Chapter 570: Too Close

Hearing that woman's name made Katherine's blood boil. She had always hated Alicia when she was still in Shadow, and it would always remain that way. The woman's grinning image flashed in her head, and all she could think about were ways to end her.

"Who's Alicia?" Damien asked in a low voice, noticing the change in her mood.

With a scowl on her beautiful face, she answered under gritted teeth, "Someone I'd very much like to introduce my blades with."

He could sense the seriousness in her voice, and it was evident that she was out to get this woman's blood. Katherine suddenly felt dangerous.

Seeing as the two hadn't moved from where they were yet, Styles reassured, "I know you want your revenge on her, Queen. But now is not the time. You need to leave."

"Let's go," Damien lightly held her stiff arm.

"Wait… Did you say you were from Mrs. Thompson's office?" Mrs. Bell questioned, narrowing her eyes while her hand reached for the phone.

Very briefly, she turned to Mrs. Bell with a broad smile on her face as she handed the folders back to her and said, "Thank you for your help, Mrs. Bell. It seems we don't need these for now. Enjoy your coffee!" Then they hurriedly left the office.

"Take over, Styles. I'll try to create a distraction just in case. We're too close to screw this up," Amelia's voice sounded through the comms, followed by Styles's acknowledgment.

Katherine and Damien looked left and right, scanning the whole second floor of the big company. The office building's interior had a rectangular atrium with the see-through glass elevators located in the middle section, and the admin office was to the left of it. In order to get out, the two must use either the escalator which was next to the elevators, or the exit stairwell.

Instinctively, Katherine focused on the elevator and saw a familiar-looking woman inside—she stood next to a slightly burly man whom she thought must also be a Shadow agent. The two wore corporate outfits, so she suspected that they were probably here to do Parker's profoundly immoral bidding.

Seeing Alicia from a distance, she couldn't help but feel tempted to rush towards the woman and get her hands on her. Then Katherine felt Damien's hand clutch hers, bringing her attention back to focus.

With Styles's help, he guided them where to go. "Fifty meters from your location, there's a stairwell leading out the backdoor. Head east and go straight until you reach the first corner."

The door a few meters behind them opened in a bang! "Hey, you two! Mrs. Thompson doesn't have interns! Stop, or I'll call the security." Mrs. Bell's voice rang in the hallway.

Damien and Katherine didn't have to turn to see that the older woman was talking to them.

Then Katherine saw Alicia suddenly turning her head in their direction. She immediately pulled Damien's hand and started running, following Styles's command through their comms. Not knowing whether Alicia actually saw her, Katherine could only hope they could safely get out of the building.

"Now take a right—I mean left," Styles seethed and cursed. Amelia left the trailer van a while ago, and he was multitasking.

"What now?" she asked just as they turned the corner.

"Head towards the end of the hall and take the door to your left," Styles continued while simultaneously tapping his keyboard hastily.

Katherine and Damien heard a combination of noise and footsteps coming their way. They ran faster, and as soon as they spotted the door that Styles told them, they pushed it open and entered.

Lo and behold—they were inside a janitor's closet.

"What the hell, Styles!?" the two cursed in unison, their voices in a hushed tone.

"I said left! Why did you—"

"We turned left!"

"No, I meant my left!" Styles insisted as he kept his focus on the monitor. "Damn it."

Damien ran a hand down his face in frustration. They could get out of the closet and take the door opposite to this one, but they would risk being caught by whoever was coming their way earlier. Or they could stay quiet in the meantime and hope that no one opens the door.

Katherine reached for the door handle, but he swiftly stopped her, his hand wrapping around her hand. He shook his head to tell her 'no', and whispered, "Wait." Then he slowly locked the door, not creating a sound as much as possible.

Just as the lock clicked, the doorknob twisted several times—someone was trying to open the door from the outside. The two of them instantly stepped away from the wood door, creating a good one-meter distance. They exchanged a look of horror, their minds quickly trying to come up with a solution on what to do in case the ones on the other side of the door were Shadow agents.

"Shît. Sorry, the CCTV in that hallway is not working. I can't see who is on the other side of that door. Though I can assure you, it's not Alicia and the other one from the elevator as I'm currently watching them enter the opposite area." Styles informed them, his voice serious. "I'll tell Falcon you're trapped. Give me a minute."

Feeling the need to protect Katherine, Damien stepped in front of her as if to shield her.

"Open up!" said a man with a low voice at the same time that he banged the door and twisted the knob in an attempt to open it. "I know you two are in there."

Ready to fight, she slipped her hands under her skirt to take out her knives when they heard the man speak again, "Come on, kids! I have a job to do. There's a spill in the cafeteria, and if I don't get there quickly, I'll get fired."

She halted her movements and snapped her head towards Damien, meeting his gaze. That's when they realized that it was the janitor outside. The two released a sigh of relief, but it only lasted for a second before hearing the man's warning.

"I don't care what you're doing in there, but I'm coming in. I have keys, you know!"

The clinking of keys sounded at the door.

In a panic, Katherine grabbed Damien by the arm and pushed his back against the wall. Then she yanked his tie off his neck in one swift move, snapped the buttons of his dress shirt open, and then hers. He was too shocked to be on the receiving end of her extremely fast movements that he widened his eyes and asked, "What are you—"

Katherine smashed her lips to his, stopping him mid-sentence. She didn't know what she was doing—her body just moved on their own without her thinking much.

Then Damien caught on with her surprising ploy, and he began to return her kisses, holding her steadily by the waist and deepening their kiss. This was supposed to be only an act, but an involuntary moan escaped her lips.

"Jesus. You two—out!" said the grumpy old Janitor as soon as the door opened.

Damien and Katherine broke their kiss, and knowing smiles painted their faces as they met each other's stare.

The janitor impatiently tapped his foot as the two stepped out of the closet and passed by him. "Tch. If I see you two in here again, I'll report you to the H.R!" He shook his head and entered the closet to get his stuff.

Meanwhile, Katherine and Damien—Bonnie and Clyde—slipped out of the hallway through the opposite door that led to the stairwell where they didn't meet anyone else as they exited from the back door of the building.

Once they exited the building, the trailer van headed in their direction. They hopped inside, and Amelia, who was now driving, sped off into the traffic.

While Damien and Katherine slumped in their seats, Styles snickered mischievously at them, thinking about what happened in the closet just now. She snapped her head at him and gave him a mean look as she warned, "Not. A. Word."