this,” she whispered.

Hunter shook his head. “My choice to take the job, sweetheart. And it’s not like you asked for any of this.”

She ran a hand over the length of his back, taking a slight edge off his anxiety. “No. My life is usually much quieter. Downright boring, actually. I miss boring.”

Ha.
“I’m looking forward to a little boring after this myself.”

She tilted her head back. “I’d say you’ve earned it. Along with a giant raise.”

He grunted. “Tell that to Tom later.”

“Oh, I will.” Her voice was tight, her tenuous hold on her bravery slipping.

No sound now except the fire alarm blaring away, fed by some unknown power source. He was good under pressure, and his mental toughness was what had earned him a spot in the Teams in the first place, but at that moment he had to work hard to block out the incessant screech of that fucking alarm.

He was relieved when his phone vibrated again. Gage, thank God. “What’s the story?”

“What’s your status?” Gage countered.

“We’re in the bathtub with a wet towel stuffed under the door to keep the worst of the smoke out. It’s getting bad in here though.”

“Fire department and SWAT team are here, but that’s one big fucking fire. It’s on your floor, and it’s already spread above and below you. I can see flames pouring out of the windows in some of the rooms.”

Fuck. “What about the ends by the stairwells?”

“Can’t tell, but if the fire’s not there yet, it will be shortly.”

Those stairs were their only way out, whether they took the ones up to a higher floor or down toward the lobby. “What about the shooters?”

“Still inside. Parking lot’s a fucking nightmare right now. People are running around in hysterics. SWAT hasn’t even entered the building yet because of the fire. Firemen are just hooking up the hoses now, but I doubt they’ll let them start with the shooters there.”

Hunter’s muscles were drawing tighter by the second. He could tell from how still Khalia was that she’d heard every word of what Gage said. “What about Tom?”

“He’s working on getting the Paks to agree to a military takedown.”

They’d never pull that off in time to save everyone trapped in the hotel. “Where are you?”

“I’m on foot at the north side of the building. Police aren’t letting anyone in, not even me. You’re gonna have to get outta there right fucking now, Hunt.”

The words he’d been dreading. “Copy that.” They had to somehow make it out of the room and down the hall to an exit through the suffocating smoke, then descend five flights of stairs with nothing but a single pistol for each of them, not knowing where the flames or militants were. He wished he’d brought more weapons up when they’d checked in last night, but he’d never dreamed they’d have to fight their way out of the hotel like this. “Get Tom here and station somebody at each entrance. I don’t know which one’ll be viable.”

“Roger that. See you on the ground floor, brother.”

They both knew he and Khalia had barely a chance in hell of making it out of the hotel alive. He hoped she didn’t realize it too. “Yeah.” Hunter hung up and shoved the phone into his back pocket before turning his attention to Khalia. Inside the closed up bathroom it was pitch black, and the smoke already stung his eyes and throat. “You got your shoes on, right?”

“Yes.” She grasped his shoulder to pull herself up and he helped her to her knees. Probably for the best that he couldn’t see her expression. This was going to be hard enough without seeing the undiluted terror in her eyes.

“Here.” Reaching over the side of the tub, he shook out a soaked washcloth to make sure there were no bits of glass in it and handed it to her. “Put this over your nose and mouth, it’ll help filter the smoke out.” In theory.

Grasping her shoulders, he squeezed to make sure she was paying attention to every single word he said. “The smoke’s gonna be way thicker outside than it is in here. Once I open that door, we’ve got seconds, maximum, to get out of our room and down the hallway to an exit. The closest one’s to the left, about thirty meters. You get on the floor and crawl as fast as you can for it. Hold your breath if you can, and don’t stop unless I tell you to. No matter what. Got it?”

“Yes.” Her voice was a mere whisper but she raised the cloth and held it to her face.

“It’s gonna be pitch dark out there and the smoke’s gonna make your eyes run so keep them closed and hug the wall. You’re gonna grab hold of me anyplace you can get a good grip and I’m going to lead us out, okay?”

