Ruined By Your Blood

Chapter 11: The Break-In on the Tenth Floor

Two hours later, the group arrived at the large, shiny Vaughan Corporate Tower downtown. While Arthur and Larcus stayed in a meeting room with media bosses, Luther snuck into a back storage room on the fourth floor and closed the heavy electronic security door.

Sienna went inside after him only because it was her job, keeping her hand near her gun.

As soon as the lock clicked, Luther turned around. He did not wait. He took three large steps toward her and pushed her athletic body against a row of tall steel cabinets.

He reached up and used his fingers to pull off her sunglasses so he could see her eyes.

"Why did you leave?" Luther asked in a low, rough whisper that she could feel in her chest. His eyes were wide and serious. "I wake up, and you are just standing there looking like a stranger. Talk to me, Sienna."

Sienna gasped. Being so close to him, smelling his woodsy scent and remembering how his skin felt, she lost her professional calm. A deep red color spread up her neck and her pale cheeks turned pink. She looked down, feeling very shy under his stare, and gripped her jacket tightly with her fingers.

"Mr. Vaughan... Luther, please," she whispered, her voice shaking as she moved to the side so he would not look at her. "The security system is on. Larcus is listening to the audio on the fourth floor. We must act professionally."

"I don't give a damn about Evans," Luther growled softly, a small, teasing smirk suddenly tugging at the corner of his sharp jawline as he noticed her blushing. He leaned down, his lips brushing a mere fraction of an inch from her heated cheek, his tone dropping into a low, playful purr. "Look at you. You're trembling. You can play the ice queen for my father all you want, but you can't hide it from me. Not after last night. You can't tell me that was just a security exercise."

"It was... it was a lapse in judgment," Sienna lied desperately. Her heart was beating so loudly she thought he could hear it.

"Liar," Luther whispered. His playful smile disappeared, and he looked very serious and scary. He reached out and held her cheek with his large, warm hand, rubbing her bottom lip with his thumb. "I am serious, Sienna. As soon as this month-long election ends, I am leaving this family. And I want you to come with me. No police work, no legal deals. Just us."

Sienna felt deep emotional pain from what he said. He wanted a life with her. He was ready to give up all his money to be with a woman who only came into his life to ruin his father.

Before she could reply, the red security light over the door blinked, and Larcus's cold voice came through her earpiece. "Nilsson, take Luther to the main elevator. The Senator is coming out."

Sienna quickly put her mask back on, but she held her hand on Luther's chest for one painful second as she pushed him away. "We must leave. Don't do anything dangerous out there."

Luther sighed and looked at her red face as she gave him his sunglasses. "Watch me."

The news meeting in the lobby was a confusing mess of flashing lights and Arthur Vaughan's loud, fake campaign promises. Luther stood on the high stage next to his father, looking bored, while Sienna stood at the bottom of the steps, looking at the crowd.

But Luther hadn't forgotten the tenant files he read the day before. He knew the real records for Elena's building were in the tenth-floor server room, which was a locked area that needed a fingerprint or eye scan to enter.

Midway through Arthur's speech, while the reporters were looking only at the Senator, Luther quietly stepped back off the stage and went into the staff hallway.

Sienna noticed his movement instantly. Keeping her head down, she went through the security gate and followed him into the private elevators.

"What are you doing, Luther?" Sienna asked as the elevator doors shut and the lift went up quickly to the tenth floor. "This isn't on the itinerary."

Luther turned away from the elevator and stepped very close to her. He gave her a handsome but arrogant smile, and his eyes looked playful. "The schedule is boring, Sienna. Also, I work much better when my beautiful shadow stays near me."

"I am always close to you, sir. It is my job," she replied quickly, even though her face turned pink.

"Really? Let's see how you do in a real situation," Luther laughed, taking a black USB drive out of his pocket. "The court order for the people living in the lower district is on Monday. If I don't get the original money records from the tenth floor today, my father's lawyers will win and my case will be dismissed. I am taking the proof."

The elevator rang and opened to a dark, quiet hallway with frosted glass office doors.

"This is a serious break-in," Sienna warned. She moved in front of him and pulled out her Glock 19 to guard the hallway. "The company's security team checks this floor every six minutes."

"Then you should be as good as your resume says, sweetheart," Luther smiled, running toward the main computer at the end of the hall.

'Sweetheart?' Sienna stopped for a moment when she heard it.

He broke the glass cover of the emergency control with his boot, not using the keypad. The alarm did not make a sound, but a silent red light started spinning above the door. Luther put the flash drive into the computer and typed quickly while the data bar started to move. 20%... 40%...

"Luther, someone is coming up the north stairs," Sienna whispered. She leaned against the server rack, watching two security guards run down the hall with electric batons.

"Just give me thirty seconds!" Luther shouted quietly, his eyes fixed on the screen. 70%... 80%...

The first guard turned the corner and held up his stick. "Get away from the computer, sir!"

Sienna didn't hesitate. She moved forward very fast, like a trained soldier. She grabbed the guard's wrist and twisted it hard until he dropped his baton. Then, she hit him in the stomach with her knee. He fell to the ground and groaned loudly.

While downloading, Luther looked back and whistled because he liked what he saw. "God, Sienna, you look so good when you do that."

"Focus on the screen, Luther!" she yelled, gasping for air as she moved down to avoid a hard hit from the second guard.

The second guard jumped at Luther, but Luther moved quickly. He pulled the flash drive out as it finished downloading and ducked under the guard's punch. Using his large, strong build, he hit the man hard in the jaw with a right hook, but he kept looking at her. The guard spun around, hit a water cooler, and fell unconscious.

Luther looked at Sienna, feeling very excited and smiling widely. He walked up to her and moved a piece of her black hair behind her ear, even though things were chaotic around them. "I have the data. Let's go before I get distracted by how beautiful you look."

They ran to the elevators just as the main ones started to open on the lobby floor. They jumped into the freight elevator and went down to the underground parking garage. They were out of breath and their shoulders touched in the small space.

As they jumped into the front seats of the truck, Luther stepped hard on the gas. He drove quickly out of the company garage just as the sirens started to sound. He looked at Sienna, and his eyes showed the same strong passion from the night before.

"See?" Luther laughed with a happy voice. "Told you we make a good team."

Sienna looked out the window, smiling slightly while feeling nervous. The campaign was becoming more dangerous every moment. As she saw him put the stolen files in his pocket, Sienna realized she was not just protecting him for her job.