Riley was silent for a long moment. I could see him thinking, see the indecision in his eyes as he struggled with what to do next. Finally, he opened his door, slammed it behind him and stalked around to our side. Wrenching open the passenger side, he pointed his weapon at Dante. “Get out.”

Stone faced, Dante complied. Quickly, I opened my own door and scrambled out, while Garret watched the proceedings warily, a hand on his own weapon. “What are we doing, Riley?” I asked, coming around to their side. Dante stared at me, his gaze shadowed and dark, making my insides twist.

“We’re going inside,” Riley said. “And Dante here is going to escort us.”

My stomach dropped. “Inside? But this is a Talon office. Guards, security, alarms, traps—isn’t that what you told me? Why are we going to risk going in?”

“What else are we going to do, Firebrand?” Riley gave me a weary look. “We’ve come all this way. Everything we’ve done until now will be for nothing if we don’t figure this out. Yeah, I know, it’s Talon. It’ll be a risk either way, but at least if we have the boss with us, no one will try anything. Isn’t that right, Mr. Hill?”

Riley turned, giving Dante a dangerous grin. “I’m sure you know your way around the office and past the security,” he said as Dante stiffened. “So this is how it’s going to work. You’re going to get us through the doors, past the cameras and all the alarms. If we run into anyone, you’re going to convince them that absolutely nothing is wrong, or you’ll be down one less employee.” His eyes narrowed, his voice turning cold and hard. “If the police or anyone from Talon shows up, I have no problem using you as a hostage. Or a meat shield. You get me, Chameleon?”

Dante glared at him, then gave a tight nod.

“Good.” Riley gestured him forward with his gun. “After you, then.”

We started across the parking garage, Dante leading, Riley close at his back. Garret and I trailed close behind. I saw a pair of legs behind a pillar—Dante’s guards, I guessed—but beyond them and us, the garage was empty. The office building, too, seemed unnaturally dark and still. Dante let us in through the garage door, using a key card to get in, and said nothing as he led us to an elevator at the end of the hall. A uniformed guard sitting behind a desk straightened quickly as we approached. I saw Riley tense, his hand straying toward the gun hidden beneath his shirt, but Dante strode up without hesitation.

“Good evening, sir.” The guard gave Dante a pleasant smile, then eyed the rest of us over his shoulder. “Everything all right?”