Masked (21 page)

Livid, furious, enraged – all of those weren’t strong enough to describe what he was feeling right now. Roman had been walking past the gym on his way out of the building when he happened to glance through the glass of the doors. His heart had literally stopped when he saw Sal in here with Bridgette. He couldn’t see her face behind the mask, but he could tell from the way she held herself that she was terrified. It had taken all his self-control not to run in here and tear into the other man.

“I need you to come with me,” he said, stopping just behind them. Sal finally stepped back slowly, turning to face him with a knowing grin. He knew Roman was breaking this up on purpose. Roman had no intention of bringing Bridgette along with him, but it looked like his plans were about to change. He thought putting some space between them was the smart move. Clearly he was wrong. He couldn’t leave her alone for more than a day without her finding herself in some sort of trouble. Not that this was her fault, but he definitely wasn’t going to be able to walk away knowing she’d garnered the attention of Sal.

“Sounds good,” she said, all too quickly. She walked over to him, keeping her body close. Every male instinct in him stood in pride at the show of trust that simple gesture made. Bridgette saw him as someone who would keep her safe, and by God that’s exactly what he planned to do.

“I think Ludwig was looking for you,” Roman said, turning his attention to Sal. He moved his body, angling it slightly so he was strategically placed between them. Bridgette’s hand gripped his shirt at the base of his spine, causing him to stand up straighter. Even the slightest touch from her did strange things to his mind and body.

“I was just on my way to his office,” Sal replied, his demeanour calm and relaxed, as though there was nothing wrong with what he’d just been doing. “You two be safe now,” he said with a grin. “I’ll see you later.” His eyes went to Bridgette over Roman’s shoulder when he said that last line, and Roman could have sworn he felt her shiver in response.

Roman watched Sal walk away, his eyes never leaving him until the door to the gym slammed shut behind him. He spun around to face her the second they were alone, pulling her into his embrace. She came willingly, burying her face into his chest.

“Did he hurt you?” he asked, voice tight with emotion.

Her head shook. “No, just scared me.”

“I’m sorry.”

She looked up at him, confused. “Why are you apologizing? It’s not your fault.”

“I shouldn’t have left you alone,” he argued. She tried to step back, but he held her firmly against him. “Every time I think I’m doing something good for you Hatcher girls, I end up just making things worse.”

“You can’t be responsible for everything, Roman,” she said. “Bad things are always going to happen, there’s nothing you or anyone else can do to stop it.”

She didn’t understand just how responsible he was for all the trouble she and her sister had gone through. If he hadn’t killed their mother or taken Lottey…his chest tightened with the amount of remorse he felt. If only he could explain it all to her, but if he did, she would hate him. He couldn’t deal with that even though he knew it was inevitable. Pulling down her mask to reveal those soft, plump lips, he took them with his own, giving in to what he’d been dreaming about all night long.

Bridgette kissed him back eagerly, her hands gripping his hair. When he finally pulled away, her lips now swollen and pink, her eyes glazed over with desire, he knew right then he was going to hell. He was such a bastard, he thought. Why couldn’t he just learn to control himself instead of taking what he shouldn’t? Her passion should be directed at someone else, not him.

“We really do need to go,” he said, pulling up her mask again.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“We got a tip on where your dad might be hiding.”

She stood up straighter. “Really?”

He nodded. “Ludwig wants me to go have a look. I was going to go by myself, but I think I’d better keep you close from now on.”

“By yourself?” she balked. “Are you nuts? What if they’re there, waiting for you?”

He couldn’t help the smile that came from her open concern. Even though it was misplaced, it warmed a very cold part of him to have someone else care what happened to him. Even Ludwig didn’t hesitate to send Roman out into dangerous situations.

“I can take care of myself, darling.”

She snorted. “Yes, you’re so big and bad,” she said dryly with a roll of her eyes. “I don’t know how you do it.”

Roman chuckled, grabbing her hand as he tugged her along behind me. “It comes naturally, I’m afraid.”

“I’m sure it does,” she murmured.

The building was empty, but there were definite signs of people having been there. Bridgette walked around the empty building, kicking garbage out of her way. The building was an old factory just on the edge of the upper section. It should have surprised her that the rebels would have been so bold as to stay within Ludwig’s own territory, but then again this was her father they were talking about. She doubted he would hesitate to do anything brash.

Roman had gone up to the third level, she could hear his steps above her. The ride over had been awkwardly silent. Her lips still tingled from his kiss. She couldn’t figure out why he’d done it, or why she had reciprocated without a second thought.

“Well they’ve definitely moved on,” he said, walking back into the room where he’d ordered her to stay. “Not sure how long ago.”

She nodded in agreement. “I can’t see them coming back here. There doesn’t seem to be much left.”

He shook his head, his hands on his hips as he looked around the space. Bridgette couldn’t help but watch him and admire. He was all brawn and hard lines, but it worked for him. She could still remember what it felt like to be held up against all that muscle with nothing in between them. Her eyes looked up to meet his. He looked like he was waiting for her to say something.

“Pardon?”

He seemed to be fighting off a smile when he repeated his questions. “I said, do you want to head back now? There’s nothing here for us.”

“Oh,” she said with a nervous laugh. “Yes, let’s go.”

They walked down to the lower level that was in considerable worse condition than the others, since a lot of debris from the streets had blown in at one time. Still, the building itself was in better condition than the majority of buildings in the ghettos. As they walked toward the front entrance, Bridgette felt her boot crunch onto something, a clicking sound following.

“What the - ?” Bridgette looked down, all blood draining from her face. She froze, her foot still firmly on the object. “Roman,” she said, her voice small and childlike.

