BRIDE OF DECEPTION

CH 8: BARCELONA'S TERRITORY

Annie's POV

The flight to Barcelona took seven hours and I couldn't do much except think about what had happened back in the suite.

But I was easily distracted.

What distracted me was how Tobin had prepared everything exactly the way I liked it. My favorite meal was served during the flight, the bed was the exact firmness I preferred for sleeping, and there were movies available that I actually wanted to watch to distract myself from everything.

When I said thank you to Tobin, he didn't react at all. When I tried to bring up other topics or ask questions, he wouldn't respond to those either.

I watched Tobin throughout the entire journey and his head rested on the couch almost the whole time. The only moment I actually met him eye to eye was when he asked if I needed anything and if I was okay mentally.

After I replied that I was fine, he went back to resting his head against the cushions.

When we landed in Barcelona using Tobin's private jet, we went straight to the address we had received about Claire's location. The hotel was exactly where Tobin had said it would be, just two blocks from the beach area.

We found Claire in her room on the third floor. She was packing her things when we walked in, and the moment she saw us, her face went completely white.

"No," she said, backing toward the window. "You can't be here."

Claire made a run for the door but Tobin was faster. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back into the room before she could get past him. She struggled and tried to kick him but he held her firmly without hurting her.

"Stop fighting," Tobin said calmly. "We just need what you took."

"I don't have anything," Claire lied, still trying to pull away from his grip.

"The documents," Tobin said. "And the flash drive. Hand them over and we can all leave here peacefully."

Claire stopped struggling and laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound. "You idiots. Do you know where you are? This isn't your territory. You're in Barcelona, and the people who run this city will kill you the moment they find out you're here."

Tobin didn't look concerned at all. "Nothing can ever touch me anywhere in this world. Your location was easy to find and your protection here won't help you."

I watched as Tobin reached into his jacket and pulled out his gun. For a second I really thought he was going to shoot Claire right there in the hotel room. But then another gunshot rang out from somewhere outside the window and all three of us dropped to the floor.

"What the hell," Claire whispered as more shots echoed from the street below.

Tobin grabbed my arm and pulled me behind the bed while pushing Claire away. "Stay low," he ordered me.

The hotel room door exploded inward and men in dark clothes rushed in with guns drawn. Tobin immediately started shooting back, using the bed as cover while keeping me pressed down behind him. I could feel bullets hitting the mattress above our heads.

"Move to the bathroom," Tobin yelled over the noise of gunfire.

I crawled across the floor while Tobin provided cover fire. Three of his men who had been waiting in the hallway came through the broken door to help but within seconds I watched them all go down. Blood splattered across the carpet as they fell.

Tobin needed to retreat but we were trapped in the bathroom with nowhere else to go. The shooting stopped suddenly and everything went quiet except for our heavy breathing.

Then a deep voice called out from the main room. "Tobin Voss. Come out and we can discuss this like civilized people."

Tobin looked at me, then slowly stood up with his hands visible but still holding his gun. "Rodriguez," he called back. "I should have known."

I stayed crouched in the bathroom but I could hear footsteps as several people entered the room. Through the crack in the door I saw a tall man with a huge frame walk into view. He had to be Rodriguez.

"You came into my city without permission," Rodriguez said. His voice was calm but there was a threat underneath it. "You killed my people at the port last month. And now you walk into my territory like you own it."

"Business is business," Tobin replied. "What happened at the port wasn't personal."

"Everything is personal when it happens in my city."

Tobin kept himself positioned between the bathroom door and Rodriguez, shielding me and Claire from their view. Even in this dangerous situation, he was still protecting us.

Rodriguez reached into his jacket and pulled out the flash drive we had come to Barcelona to get. "This is what you want, yes? The information your little friend stole from you."

"Among other things," Tobin said.

"Hand over the pen drive you brought with you and I will let you leave alive. Two of you."

I knew we were trapped. There was no way out of this situation except to give Rodriguez what he wanted. Tobin would have to surrender the pen drive to save our lives.

But Tobin said, "No."

I shot him a glare even though his back was turned to me. Was he insane? This man clearly had enough firepower to kill all of us and Tobin was refusing to negotiate?

Tobin reached into his back pocket and pulled out the pen drive, then turned slightly so I could see his face. He handed it to me and whispered, "When I say run, you go straight to the car and drive away. Don't look back."

"I'm not going anywhere without you," I whispered back.

"Stop being stubborn and obey me," Tobin said firmly.

I took the pen drive from his hand and held it tightly. A few seconds passed in silence, then Tobin suddenly yelled, "Run!"

Tobin got out and started shooting, protecting me from the gunshots.

I bolted from the bathroom and ran toward the hotel room door as fast as I could. Behind me I heard Tobin start shooting again and Rodriguez's men shooting back. Claire was screaming something but I couldn't make out the words over the gunfire.

"Keep running!" Tobin yelled from somewhere behind me.

I made it to the stairwell and ran down three flights of stairs as fast as my legs could carry me. The gunshots continued echoing from above but I kept moving like Tobin had ordered. When I reached the car parked outside the hotel, I jumped in and started the engine.

As I drove away from the hotel, I realized something important. If Tobin died in that room, I wouldn't survive in this world. I had no connections, no protection, and no idea how to navigate the dangerous territory I had been pulled into.

I checked the car for anything useful and found a pistol in the glove compartment along with something that looked like a flash grenade. I was amazed that Tobin kept weapons like this in his car, but I was grateful they were there.

I turned the car around and drove back toward the hotel. I had to help Tobin somehow, even if it meant putting myself in danger again.

When I got back to the hotel, I could see through the third floor window that the shooting had stopped. I crept up the stairwell as quietly as possible and peered around the corner into the hallway.

Rodriguez was standing in the hotel room doorway with his gun pointed at someone inside. I moved closer and saw Tobin kneeling on the floor with his hands behind his head.

"You should have taken my offer," Rodriguez said to Tobin. "Now you die in Barcelona and your empire dies with you."

Was I too late? Had I gotten back here just in time to watch Tobin get executed?