Page 54 of His to Protect

But why would they go there? Fuck if I know, but that’s what my intuition is whispering. So that’s where I go.

21

HANNAH

My heart is still thumping wildly after the incident on the rooftop and now we’re back in Caleb’s office. He shoves me down into his chair again and I’m staring at his computer screen as he pulls up the homepage for Rossi Vineyard.

“Log in,” he demands.

If I log in under my own name and password, there’s no important information that will come up. But, we will be connected with the network and, from there, I’ll need to enter a different password to get into Vin’s side of things.

“C’mon,” he urges me, hovering over my shoulder, giving me a little shove.

Very slowly, I log in and watch as I’m granted access to the network.

“Okay, now log into Vin’s restricted access portal.”

Trying not to let my hands shake, I type a fake password, knowing that after three attempts, I’ll be locked out of the entire system.

Incorrect. Try again.

Beside me, Caleb frowns. “What did you type in? You better not have fucked up on purpose,” he threatens me.

“I’m sorry!” I cry. “But you’re making me nervous.”

Once again, I type in some random letters and numbers and hit enter.

Incorrect Password. You have one more Login Attempt.

Caleb’s hand grabs the back of my neck and squeezes so hard that I yelp. His fingers dig into my flesh and he snarls, “Stop playing games.”

“Maybe he changed it,” I suggest weakly.

“For your sake, I hope not.”

This is it. My last chance and then we’ll be completely frozen out. And that’s exactly what I want. I refuse to give Caleb access to Vin’s private files and intel that will help him destroy Rossi Vineyard. No fucking way.

Knowing I’m about to unleash the beast, my fingers hover over the keyboard a moment before I quickly type the wrong password and hit enter.

Access Denied.

“You bitch!” Caleb roars and shoves me forward roughly.

If I didn’t have such quick reflexes, my forehead would have smashed into the computer screen. But I manage to dart to the side and then drop right out of the chair, quickly moving out of Caleb’s reach.

He isn’t far behind, though, and it’s scary how fast he can move. My head stings as he grabs a handful of my hair and yanks me right off my feet. With a cry, I fly backwards and drop down to the floor. He rips my head back, fingers still tangled viciously in my hair, and hisses, “Big mistake, Hannah. Now you’re going to suffer the consequences.”

Even though I’m in an awkward position, I manage to remember a move I learned a long time ago in a self-defense class. Go for weak and vulnerable areas. And, right now, the only weak area I can reach is his face. Launching my hand around, I poke him right in the eyes, hard and with zero hesitation. Caleb screams and instantly releases me.

Falling backwards, I quickly spin around onto my knees, crawl out of his reach and clamber back up onto my feet. Nice try, asshole. Determined to get out of here, I race out into the hallway, avoiding the elevators, and go for the stairwell instead. I don’t have time to wait around for a slow elevator and I know Caleb is going to be hot on my heels in just a moment.

Once I shove through the stairwell door, I head down, racing forward like a bat out of hell. I’ll run all the way down to the lobby and escape through a door on the first level. Even if the main entrance is locked, there has to be an emergency exit or security patrolling around or something!

Feet pounding down the stairs, I make it down three floors before I hear an ominous click. What the hell is that? I wonder. Pausing, breathing hard, I listen for the sound of heavy footfalls coming from above, following me down, but it’s quiet. Eerily silent. Then a voice sounds over the loudspeaker and a chill slashes down my spine.

“The building is in lockdown. You won’t be able to open any door, Hannah. There’s no way out if you’re heading down. But good luck…because here I come…”

There’s a click as he signs off and sheer terror has me spinning around and doing the only thing I can—running back up the steps. Once I reach the next landing, I try to open the door to the twenty-third floor, but Caleb wasn’t lying. It’s locked and won’t budge.

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