An Eye For An Eye (Fast & Furious | Hobbs/OFC)

Chapter 39

Soldiers. A whole squadron of them rushed down the alley from every direction, shouting demands, as if they thought that Luke might just throw his hands up and surrender.

Idiots.

Elizabeth and Jakob rushed inside with Luke was hot on their heels. He shut the heavy steel access door behind him and secured it with a chain and padlock which hung from the inner door handle. Luke caught up with Jakob just as Elizabeth cleared the adjoining corridor and gestured for them to follow.

Her head was on a swivel, eyes searching for trouble, mind focused. The enemy was behind them and likely ahead of them too, but she couldn't do anything about that. Evading them was the only thing that mattered right now. Getting the job done, getting back to the plane, and keeping them both alive.

They couldn't exactly rescue Sam if Luke was dead or locked up, could they?

She paused at the base of a flight of stairs that went up to the lobby. There was no sound, no indication of people, but the shadows weren't right. The dim lights shouldn't have been casting shadows like that. At least that's what her gut said.

People? Luggage? Both? There was an elevator for the porters so they had no use for stairwells, but the assholes now hunting them sure did.

Luke! Elizabeth waved at him, catching his attention, then gestured at the stairs. People?

If he said anything, she didn't hear it. Her heart was pounding in her ears, adrenaline pumping through her veins and pupils dilating as Elizabeth braced herself. She reached for the Glock on her thigh only for Luke's hand to close around hers, stopping her. He shook his head, signaled they were switching positions, and sent her to the rear.

Hobbs walked slowly into the stairwell, keeping his footsteps light. Despite his size, he had a knack for stealth—and surprises. Taking the steps two at a time, Luke kept his body low until he'd ascended the first flight of stairs and was almost about to turn onto the second.

Elizabeth strained her neck to see what was going on, but she couldn't see a damn thing past Jakob. He was too tall, too broad, too everything. What was the good-looking side of things where Jakob was concerned was quickly becoming the frustrating side.

"...Clear." Hobbs came back a minute after. "Let's go."

There was no time to change. No room for error. Either they got out of this hotel alive and free or they'd be crossing their fingers that the Agency was feeling merciful. Odds are, after what they'd done, merciful would be the total opposite of what they felt. Elizabeth lagged behind, taking the steps one at a time as she struggled to keep up. Running stairs wouldn't have been an issue a month ago, but with two cracked ribs, it was a little harder than usual.

Nothing she couldn't handle, though.

"Wait." She stopped at the top of the first set of stairs and found herself face to face with a map detailing the hotel's fire escape plan. "Hey! We need to—"

"Move your ass, princess!" Jakob said. "We don't have time for this."

They could make it. Elizabeth studied the map, looking at the first two floors in detail. If they went to the second instead of the first floor lobby, they could cross half the floor, get to the elevators, and have an almost clear shot to the front entrance. It wouldn't be easy, but that was the quickest route, no doubt about it.

"Beth!"

Elizabeth gave the escape plan one last glance before she started taking the stairs again, going as quickly as she could without feeling as if she were about to break something. She winced as she caught up to Jakob and Luke, then kept on going. If they wanted an explanation, it could wait until they were safely away from Nobody's men. Until there wasn't a proverbial gun to her head.