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regretful, and the reality of what she’d walked into struck her. When her boss took the ski mask off his face, it was lined with remorse. She wasn’t sure if it was remorse for getting caught, or for doing it in the first place, but she knew one thing. She had to get this boy out of here.
    Straightening her shoulders, she marched over to the desk and dropped the papers she’d been clutching in her hand. She scooped the boy into her arms and turned to see her boss blocking her path.
    “You can’t leave now.” He had a frown on his face, but it didn’t look like he was angry with her.
    “Dammit, Ed. You said everyone was gone.” The other man was behind her now, and fear propelled her to move. She brushed past Ed Lowe, the owner of Lowe Financials, Executive by day, Pedophile by night. He reached for her arm, but she managed to twist out of his grasp without dropping the boy who had reached for her shoulders and was clinging to her, curled up in her arms.
    “Don’t you fucking touch me, you asshole,” she muttered as she walked out of the office. Krista could hear steps at her heels, and when she got out the door, her feet broke into a run down the hallway.
    “Are you okay, sweetie?” she murmured into the boy’s hair, feeling him nod in response. A part of Krista didn’t want to know what they were doing, but at the same time she had to know. She knew she would as soon as she got him away from them. Frantically pushing the button to call the elevator, Krista cursed the fact she couldn’t carry the boy down the stairs. She didn’t think she could outrun the men. When the elevator opened immediately, she jumped in, frantically pressing the button to close the door.
    She could see the two men—her boss and the one who kept his face hidden—as they came huffing and puffing down the hallway toward her. “You can’t run away!” Mr. Lowe huffed at her. “I’ll find Tate!” Ice ran in Krista’s veins at the words. They might have made a difference earlier, but the trembling little boy she’d bundled in her arms committed her fully.
    She let out a shrill scream as Mr. Lowe shoved his hand into the gap between the elevator doors, but was too late. He released them with a muffled curse.
    Safe in the elevator, Krista set the boy down, shrugging off her coat and wrapping it around his nudity.
    “It’s okay. I’m going to take you to the police, okay? We’ll tell them all about these bad men and they can put them in jail, okay?” For the first time, she looked at the boy and realized he was her nephew’s age, around ten. With a mop of dirty-blond hair and enormous blue eyes, he looked like a little angel.
    His eyes were glazed over, and as she watched, he seemed to sway on his feet.
    “Did they… give you something, sweetie?” Oh God, please say no. She swallowed hard. “Like a pill? Or a shot? Or candy?”
    The little boy nodded and Krista crushed him into her arms as tears streamed down her own face. She’d been working for a monster for two fucking years.
    “Okay. It’s going to be okay.” She was telling herself as much as the boy, but she realized Ed and the other man weren’t just going to let her waltz out of here with their prize. She would have to be quick when the doors of the elevator opened. “Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to pick you up again and carry you to my car. I’m going to get both of us in the driver’s seat so I can start my car and get away. I need you to crawl over to the passenger seat and buckle up, okay? Do you think we can do that?”
    He nodded, looking at her with a hazy gaze, and her heart broke again. Nodding firmly, she slipped off her shoes and picked him up, wrapping his legs around her waist so she could run better. Her keys in her hand, ready for the doors to open, she held her breath and waited. When the bell finally dinged, she shot out of the elevator and raced to her car. Clicking it unlocked with her key fob, she jumped into the