The Sacrificial Lamb by Elle Fiore Page B

pressed against her lips, her eyes wide and beautiful.

12
    H E K ISSED M E , was Alex’s flustered thought.
    Mr. Armani— Domenic —had kissed her.
    She stood there frozen in place, staring at the door with her hand pressed against her mouth. He had gone from killer to kisser in an instant. What had just happened?
    Logically, she should be upset that he had made such a bold move, but she wasn’t. The resolve had been in his eyes a fraction of a second before he bent his head toward hers. Too stunned to pull away, her mind had registered the fact that his lips were soft yet firm. Then the sweet pressure against her mouth was gone, and a moment later, so was he.
    Slipping her hand in her pocket, Alex felt the knife hidden there. He had given her a weapon to use “just in case.” That phrase scared her more than anything because there were too many situations in which that could apply. Just in case Mr. Meek decided to try anything funny. Just in case Mr. Mean decided to return and finish the job. Just in case Mr. Hulk tried to figure out what the big deal about her seemed to be and pick up where the others had left off.
    Just in case Mr. Armani never came back again.
    Sighing, she turned and trudged toward the cot to sit down. He said he’d be back in an hour, but then what? Their talk had been cryptic, but she got the impression he was going to find a way to help her escape. Maybe he had gone to the police? No that was impossible, because if he did that he would be arrested along with anyone else involved in this mess. So then, where could he have gone? And what was going to happen when he returned? Alex wasn’t sure if she would be able to hold out for an entire hour.
    Why had he kissed her? Maybe all this danger excited him.
    Everything that happened today crashed down on her head—the phone call with her father and her near miss with disaster when the call was over. When Mr. Mean made his intentions clear about what would happen next, Alex couldn’t help but close her eyes and pray that someone would stop him. It caught her by surprise when a pair of green eyes flashed in her mind. Not just someone— him . As if she had summoned him merely by thought, he had appeared.
    Alex saw Domenic from over Mr. Mean’s shoulder, looking like an avenging angel. Beautiful and deadly. The rage on his face was a sight to behold. On anyone else, it would have distorted their features to the point of ugliness, but instead it enhanced his already sharp features. His eyes flashed brilliantly, his nose was subtly flared, and his jaw was clenched tight enough that it looked as if it was chiseled out of stone.
    She was scared of him. Scared, yet enthralled. To watch him attack with single-minded ferocity, in her defense, had her spellbound.
    “I said, she is mine!” he’d shouted as he lifted the man off the floor to deliver a debilitating blow.
    Mine? What did that mean? At that moment, Alex was confused but too focused on what was happening to think about it in depth.
    When everyone had left the room, Alex sat on the cot and willed her heart to slow down. It was too much. She didn’t know how much more she could take. She was at the breaking point already, and one more thing would push her over the edge. What would happen now that Mr. Mean had crossed the line? Would he be gone for good? Would she just have the one guard tending her? Could this be the night she made her escape? Everything seemed to be going to pieces among her captors. Maybe she could take advantage of that.
    Now Alex was unsure what to do. Mr. Armani had given her the impression that he was going to help her get out of this warehouse. He had even given her the small but deadly knife that was weighing down her right pocket. Everything pointed to the fact that he was now forsaking orders in order to assist in her escape. She didn’t know why he would risk his life to help her, but at this point she wasn’t going to ask any questions or try to dissuade