Switched by Helenkay Dimon Page B

here.” When she frowned, Aaron continued explaining. “Blocking possible exits.”
    Hope shriveled inside her. “There’s no way to misinterpret that. They trapped us inside.”
    Something in her expression had Aaron turning back to Royal. “You sure there’s no way through?”
    “This isn’t my first day on the job. I can shoot the lock off, but there’s a soldering iron on the floor and a tight seal around the door. Unless you’re carrying explosives, we’re out of luck on this one.”
    While they argued gun size and trigger speed, she rested her cheek against the cool glass. She hadn’t realized her skin was on fire until she felt the relief.
    In the time they’d been stuck in there, the sun had gone down and the sky had turned a soft gray. Flurries blew around under the streetlights, giving the trees Christmas-card softness.
    Movement caught her attention. She saw people in the parking lot and walking around the grounds. There was enough light to see Elan staff huddled in groups and several partygoers heading to cars but being rounded up by men in suits.
    Since Craft was the only group in the building except for a few strays like her, there were limited explanations. “Aaron? Everyone is outside.”
    “What?” Both men rushed to her position at the window, but he got there first.
    As far as she could see, the outside gathering was just one more incomprehensible event in a sequence of confusion. “Is the party over? And who are the guys in suits?”
    Aaron put his hand against the glass. “They’re mine and they’re keeping people from leaving, which means they know something is wrong and they’re protecting evidence and witnesses.”
    Royal lowered his weapon. “Good training will do that.”
    “I don’t see Craft.”
    “Or Palmer,” Royal said.
    She’d never even heard the second name. At least, she couldn’t remember hearing it. So much had happened in such a short time. She could no longer keep track of everything. “Who is that?”
    “The head of Craft’s security.”
    The new information had her head spinning. “I thought that was your job.”
    “I’m outside security. I own a company that provides backup in situations like these and takes the lead on others.”
    Just when she figured out a definition for him, he changed the rules again. “A lawyer and a businessman.”
    A small squeak of hinges had them all turning in the general direction of the stairway to the right, the same one Risa had used to get to this floor.
    Aaron put a finger against his lips as he pushed her behind him. When she looked up, she stared at two wide backs. In the span of two seconds, they had closed in around her in a protective wall of male.
    “Stevens.” The whisper of a male voice carried down the silent hall and bounced off the open beams of the construction zone. Footsteps echoed against the new floorboards. “What the hell?”
    She guessed he’d found the barricaded bathroom door. This would be the start of the next wave of attacks. The danger kept ratcheting up and taking her heartbeat with it.
    She’d give anything to be one of the lucky ones standing outside in the cold night air.
    “We take this one alive.” Aaron spoke so low she would have thought he mouthed the words except she heard them.
    She wanted to grab on to both her protectors and run screaming in the opposite direction. More shooting. The chance for more violence. The thought of Aaron being hurt…or worse. It all sent her stomach flopping.
    Aaron pointed to the closest corner. “Stand there. Do not come out unless I tell you.”
    She grabbed his sleeve before he could run away. “Aaron?”
    “What is it?”
    She wanted to say the words that would mean something in the moment. The right phrase to thank him for risking his life—again—but it didn’t come to her. So she leaned in and kissed him quick on the cheek. She wanted to say or do more, but the timing was wrong.
    “Please be careful.”
    He winked at her.
    With