Page 33 of Her Chosen Protector

“Do you see it?” Nic nudged Asher as he pointed to the exit sign to the left, next to the women’s restroom.

“Are you asking him if he sees the obvious there? Li’l Nic?” Raiden drawled.

Nic flushed.

“We need to get into the teller area so we can be watching the entrance to the bank and see the offices on the left and right of the entrance,” Ezio said.

Asher had been thinking the same thing. It gave him the heebie-jeebies not to be able to see the entry point of any building.

“I’ve got that covered. You have won the surveillance lottery. I want eyes and ears into Señora Azua’s office.”

He glanced over to the left-hand corner of the mezzanine level. They all knew that directly beneath that was Suzanne Azua’s office. But this bank had been built back in the day when real artisans and builders had been hired, so the floors were thick and solid. How in the hell he was going to get through the floor to surveil the people was anybody’s guess.

“Thanks a lot.” Ezio smiled as he backtracked away from the balustrade and went toward the dark corner.

Asher liked the fact that Ezio hadn’t been flipping him shit when he’d thanked him for the assignment. Instead, he was gleeful. He was looking forward to figuring out a way to do the impossible. He might just be a good asset to Night Storm after all.

“What fun do you want to give us?” Raiden asked.

Asher looked into his friend’s calm dark eyes. That was Raiden—always someone he could count on to be your eye in the middle of a storm.

“I want the main elevators out of commission. According to Eden, everybody but the three of them are on the lobby level, but that could change on a dime. Get those elevators shut down.”

“Nic, you’re with me,” Raiden said. Asher watched as the two of them melted into the shadows.

Asher knew they were headed to the sub-basement. Now he had to make contact with Eden as well as secure the teller area. He could take out both of those priorities at the same time, since there was a secure staircase and an elevator that went between the lobby teller area and the vault area in the basement. It totally bypassed the document room below the lobby floor. So, he just needed to get to the basement.

Asher pushed away from the balustrade to head to the East staircase when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. The long black ponytail swished as the woman quietly shut the west staircase door shut on the lobby floor next to the women’s restroom. He zeroed in on her face. He recognized her from the files that Kane had provided.

It was Eden York.

Goddammit, why isn’t she still in the basement?

C H A P T E R 8

Dammit!

Her boobs just buzzed twice.

Doesn’t Asher know I have a plan? I don’t have time to call his ass back.

Eden was really itching to use the gun. Not that she was going to, that would just be stupid. Didn’t mean she didn’t want to.

Fine.

She looked around the lobby. No sign of the bank employees. She saw Marco talking to one of the other bank guards. She gave him a head nod, then he turned back to the guard. Good. She darted back to the stairwell.

She pressed in the number to Asher’s satellite phone as soon as the door closed behind her. It took three rings before he picked up.

What the hell? He was the one who wanted me to call back so damned fast.

“Stay where you are” were the first words out of his mouth.

It took her a moment. “Did you see me in the lobby? Where were you? I thought you were outside the bank. You got in? That was fast.”

“Geez, Lady, one question at a time. First, getting in fast is what we do. Second, you were supposed to be in the basement. Now, get back there.” She recognized that tone of voice. He sounded like every other typical overbearing male in her life. Well, he wasn’t her father or one of her older brothers. And it wasn’t like she took orders from the men in her family anyway.

“No way, Asher. I have a plan.” She hit the bar on the door so she could go back to the lobby.