Chapter 37

Alexis knew money opened doors, but she hadn't expected to breakfast at one of the most exclusive restaurants in Miami. Normally, only open for supper and late-night dining, the South Beach restaurant booked reservations two months in advance. The ma?tre d' had guided them to a table as if six in the morning service was routine. The sommelier had served the champagne and orange juice. After each exquisite dish, the chef had checked to ensure it had been prepared to their liking. Antoine had been right about the privileges of the extremely wealthy.

After leaving the restaurant, they drove back to the university area. Alexis recognized several of the shops and buildings that hadn't changed from the time she'd spent in Miami. Her parents had moved to Miami when she had started high school so she could attend the university. The ocean had fascinated her even before she had started elementary school, so her choice for an undergraduate degree hadn't surprised her parents.

"Who are we seeing?" Alexis asked Antoine, stifling a yawn. It had been difficult to stay awake after eating the big breakfast.

A text alert on his cell phone stopped him from answering. He pulled it out of his suit jacket pocket and read the message.

"Garrett made it through the operation, and barring complications, will live," Antoine said as he slipped the phone back into his pocket.

"Thank God." Alexis breathed a sigh of relief, sank into the soft leather seat, and closed her eyes. She would never forgive herself for believing he'd been involved. If she had gone to the authorities in Paris, none of the events of the past four days would have occurred.

"You've put me in an awkward position," Antoine said, and Alexis opened her eyes. He studied her intently.

She looked down at her jeans and flicked off an imaginary piece of lint. He took her hand, and she tried to tug it away, but he wouldn't let go. Then he raised it to his lips and pressed a kiss on her fingers. She tugged again, but he wouldn't release her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers.

"The police will question Garrett." Antoine sighed and shook his head. "A second shot would have distressed you, so I left him to bleed out—a mistake I'll need to rectify."

Alexis turned her head to look at him, her heart pounded in her chest. A frown had replaced his usual confident smile.

"I am a man of my word. As long as you do as I ask, your friends will remain unharmed. I made you a promise which I will keep." He bent his head. His mouth grazed her earlobe, and he whispered, "Because I refuse to let you go."

Unquestionably brilliant, Antoine was an enigma—a blending of contrasting traits. His sophisticated charm masked a controlled lethal brutality defined by his own unique moral compass.

The town car slowed and pulled to the curb in front of a condo, and Antoine rolled down the privacy screen. "Maurice, please wait in the car."

"Yes, Sir." The chauffeur nodded his head.

They got out of the car, and Antoine wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked to the building's entrance. He pulled out a set of keys from his pants pocket.

"We're stopping at your place before seeing your friend?" Alexis asked, surprised Antoine would live somewhere so ordinary.

"You insult me. This is hardly the place I'd live. I'd like to surprise my friend." He opened the door and led her into a lobby that was teetering on the border of shabby, done in a shade of green that had been popular over a decade ago. "I assume you have the algae sample and USB drive you retrieved from the sunken motorboat in your handbag?" Antoine asked as they entered the elevator.

Her hand instinctively reached for the crossbody bag resting at her hip. She'd slung it over her shoulders before they'd left the Grantham's sailboat and thrown the waterproof box with both the sample and USB drive inside. It was too big to go unnoticed in a pocket.

Antoine took the hand resting on her bag and gave it a gentle squeeze. "You'll need to stick to roulette when we're in Monte Carlo, darling. It's a pity. I'm sure you'd enjoy watching me play poker. I never lose. Unfortunately, you'd cost me millions. I'd prefer you didn't let my friend know you have them in your handbag."

"Why aren't you demanding I hand them over to you?"

"There's no need. They're safe enough in your handbag for now."

The elevator rose to the sixth floor of the eight-floor building. They stepped out into a hallway in the same rundown condition as the lobby. Antoine released her hand when they reached a door half-way down the long hallway. He rang the doorbell, raised a finger, and covered the peephole.

They could hear someone moving beyond the door. It flung open. "What the hell. It's…"

A gasp escaped Alexis's lips, and she took a step back. Kyle Overlin stood in the doorway clad in jeans, a t-shirt and bare feet. His blonde hair was a rat's nest and stubble covered his angular face.

