Hard Bastard(191)

There was no sound from the bedroom.

“Cole,” I said nervously, “I’m pretty sure we just broke into this girl’s apartment.

“Nah. She opened the door.”

“That doesn’t mean we can just barge in and smash whatever we want.”

“Sure it does.”

Without another word, he kicked the door just above the handle. It buckled but didn’t break. He kicked again and it burst inward, the frame splintering slightly.

We charged inside. My heart was hammering in my chest, and I was pretty positive we were going to end up in jail for a very long time for this, but it was too exciting and Cole was too magnetic for me to turn around and stop.

The bedroom was neat, similar to the living room. I noticed her desk had a laptop plus a nice camera and another smaller camera.

“Fuck,” Cole said.

He charged across the room, and I noticed that her window was wide open.

“She went out the fire escape,” he yelled.

I opened my mouth to stop him, but he was already jumping out and climbing down.

“Marla!” I heard him shout. “Stop!”

I ran to the window and saw him running down. The rickety stairs were practically tearing away from the wall, and I was waiting for the whole thing to go crashing down. Marla was halfway to the bottom.

“I’ll go around front!” I yelled, and I turned and sprinted back through her bedroom. I tore down the hallway, my head buzzing with excitement, and dove into the staircase. I didn’t think I had ever ran down steps so fast. I took them practically four at a time, flying down the landings, and burst out into the bottom floor hallway.

I shoved through the front door and ran out front.

Nobody was there.

“Cole!” I yelled. “Where are you?”

I moved toward the side of the building with the fire escape. I jogged, worried they had both gotten away already.

Suddenly something bowled into me head-first.

I didn’t have time to say anything, because we went down together in a tangle of limbs. Whatever hit me immediately began to struggle and try to scramble to its feet.

“Stop her!” I heard Cole’s voice and realized that Marla was the one trying to untangle herself from my limbs.

Without thinking, I wrapped my arms and legs around her and pinned her down.

“Ah! Fuck!” she yelled, trying to get away. “Help me!”

“Stop, Marla,” I grunted at her, working hard to keep her still.

A few seconds later, I felt a pair of strong hands grab Marla and lift her up into the air.

“Let me go, you prick!” Marla screamed.

I stood up slowly, catching my breath. I ached in a hundred places, but I was okay otherwise.

“You good?” Cole asked me, holding Marla while she struggled.

“I’m good.”

There wasn’t anybody around, which was damn lucky, because I was pretty sure it looked like we were abducting the poor girl. Actually, was that what we were doing?

“Cole, let’s go into the alley.”

He nodded and carried Marla back toward the fire escape and away from the sidewalk.

We stopped near some dumpsters.

“Can I put you down?” Cole asked Marla.

She sighed and went limp. “Fine.”

He let her down softly. She looked like she wanted to bolt but thought better of it.

“Well?” Cole asked.

“It wasn’t my idea!” she said instantly, her eyes wide.

He gave me a look and I shook my head. “What wasn’t, Marla?” I asked her.

“The pictures.”

Cole looked smug, and I felt my heart skip a beat. “You took them?” he asked.

“Of you two kissing, yeah,” she said. “Isn’t that why you’re here?”

“It is,” Cole said, “but we weren’t sure you actually did it.”

“Shit,” she said.

“Where are they, Marla?” I asked her.

“I don’t know.”

“You know this shit can ruin my whole family’s life, right?” Cole growled at her. “I don’t like when people fuck with my family.”

“I know,” she said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know who they were when I took the job.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked her. “Who hired you?”

She held up her hands. “Look, she said it was just a normal job. I take a few pictures of the rich San Fran elite, I get paid like normal.”

“So why are you afraid, then?” Cole asked. “You seem to know about the blackmail.”

Marla nodded. “I overheard her on the phone after I made the drop. I didn’t mean to. I went into the bathroom and she just made the call. I guess she forgot I was listening?”

“What did she say?