This time she nodded, her curls brushing the backs of his hands. “What about the shooters?”

“The smoke’s too thick for them to be up here. Just hold onto me and stay low once we hit the hallway. We’ve only got one shot at this.”

Another brittle nod, and he could practically feel the terror pouring off her. He squeezed her shoulders once more, fighting back the cold tendrils of fear snaking up his backbone.

Gut check time.

Hunter hauled her to her feet, helped her over the edge of the tub and snagged a hand towel from the ruined vanity to press over his own face. “Ready?”

She coughed, shot out a hand and snagged his arm. “Hunter…” A wealth of emotion laced that single word. Fear, hope, regret.

He couldn’t let her panic. To calm her he took her face between his hands, pitched his voice low. “Listen to me.”

Even though he couldn’t see her, he could reach her with his words, the force of his will. “You know we don’t have a choice. I’m gonna be right in front of you every moment, and you’re not gonna stop no matter what happens.” He kept his voice harsh, authoritative. “If something happens to me, you don’t stop, you keep going. You keep fucking going until you get down the stairs and out to where the guys will be waiting for you. Now take a deep breath, and when I squeeze your hand, you hold all that air in because I’m going to open this door and get us the fuck outta here.”

He released her, slid the hand holding the towel down to grip hers, tight, and grabbed his pistol with the other. “On three. One.” He heard her pull in a deep breath through the wet cloth. “Two.” Her fingers dug into him like claws. “
Three
.” He sucked in a breath, ripped open the bathroom door and ran blindly for the only way out.

Chapter Nineteen

Out in the hotel parking lot, Gage shoved his way through the crowd of transfixed onlookers and headed straight for the armed officers maintaining the perimeter a good distance away from the hotel. The SWAT team was doing dick all, standing around the command van. A continuous stream of guests flowed out of the hotel’s ground floor exits, people in their sleepwear doubled over coughing, their clothes and skin tarnished with smoke and soot.

No sign of Hunter or Khalia, and neither of them had responded to the last two texts Gage had sent. Ignoring the gestures and shouts for him to stay back, Gage strode right up to the armed guards to find out what the hell was going on.

“I’m an American military contractor, and my team leader’s inside,” he told the pissed off corporal.

“No one goes in but law enforcement,” the guy told him firmly. “Get back and give us some room.”

He could have tried storming past them but everyone was already on edge and the last thing he wanted to worry about was being shot by one of the good guys in the midst of the chaos. With a mental curse he spun around and stalked back toward the road where he’d parked the SUV. Two steps from the door, his cell rang.

He snatched it out of his pocket and his heart gave a funny lurch when he saw Claire’s number. “Hey,” he answered, wondered if she had any more bad news.

“Are you okay?” she blurted.

Any other time, the worry in her voice might have set off a spurt of hope inside him. “I’m fine. So you heard?”

“I was just about to leave the office when the news broke. Everyone on my floor’s glued to their monitors watching the live stream now. What’s going on?”

Leaning against the vehicle, he looked back at the hotel. Considering he wasn’t allowed within a hundred feet of the place, Claire probably knew more than he did at this point. “There’s smoke streaming from most of the fourth and fifth floor windows. I can see people waving towels and stuff through them, trying to get the emergency responders’ attention. With the shooters still in there nobody’s letting the fire crews near the building. SWAT team hasn’t even gone inside yet and basically nobody knows shit, let alone how many shooters are in there.”

“But what about Hunter? We heard that he might—”

“He’s trapped inside somewhere on the fifth floor with Khalia.” Her ragged gasp of dismay only amplified the helplessness inside him. “I talked to him a little while ago and they were okay but I can’t reach him now.” Staring at the burning building, the dread kept building. “Doesn’t look good, Claire,” he admitted quietly. With how intense the fire was and how fast it was spreading, it was likely many of those inside wouldn’t get out in time.