Dr. Butler had said he hadn't needed someone brilliant or motivated to help him with his research. Alexis had dismissed Kyle for the same reasons. Vala had pointed out he'd achieved nothing significant on his own, coat tailing off of Dr. Butler's work. It should have rung warning bells.

Kyle's annoyed expression transformed into a smile when he saw Antoine, and then darkened when he shifted his attention to her. "What's she doing here? I thought you were getting rid of her."

"I see you know each other… well." Antoine took Alexis's hand and pushed him aside so they could enter. She could feel the anger building in his body.

Kyle locked the door and followed them into the living room.

Antoine let go of her hand and punched Kyle in the face. Kyle stumbled back. "That's for the distress you caused Alexis in the past, which you and I will discuss at a later time."

Kyle shook his head, dazed. Antoine struck him again and Alexis flinched at the sharp crack. Kyle dropped to the floor, blood gushing from his nose.

"What the hell?" He grabbed the bottom of his t-shirt and lifted the fabric to his nose with one hand, leaning unsteadily on the other as he raised himself to his knees.

He'd have a shiner from the first punch and Alexis wouldn't be surprised if his eye closed.

"That was for the problems you've caused my employers. They don't like to be cheated out of their money. Consider yourself fortunate I'm not tossing you off the balcony, as tempting as it is. Dr. Hayes has found an error in the formula allowing us to control the algae."

Kyle used the armchair beside him to pull himself off the floor. Blood covered the dirty green carpet. He glared at Alexis, blood smeared across his face as he pinched his nose, and snarled, "Can't handle it, can you, Alexis? You said I was stupid and would always be a nothing. Now all eyes will be on me and not the great Dr. Hayes when the pharmaceutical company announces I've discovered how to kill the algae and purify the contaminated water."

"You incompetent egotistical ass." Each word dripped with acid. He would have willingly killed countless numbers of people so he could revel in the glory of being the world's savior.

"You have five minutes to clean yourself up, Kyle." Antoine's tone was clear he wouldn't tolerate another outburst.

Kyle glared at Alexis once more and strode to a room at one end of the condo. She assumed it was his bedroom.

"Dr. Overlin has become a bigger problem than I'd anticipated." Antoine's eyes swept across the condo. "The man's a pig."

Dirty dishes lined the kitchen countertop and beer cans sat on the island dividing the kitchen area from the dining room. A video controller lay on top of magazines thrown haphazardly across the coffee table. A pile of clothes spilled over the seat of an armchair. Dirty laundry, judging by the foul odor in the air.

Antoine opened the second room's door, looked inside, and grunted. "Office. Not much better."

"She's wrong," Kyle said as he entered the room, wads of tissue stuffed up his nostrils. Antoine swung around to face him. Kyle stabbed a finger in the air in her direction. "She wasn't in on the research, so she doesn't know how the formula works."

Antoine's eyes turned an icy shade of blue. "You're trying my patience, Kyle. We'll go down to your lab. You will show her your research notes and you will assist her in testing the samples." Antoine pointed to the insulated cooler on the kitchen's island. "You'll take those with you. They won't be accompanying you to France. My employers' plans will need to be put on hold until Dr. Hayes corrects the formula. You'll need to send the convention organizers your regrets. You won't be attending."

Veins pulsed along Kyle's neck and he clenched his fist, but he said nothing, wise enough to avoid pushing Antoine.

"I'm in the unfortunate position of having to leave Alexis in your care while I attend to something. Lock her in your office. I won't be long." Antoine turned to Alexis and brushed her cheek with his knuckles. "I will make this up to you later."

Antoine headed for the door, stopped, and turned. His cold eyes matched his smile. "And if you touch her, Kyle, I will throw you off the balcony."

Alexis was certain Antoine was going to the hospital to check on Dr. Butler. Killing the man would be the easiest course of action, but they'd made a deal. If she found out he broke it, Antoine would regret his decision.

Kyle waited a beat before grabbing her arm and wrapping his hand around the band that had now transformed into a reddish purple. Pain shot through her and Alexis dropped to her knees.

"He told you not to touch me, Kyle," Alexis panted as he lifted her to her feet.

"Your word against mine. I wonder who gave you the lovely bruise, Alexis?" He sneered, pulling her toward the bedroom, Alexis stumbling beside him.

