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she shot him a look. "Ducts."
    "Right." Buildings in this part of town had plenty of old, wide ventilation winding through the ceilings and walls, but Amanda had trouble believing someone would design a security hole that large for the "secure" file room. She moved to study the near wall. "Help me find this leak and stop wasting your time."
    "There is no time," he said, then flashed a huge grin. "My cavalry has blueprints."
    Smoke rolled faster, darker, and there was no rescue team. The crumbled shelf rack McLelas chose for a ladder teetered precariously.
    Amanda reached over to stabilize the metal. "I can admit when I'm wrong."
    A sound-proofing panel crashed to the floor, followed moments later by the vent cover.
    "Ah, but can you admit I was right?" he asked.
    One strong hand helped her into the ventilation shaft. Thickening darkness pushed from every side. McLelas took the lead like he'd been poring over the precinct's blueprints himself and she crawled, one-handed, after him. She had no doubt he had directions from "Zach". If the bodyguard on the other end of his earpiece got them out of the crushing air of this tunnel alive, he was worth whatever McLelas scribbled on his paycheck.
    Her eyes burned and she coughed, squeezing her eyelids shut as her lungs rebelled.
    "Grab my ankle." Had he turned a corner? "Our out's just ahead."
    Her fingers encountered a men's dress shoe worth more than her entire wardrobe. She took a shallow breath and put her trust in the man leading her to safety.
    "Whatever you say, McLelas." Amanda slid her hand around a warm, toned calf and the muscles bunched under her fingers.
    He slid backward and one of his arms wrapped around her shoulders, waist, then hips, hauling her up his side until the damp cloth over his nose met the arch of her neck. A thrill of pleasure danced down her spine.
    He took a slow, measured breath by her ear. "Is 'Ryan' really that hard to pronounce?"
     
    Reason fled as his brain worked overtime, replaying a single, explosive kiss that had burned hot as the fire around them. He forced himself to keep moving, undone by the detective's too-trusting grip on his pants leg. For Amanda, he'd entered a lust-fueled purgatory.
    Would redemption be enough?
    "Turn left when you hit the wall. It's tight, but it'll take you straight out the side of the building." Zach's voice pinched in concern. "Move it, bro. The place is still burning."
    Old ductwork. Wide enough, but he was sure it wouldn't hold long. The heat and fire-resistant sheeting warmed under his palms. His fingertips discovered the turnoff. He slid a hand along the arch of Amanda's spine, urging her in front of him, down the tube to the left, as fast as she could crawl.
    Halfway through  . . . 
    Hot metal crunched under his knee and his heart punched into his ribs. Ryan seized Amanda's ankle. Thick, oily smoke hit his tongue. "Zach?"
    "It'll hold. Just keep going." Confidence had returned to his brother's words. "Jay's commandeering oxygen."
    He pushed Amanda's leg forward. If Zach's danger sense said they'd get out, they'd get out.
    A loud crash behind him rattled their escape route. Heat swept through the air in waves and the crackle of burning timber roared in his ears. No time to filter. Red-orange flickered off the metal surrounding them, highlighting edges of black and gray puffs of smoke. The deadly blaze beneath the shaft reflected around them as it licked its way into the air vent. Fire would soon overtake their escape route. If the metal didn't collapse, it would melt.
    On the other end of the line, Zach covered up a chuckle by clearing his throat. "Well, maybe that piece won't hold."
    "How is that funny, jackass?"
    "Ever try telling a hungry German shepherd you've killed his master?"
    Sadistic little  . . . "Zach!"
    "Yeah, yeah. 'Jackass.' I know."
    A second reassurance never came. Ryan felt the woman in front of him falter, heard her cough.
    "Go, Amanda!" he shouted against the whoosh of flame.
    The