She turned toward the kitchen and reached for the butcher block, then paused, her hand hovering over it. What was she going to do with a knife? She had no idea how to fight and she didn’t think she had it in her to stab anyone, but she couldn’t get by the guard without a weapon.

“Darn it,” she muttered.

No, she couldn’t stab anyone… but she could throw something at them. As quietly as she could, she rifled through drawers and cupboards until she came up with two weapons. The first was a glass that she filled with milk. She could throw it in the guard’s face, temporarily blinding him. A hot liquid would be better, but she didn’t dare attempt to boil water in case Volkan woke up. The second was a can of cooking spray, which she shoved in the suit jacket pocket. If the guard came after her, she would spray his eyes with it. She didn’t know how effective it would be, but it had to be better than nothing.

She carried the glass of milk to the door and took a deep breath, reaching for the locks on the door. There were three. Two deadbolts and a chain. She carefully, noiselessly, eased each one open. When the door was unlocked, she pulled it open, setting off the alarm, and hurried into the entryway. A startled guard looked her way as she frantically scanned the area.

The guard was standing between her and the elevator.

“Can I help you, Ms. — ” She didn’t give him a chance to finish. She rushed toward him, hurling the glass at his head. It flew past his shoulder, spraying him with milk and smashing into the wall behind him, shattering as it hit the floor. He barely reacted, but his expression was one of bewilderment.

She rushed toward the table with the huge vase of flowers and shoved as hard as she could. The flowers toppled over and the table flew into the guard. It didn’t knock him over, but it sent him stumbling back. She grabbed the cooking spray and hurtled toward the emergency exit door. As she reached for it, the guard grabbed her arm, swinging her around.

She brought the cooking spray up and let it loose in his face. A shaft of guilt went through her as his face twisted in surprise and pain and he let go of her arm.

“Yasmin!” Volkan bellowed her name and she heard thundering footsteps rushing through the penthouse toward the door.