The office was as big a health hazard as Kyle's living room and kitchen. A folded poker table leaned against a wall. A pool table in the middle of the room was the focal point, currently covered in files, papers, and books. Kyle probably scooped them off and added them to the stacks against the walls when he had his buddies over. The carpet had stains and the dust coated unused surfaces.

"If you conduct your research with the same care as housecleaning, it's no surprise you fucked things up."

Kyle squeezed her arm harder. Alexis bit the inside of her check to keep from screaming. She knew she should have kept her mouth shut, but doubted he'd changed much. Focusing on his failures kept him angry, and angry meant mistakes. Alexis needed any edge she could get.

He opened the walk-in closet door. Junk was thrown to either side of the rectangular space, piled high enough in places to touch the unused closet rods. A dozen metal clothes hangers hung between two stacks of boxes.

"Antoine told me to lock you in the office. He didn't specify where." A malicious smile spread across his face.

Kyle had witnessed her melt down the one time she'd used the tiny washroom in the lab rather than the women's restroom in the building's hallway. The door had stuck. Dr. Butler immediately had it repaired, but she had never used it again.

"You'll pay for what you've done to me," Kyle promised her. He threw her onto the narrow rectangle in the middle of the closet, the only space not covered with his junk. The rug cushioned her fall. She turned in time to see him grab a wooden chair pushed against the pool table. Without a word, Kyle shut the door and jammed the chair under the doorknob, plunging the room into darkness.

Two seconds later, the bedroom door slammed shut. Alexis was alone in the dark. She crawled to the door and ran her fingers back and forth along the shag carpet that was blocking out the light. Ironically, it was one of the rare spots that wasn't worn.

Cold black fear squeezed her lungs, and she drew in ragged breaths as she worked, fighting her body's instinctive response. Gradually, a faint line appeared under the door and her actions became less frantic.

Where there is light, there is hope.

Alexis stood, turned the doorknob, and pushed at the door. The chair moved an inch and refused to budge any further, but light now outlined the three sides of the door.

Her hands shaking, Alexis forced herself to close her eyes. Alexis inhaled the stale air and held it. One, two, three, four. And exhaled slowly before opening them.

She would not give Kyle the power to make her feel weak and vulnerable. She would not let Antoine find her a quivering mess on the closet floor and hand him a weapon to use against her whenever he pleased.

The wire hangers. When Alexis groped the closet rod and her fingers tangled in the hangers, the sharp clinks magnified in the dark silence. She needed to hurry. Antoine had said he wouldn't be long.

Alexis unbent the hanger. There was enough light for her to see the closet door's lower hinge. She could feel a slight gap between the pin and the barrel, enough for her to use the coat hanger's blunt end to work the pin out of the barrel. It took longer than she'd expected, but she'd pried enough of the pin to grasp it with her fingers and pull it out.

Alexis shoved her fingers into the space between the carpet and the door and curled her fingers around the door. Slowly, so she wouldn't make a sound, Alexis pulled and twisted the door until she created a small triangular space between the door and the frame. There was just enough room for her to squeeze through. Alexis would never complain about being petite again.

The door's upper hinge had bent and loosened as she'd tugged. If he was renting the condo, Kyle could count on losing a portion of his deposit.

Alexis crawled through the space, the door and frame scraping her body. She collapsed onto the carpet on the other side and rolled onto her back. Before she stood, she allowed herself one greedy lungful of air. The tight band around her chest loosened its hold.

As far as plans went, hers was the worst, but it was all she had. Alexis quietly moved the folders, papers, and files on the pool table until she found a small cube of pool chalk. It was better than nothing. She pocketed it before sliding the balcony door open and stepping outside.

The sun was rising. There'd be enough light to see. Alexis ran her fingers around the decorative cement bricks protruding from the building's wall, wishing she'd gone with Solange more than a handful of times to the climbing gym. Her admin assistant was an avid rock climber and insisted it was a great way to relieve stress.

Satisfied there was enough room to grip the blocks, Alexis toed off her runners and dug the pool chalk out of her pocket. It was better than nothing. She rubbed the chalk over her hands as she looked longingly at the black metal fire escapes at both ends of the building. It was just her luck Kyle had picked a unit in the middle.

Alexis stretched out her arm and wedged her fingers in the space between the rough cement bricks. She only needed to make it to the balcony above. Confident she had a firm grip, she stuck her foot in the railing's decorative black swirl and began to climb.