Read Escape (Last Chance Series, Book 3.5) for Free Online Page B

circling overhead.
    He slowed his steps, the last remaining shred of his dignity screaming that he should turn around and go home.  He’d offered her the moon and she’d thrown it right back in his face.   He sucked in a breath, the cold air racing through his lungs, and then walked up the steps leading to the building’s entrance.   Tracy believed in low key.  And so from the outside one would never guess the high tech labs the building housed.   But looks were deceiving and the security at Braxton Labs was state of the art.  Fortunately, unless she’d changed it, he knew the access code.
    After lifting the plaque that covered the keypad, he tapped in the required sequence of numbers and letters, the keypad protesting as the signal light stayed stubbornly red. 
    Hell, she had changed the code.   Not a good sign.  He blew out a frustrated breath, trying to figure out his next move.  Logically he figured he should call, but the idea of giving her warning didn’t seem to fit his plan to surprise and conquer.  Still, it appeared to be the only option, so he slipped his hand into his pocket, surprised when he  found it empty.
    Son of a bitch.   In his hurry to get back here, he’d left the phone on the bar.  Probably a sign.   He blew out another breath, and started to go, but then stopped, and lifted the cover again, carefully typing in the code.  His heart hammered as the machine whirred and the keypad beeped acceptance.  Then as the light turned green, he heard the lock in the door click as it opened.
    Moving quickly before either his brain or the machine could change its mind, he pushed through the door and into the building lobby.  The fluted iron columns had been restored to their former glory, soaring up into the vaulted ceiling.  It was this room that had decided Tracy on the building.  A feeling of history that balanced somehow in her mind with the high tech nature of her labs. 
    The desk in the center was empty.  Not surprising at this time of night.  Charlie Baker, the building’s night watchman , preferred checking on the building himself to watching it through the many security monitors.  Many a night he’d walked past to find Charlie missing and the monitors dark.  But Tracy insisted he was good at his job.  And besides, she’d always laughed, who the hell wanted to steal from the dead?
    Seth had always worried that Charlie was a little too old school to provide any real protection, but arguing with Tracy was pointless, and besides there were numerous other failsafes within the building. Including fingerprint identification for all the labs and security keypads like the one at the door for all the administrative floors.
    Striding through the empty lobby, he passed the main elevators, moving behind a wall at the back that divided the rest of the lobby from the access to Tracy’s private elevator.  The one that went straight to her apartment.
    Again he flipped open a cover to reveal a keypad, and typed in the access code.  The elevator door slid open silently in response, and he stepped inside, his gut churning as he tried to figure out what it was exactly he wanted to say.   Somehow ‘I can’t live without you’ seemed a bit much considering how the last attempt to tell her how much he loved her had gone over.
    Unfortunately, subtlety had never been his strong point.  The elevator doors closed and the car rose with a slight lurch, humming as it sped toward the topmost floor, its only destination.  Once there, the doors slid open, the hallway lights beckoning.  Again Seth considered running, but pushed the thought aside.  He’d made it this far.  And besides his Dutch courage was starting to wane. 
    It was now or never.
    The hallway had never seemed so short, and in what felt like only a step or two, he was standing at the door.  He raised his hand to knock, then paused, his brows drawing together as he realized that it was slightly ajar.   Automatically, he