Six(64)

Shoulder holster on, knife strapped to his other ankle, and the last gun he had prepped stowed in his waistband. He threw on a jacket and stashed the second knife into one of the side pockets of his pants.

Seeing as he was getting ready to go, I got ready as well. However, my options were extremely limited.

A sundress.

And a jacket.

Flat strappy sandals.

Cherry lip balm and a bottle of water.

Oh, yeah, I was a force to be reckoned with.

I held my arms out and motioned between us. “There is a major imbalance going on here.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got you covered.”

It was odd, but his words did relax me. Because I’d seen his brutality first hand. The safest place for me was next to him.

After about fifteen minutes of driving, civilization fell completely away, replaced by the barren desert landscape. The flat of the bowl shape that the city sat in morphed into rocky hills and cliffs.

Asphalt gave way to bumpy dirt roads. What seemed like driving into nothingness opened up to a large metal structure. Concrete exhaust towers, flanked by steel and rock from the hillside. Large conveyor belts reached for the sky, moving from one tower to another.

Bright lights flooded the exterior, cutting through the dark. Its dayglow ways reminding me of the strip.

Two cars sat in what appeared to be a parking area, but based on the dirt, anywhere was a parking spot.

Six’s fingers drummed on the wheel as he drove around at near idle speed. After a minute, he threw the car in park and turned to me.

“Stay behind me,” he said in an almost whisper.

“That sounded almost chivalrous.”

He turned to me with his usual blank face. “I just want to f*ck you later, and I’m not into corpses.”

I pursed my lips and nodded. “I guess I’m flattered that my * means that much to you.”

“Don’t be. It’s a convenient hole.”

What was I thinking earlier? Fucking bastard.

Smacking a psycho killer across the face hard was probably not advisable, no matter how much he deserved it. Seeing as I didn’t want to be a rotting corpse in the desert, I swallowed the urge and got out of the car.

It was about fifty feet to the nearest door, and Six’s cautious steps were somehow creepy and sexy at the same time. He put his head up to the door, and when he didn’t hear anything, turned the handle and pulled it open.

It creaked, echoing off the metal walls and up the stairwell that we walked in to.

It was a little odd walking right into a staircase instead of a room like I expected, but it was probably just the door we chose.

Each step up the metal grate stairs was a soft clang, making more noise than I felt comfortable with.

Reaching the second story platform, Six reached for the handle, but it wouldn’t turn. He didn’t say anything, just continued up the next flight of stairs.

Same thing.

Looking up through the railings, there were at least three more possibilities before we had to retreat back down. Luckily, third was a charm, the handle clicking.

He pulled the door open a tiny bit and listened. When I assumed he heard nothing, he slowly opened the door and glanced out.

My senses were on full alert as we passed through the doorway into the hall. Listening, looking, feeling for anyone.

Six pulled one of his guns out and held it at his side as we moved through the hall, checking doors as we went. Finally, one opened up into a large room filled with conveyor belts and other large equipment.

Maneuvering through it all was tricky and hot. The temperature seemed to be rising as we moved around, making our way to the other side.

Six stopped a few feet from one of the doors, and I almost ran in to him.

“What?” I asked.

His head was tilted, a serious expression on his face as he listened to something I couldn’t hear or decipher over the machines in the room.

“Fuck.”

“Six?”

Before he could respond, one of the other doors opened and a team of men in what looked like S.W.A.T. gear came rushing in.

Shit!

“Run!” he yelled with a push on my back.

Gunfire, followed by the ping of bullets ricocheting around had my arms flying up around my head and my eyes fighting to close. One foot in front of the other, flight response adrenaline propelled me down the hall, blood thumping in my veins.

Fingers wrapped around my arm and yanked me, pulling me down another hall. We slipped between two large crates and through a door. There were empty desks and miscellaneous furniture stacked, filling the room.

I leaned against one to catch my breath, my heart hammering in my chest. All the fears I had made sense. There were half a dozen guys shooting at us, and the only protection I had was a thin layer of cotton.

“Shit,” Six cursed.

“Who are they?” I asked, still listening at the door for any signs that they were headed our way.

He moved around the room, looking for something. Probably another way out, but being a storage room, I doubted he would find one. Though, there were some large panel glass windows which overlooked the outside.

“Not friendlies.”

I rolled my eyes. “That’s a duh. What gave it away?”

“Lacey.” His voice held that edge of warning.

I canned my sarcasm. “What are we going to do?”