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  She focused on his face, taking in the high cheekbones, square jawline. She guessed he had an abundance of testosterone from how masculine his features were. His voice reminded her of gravel—deep, rough, and gritty. Her gaze lowered to the gun gripped within his right hand and couldn’t look away from the scary thing. She would do anything they said just to survive the nightmare she’d fallen into.

  “Who? Mr. Herbert? I don’t know. I was looking for him,” she managed to whisper. She hoped he’d heard her. “Please. I want to go now.”

  Silence stretched and she finally tore her focus off the gun to look up at his face. His full lips were twisted downward and lines had appeared at the edges of them. She noticed his odd-looking nose for the first time. It wasn’t exactly flat but it had a smashed look as if he’d taken a few too many hits to the face.

  “He goes by the name of Brent Thort. Where the hell is he? I won’t ask nicely again.”

  Surprised, Lauren knew her mouth dropped open. “You’re looking for Brent?”

  She glanced at the blond and the other scary guy. She didn’t like Brent but these men were seriously armed and dangerous. Her coworker was a loudmouthed, sexist jerk. He made a point of being offensive to all women with his crude remarks but she suddenly had a hunch that he had a gambling problem. Were these two men bill collectors from some illegal bookie? The color drained from her face. Or maybe Brent was into drugs. He did drive a really nice car and bragged about all the women he nailed. Any woman who purposely slept with him had to be paid to do so. He was good-looking but it was only skin deep in his case.

  It explained why Lauren was trapped inside a warehouse with thugs. They’d been expecting Brent. She studied the terrifying man in front of her and could totally see him being the hired muscle of the worst type of criminal. Oh crap! I showed up instead of Brent. Some of the terror eased but not much. They’ll have to let me go, she hoped, now that they realized their trap had caught someone innocent instead.

  “Some emergency came up. My boss called me to show the property instead of Brent.” She was proud her voice sounded more normal. “Can I go now? Obviously you aren’t interested in buying the building, right?”

  The blond’s mouth tightened into a firm line. His hand slowly lifted to his ear to touch his earlobe. “Say again. I didn’t get that. There’s interference from the steel in here in some parts.”

  The dark-haired man moved forward and Lauren squeezed tighter against the door. All of her terror returned when she focused on him. The men could almost be twins in sheer size. They were both towering above her, wide shouldered, and muscular. She couldn’t see his eyes either through the dark glasses but she sensed that he stared at her too. She didn’t try to make eye contact since it was pointless. Her gaze dropped to the concrete floor while she started to pray. Please have them let me go. Please God.

  “Lauren Henderson.”

  Lauren’s gaze snapped up to the dark-haired one who’d said her name. He turned his head to glance at the other man. He shrugged.

  “My com was fine. Lauren Henderson is her name. She works at the same company as our target.”

  The blond turned his head and Lauren stared up at the black sunglasses. She swallowed again and nodded. “I do work with Brent but I don’t know him well.”

  The fact that they were calling Brent a target didn’t bode well for her or her coworker. Her knees shook almost as much as her hands. Target means they are probably hired hit men. Jesus! What in the hell is Brent into?

  “She is his girlfriend.” The dark-haired one had a deep voice too but his didn’t sound like gravel.

  “I’m not dating that creep. I swear. I’m not dating anyone.” She had to convince them or they might decide to hurt her instead of Brent. “I don’t even like him. He’s a dick.”

  Two pairs of sunglasses were aimed in her direction and she felt them watching her. She quickly got the impression they weren’t buying it when both of them frowned. Seconds ticked by with excruciating slowness.

  “Let’s be rational, okay?” She forced air into her lungs. “Look at me. Do you know Brent? He’s into skinny, tall women. That’s not me. He goes to bars all the time but I don’t even drink.”

  She knew she was babbling but didn’t care. She didn’t want them to break her legs as a warning to a boyfriend she didn’t even have. “I don’t even like the guy. He’s rude and we don’t get along. He came into work last week showing pictures on his cell phone of women’s bare asses and he said some mean things when I told him I didn’t appreciate it. I don’t like the guy and he doesn’t like me. I am not,” she almost yelled the words now, “his girlfriend or his friend! I’m just the idiot who answered her phone when her boss called and actually got my ass down here to show this property.” She closed her mouth.

  “They are sleeping together.” It was the dark-haired one. “We do know Bill.” His mouth twisted into a grin and white teeth flashed.

  The blond nodded. “Yes. We do.”

  “I’m not sleeping with him.” Lauren was shocked. “Hello? Didn’t you hear me? I’m not his type and he’s sure as hell not mine!” It took her seconds to realize they’d called Brent by another name but they probably went after a lot of targets. It had been a slip. She wasn’t about to point out the error to them either. “I have standards.”

  “Bill’s type has breasts and you have those.” The blond sounded amused.

  “I haven’t slept with anyone in a long time. Trust me,” Lauren stammered in a rush. “I wouldn’t sleep with that jerk. He is a man slut and a total pig. I am not dating anyone and haven’t in almost a year. I really am serious. I don’t like Brent, Bill, or whatever his name is.”

  The dark-haired one’s smile died. “Almost a year, huh? Now I know you’re lying.”

  She shook her head. “That’s the truth. I wouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot pole and we don’t like each other. We don’t even talk unless it’s to argue. I don’t know what you want with him and I don’t care. Can I please go now? Please? If you think I’d warn him or something, I wouldn’t. I swear. You can have him. Take him please. He’s a jerk who I’m sure deserves to have his legs broken or whatever you need to do to get your money. Sometimes I wish I could hurt him so have at it. Please can I go now?”

  The blond bit his lip. “Who do you think we are?”

  Her heart pounded as she stared up into the dark sunglasses. “Bill collectors?”

  The other one laughed. “You think we’re…” He laughed harder. He turned his head toward the blond man. “She thinks we’re hired muscle, as in those films we’ve watched.”

  The blond grinned. “I wouldn’t mind breaking Bill’s bones. He does owe a lot to us.”

  The dark-haired man nodded. “I’d do it for free.”

  Lauren pushed harder on the door at her back but it didn’t budge. “Can I please, please go now? We all agree that Brent is a piece of shit. Think of me as a cheerleader. Go team, and beat him up! Give him an F, I, S, T.”

  Two pairs of sunglasses swung her way and their grins faded. The dark-haired man moved. “No.” He reached for Lauren. “You’re coming with us.”

  She saw a gloved hand reach for her arm and lunged forward. She shoved at the blond, surprised him by the attack, and pushed with all her might. The man stumbled back and Lauren dashed away to run toward the containers. Once she made it behind one, she kicked off her heels and reached down to grab them. She straightened just as the blond nearly slammed into her when he rounded the corner.

  Fear made her spin away and flee again until she nearly collided with the dark-haired one who came from the other side of the container. Their bodies missed touching each other by mere inches. A shriek of terror came out of her mouth.

  On instinct, Lauren threw one of her high heels at the man’s face. It afforded her the benefit of dodging his hands, which he had to use to shield his face. She ran for the back of the warehouse, fisted her keys in one hand and her remaining shoe in the other.

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