He stopped and turned, his face turning to that of shock when he realized the issue. They met each other’s eyes, fear prominent in both.

“Don’t move,” he said quickly.

She wanted to reply with some snarky comment, but she couldn’t muster it up. Obviously she wasn’t going to move, because the second she did, the mine beneath her foot would explode in seconds. They were seriously screwed.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

They didn’t look away from each other as Roman approached her slowly as if she were a skittish animal.

“I’m going to take a look at the make and model, and then we’ll figure out how to proceed, ok?” he said.

Sweat dripped down the sides of her face as she nodded.

Roman crouched down, lowering his face to the weapon beneath her boot. Bridgette wanted to cry, but it didn’t seem like the best time. And yet it was the perfect time. She was mere seconds away from being blown to pieces. If ever there was a moment where one could break down into hysterics, it would be now. Except she knew she had to keep her head on her shoulders so they could figure out how to get out of this situation. If anything, Roman could leave. At least he’d be safe, she thought.

Bridgette heard him let out a long, slow breath. “It looks like this is one of the older models,” he said.

“Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?” she asked.

“It’s more good than bad,” he answered. “Either way, this blows.” He looked up at her, grinning. “No pun intended.”

“Perfect time to exhibit your sense of humour, Roman.” She did, actually, appreciate it. At least someone was keeping calm, because she was pretty much freaking out on the inside.

“This model will give us about ten seconds before it detonates.”

“Is that the good news?”

“Yup,” he said. “Trust me, if it were a newer model, you’d be blown to pieces the second your foot lifted. At least we’ll have a bit of time to run.”

Ten seconds? How far could they get in such a little amount of time? They’d still be too close to get to safety. Bridgette fought back the tears now welling in her eyes. Roman stood up, walking around to face her.

“Hey,” he said softly. “We’re going to get out of this just fine.”

Bridgette sniffled. “Maybe you should just go. There’s no sense in us both being hurt. Then I’ll make a run for it.”

His brows furrowed instantly. “I’m not leaving you,” he argued.

“Roman,” she said, exasperated by his stubbornness, “we both know there’s no way we can get far enough away in ten seconds. Why would we risk us both being injured? It doesn’t make sense. You go get help, and I’ll deal with this,” she said, motioning to her foot.

“I’m. Not. Leaving. You,” he said again, emphasizing each word.

“Ugh,” she growled. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“No, you are. We’re doing this together. I’m going to make some calls, get a safety wall built where we can run to – hopefully in time – and have medical on site as precaution. Then
both of us
will make a run for it. No arguments.”

“Ludwig would agree with me.”

Roman smiled. “You don’t know Ludwig.”

Only twenty minutes later, although it felt like twenty hours when forcing herself to stay completely immobile, there was a whole crowd of soldiers outside the building. A safety wall was being built for them to get behind in hopes it would protect them from the brunt of the explosion. Roman came in every five minutes to give her an update on the progress. It took another twenty before he declared that they were good to move.

The rest of the NWO soldiers had retreated to a safe distance, medics ready to move as soon as it was safe. The only people left in the near vicinity of the building were the two of them. Roman stood in front of her, his expression more serious than she thought she’d ever seen it.

“You ready for this?” he said.

“Not really,” she admitted. “You can still go wait with the others,” she suggested. “I can run to that safety wall myself. It would make a lot more sense that way.”

“Darling, if I have to tell you again that I’m not leaving you alone, I’m going to rip you off that thing and run while carrying you. I’m thinking we won’t make it as far if I have to hold your weight while I run.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Not funny, Roman. You wouldn’t dare.”

He stepped closer, lowering his face until it was level with hers. “You’d be surprised what I’d dare to do.”

They stared at each other, tension filling the air. She knew when she’d officially lost a battle, even though it rubbed her the wrong way. Whether she liked it or not, Roman was going to stay and run with her. It was foolish, but she couldn’t see any way to force him to do otherwise. She only prayed he was right about the ten seconds.

“You’re stubborn,” she accused.

“So are you,” he countered. “Now, let’s get this over with, yeah?”

Bridgette took a deep breath. “I’m really scared,” she confessed.

“I know, darling,” he said. “It will be over in a minute.”

That was the part that scared her. It could be over, over. As in, she could explode into tiny pieces and never able to experience all the things she still had left in life. Like love, and a family, and possibly peace, if ever such a thing should happen again in their time. She wasn’t ready to have it all taken from her so soon.

“Look at me,” he urged.

Bridgette looked up into his eyes, hers blurry with unshed tears.

“We’re going to make it through this,” he said, absolute surety and faith in every word. “Got it?”

She nodded. “Got it.”

“On three, ready?”

She hardly heard the numbers as he counted door. All she knew was that one minute she was standing in the same spot, and the next she was running for dear life toward the open door and outside. Thankfully the soldiers had cleared the path so no debris would trip her up. Fresh air hit her face as she mentally counted to ten. The padded safety wall was just in front of them. Roman grabbed her hand tugging her forward so she practically flew to the other side, just as she heard the blast ring out.

A wave of heat hit her as she screamed, covering her head and face with her arms. Roman’s body landed on hers, cocooning Bridgette against his chest. Debris fell around them, pieces of stone and whatever else had been inside the building. Some of it hit her, but she assumed Roman’s body was taking the worst of it.

She felt like the explosion went on forever before someone yelled out “Clear!” and there was suddenly a confusing rush of people everywhere. Roman had lifted himself off her at one point, his mouth moving as he spoke to her, but she couldn’t make out any words over the intense ringing in her ears. Had her eardrums burst? Panic exploded in her chest at the thought that she might not be able to hear again. Of course, it was better than being dead, she reasoned, trying her best to remain calm.