Against The Wall by Dee J. Adams Page A

got this door fixed.”
    “Hey, what’s wrong?” the guy said.
    “The door’s jammed. Can you give a hard push and get me out of here?” She held it tight as he tried to jiggle the handle, but when he stopped, Jess stood off to the side with her bat ready, glad the opulent bathroom afforded her room. Two seconds later the door slammed open. The man’s momentum brought him forward and Jess didn’t waver. Taking a step into the swing, she wailed her bat over the guy’s shoulder and he hit the deck with a hard thump. Time sped up and slowed down simultaneously as Jess readied the bat for another shot. But the guy didn’t move. He had long dark hair stuffed into a messy ponytail. She didn’t recognize him. He must’ve been a new hire since the threats from Facinetti started. A delayed bout of shakes took over as her arms quivered and her heavy breathing faltered. No time to faint now.
    “Rico?” A man’s voice came from the office. It sounded like Dev. He’d worked for Maurice for almost two years now. He was a bald-headed giant, and Jess had always gotten along with him. He was quiet, but loyal. “What’s up? You okay?”
    Panic seized her. What now? Frozen in her spot, Jess grunted then rolled her eyes. Yeah, as if he’d buy that response. When she didn’t hear anything, she eased out of the bathroom and down the hallway toward the door, her bat ready.
    “Let’s go, man,” Dev said to Tanner. “I don’t know your beef with Juneau, but if he says you gotta go, then you gotta go.”
    Jess peeked in just as Dev raised his gun. Oh, God! She didn’t have a choice but to hit him! Tanner’s eyes widened, whether because he saw her or because he had a gun pointed at his chest, she wasn’t sure. With a surge of adrenaline, she took two big steps into the room and whacked Dev at the base of his skull. A dull thud rent the air. He landed hard on the floor and Jess stared at him dumbfounded. She’d become a one-woman demolition team and this time she’d taken out a man she considered a friend. Not that they were good friends, but they both liked basketball and razed each other about their favorite Los Angeles teams. Another round of shakes took hold and her vision blurred.
    “Nic

 
    Chapter Six
     
    Tanner blinked away his dizziness. Watching Jess sway in front of him worried him more than the stinging in his side. He’d barely felt the shot, so it couldn’t be too bad. Still, checking it out now, when Jess seemed as if she might hit the deck, probably wasn’t his best plan. He moved toward her, wiping his bloody hand on his jeans and ignoring the pain as it arced up his body and finally screamed into his brain.
    Her method of attack had been appreciated, just not well staged. The bozo with the gun probably hadn’t intended to shoot him in the office, but Jess’s opportunity had been limited too, so he understood her thinking. Attack while she had a back. On the other hand, if the guy had intended to kill him here, he’d have a bullet through his heart right about now so her timing worked fine.
    As much as he wanted to just leave the house, he couldn’t let these two dick heads wake up and sound an alarm. But where could he stash them? “Is there a live-in staff here?” he asked, swiping the man’s gun from the floor. Jess kept her gaze glued to his side, her eyes wide. Tanner gently shook her shoulders. “Jess, look at me.” Her brown eyes met his, but he saw something besides panic and fear. Empathy? Compassion? Two emotions he didn’t want or need. “Answer me, Jess. Does anyone else live here?”
    She shook her head. “He has a cleaning crew once a week but they were here yesterday.”
    “Any idea when he’ll come back here?”
    “Probably not until late tomorrow at the earliest. Or maybe not for a day or two. He skips between all his houses whenever he wants. Especially lately.”
    Laten’t have lside and tomorrow still gave them plenty of time for what Tanner had in mind. It took him