Levi’s voice broke through the memories. “Cassie, it’s okay.”

“What’s . . . ?” she began but couldn’t form a thought, much less a complete sentence.

The painting Levi had held a moment ago was again on the floor beside the door, and he now held a pistol.

“You two stay here.” Levi pressed himself against the wall beside the entrance.

“You’re leaving me?”

Levi looked at her now, and his voice remained calm. “This is the safest place you can be right now.”

“He’s right,” Pierre said.

“But . . .”

Levi motioned to the door. “The threat is out there. It’s my job to make sure it doesn’t find you.” He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket. “Here. Keep this. I’ll call you when it’s clear.”

“How can you call me if I have your phone?”

“I have a spare.” He handed her the cell. “Trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Cassie swallowed hard and nodded.

Levi turned to Pierre. “Secure the entrance until I get back.”

Pierre moved opposite where Levi stood, concern evident on his face.

Levi lifted his gun, peeked into the hall, and, an instant later, disappeared from view.

The heavy door clanged shut, and Pierre pressed numbers on the security keypad.

Cassie stepped backward until she bumped into a crate as tall as she was and twice as wide.

“Careful.” Pierre took her arm. “Here, come sit down.” Pierre retrieved a metal folding chair and set it beside the wall. “Please sit.”

Cassie lowered herself onto the chair, the metal cold against her bare legs. She smoothed her skirt beneath her to cover more of her thighs, her discomfort quickly lost beneath a new wave of panic. The space between the storage crates seemed to shrink, and her head pounded from the incessant noise of the alarm.

Levi said she was safe here, but her mind and body didn’t believe the words.

Her breathing quickened. Her chest tightened.

They were locked inside. They were trapped.

* * *

Levi’s gaze swept the hallway outside the secure storage room. The guard who had been present a moment before was noticeably absent, the entire area empty.

Levi confirmed he was alone before he pulled out his cell phone and called the gallery security office.

“It’s Levi Marin. What’s your status?”

“We have a security breach in the main exhibit area. A sensor alarm on the Renoir.”

“Visual?” Levi asked.

“Video feed doesn’t show any movement,” he said. “Our guards are heading there now.”

Which explained why the rear guard post had been abandoned.

“Send one of the guards to the secure storage room,” Levi said.

“Yes, sir.”

A guard arrived twenty seconds later.

“Stay here. Make sure no one gets near the storage room,” Levi comm­anded.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m checking out the exterior. Let the other guards know I’m here.” Levi studied the back door and debated how long it would take him to unlock it. Even though he always carried a lockpick kit in his pocket, he decided to take the easy route today. “I need you to release the locks on the loading dock doors. As soon as I leave, secure the doors again.”