My eyes widened as I jolted in my seat.
"Demir! Get out of there, now! Someone's coming… Demir, can you hear me? Demir?"
Damn it. The signal must not have been reaching. I yanked the Bluetooth earpiece out of my ear and threw it into my bag.
If I couldn't warn him, we were both dead.
If Demir ran into that guy named Levent, he wouldn't just be recognized. He'd be caught red-handed stealing.
If the phone wasn't working, my only option was to go down there myself. But how was I supposed to get out of this office without being seen by the commissioner or the other officers?
No. It was way too crowded to sneak out.
My dinner rose in my throat as I tore my brain apart trying to find a solution.
At that exact moment, the commissioner walked back in, and my heart jumped into my throat.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
There. My chance.
"Actually, I'm not feeling well. I hoped it would pass, but it doesn't seem like it will. It's best if I go now and come back later. I'm sorry for wasting your time."
He still looked like he had doubts about me and my weird behavior, but the physical effects of my panic and fear seemed to convince him at least a little that I was sick.
"It's alright, but are you sure you can go alone? If you want, I can arrange for someone to drive you home."
"Thank you, but my friend is already waiting for me outside. Have a good evening."
"Thank you."
I hurried out of the small office into the open area. While heading for the exit, I slammed face-first into a concrete column. I groaned in pain and stumbled back.
A strong hand grabbed my arm, steadying me. When I looked up in surprise—
"Sorry. Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"
The person examining me with sincere concern made me forget the sharp, eye-watering pain in my nose instantly.
Under the light, his brown eyes were decorated with golden flecks. The kind of eyes that warmed you from the inside.
I snapped out of my trance when I noticed the hand waving in front of my face. I blinked, then realized I'd been staring at him like an idiot without answering.
I immediately looked away.
And of course, my behavior earned me another sweet smile.
As much as I liked that smile—because it sounded like music—there was no doubt my face had shifted from embarrassed pink to a full, burning red.
"I'm the one who should apologize. I wasn't watching where I was going."
"It's fine. Are you okay?"
"Levent, are you going down to the archive?"
"Yes."
"On your way, hand these to Hakan too. Tell him we need the results within two hours at the latest."
"Got it."
Oh no, Demir.
I had to get him out before this guy reached the archive.
I nodded at the model—no, the cop—with a stiff smile and headed for the door.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Don't worry. Have a good shift."
Ignoring his surprised look, I turned away before he could say anything else and rushed to the stairs.
To avoid drawing attention, I forced myself to take the calmest steps possible as I went down, fighting the urge to break into a run.
When I reached the ground floor, I thanked God there weren't many people around. After making sure no one was looking at me, I kept going down.
When I reached the archive door, I took a deep breath. Just in case, I checked if anyone was behind me—then slipped inside.
In the huge storage room with terrible lighting, I kept moving forward while scanning the rows, and whispered,
"Demir? Demir, are you in here?"
A hand clamped over my mouth, and I was dragged backward. My heart shot into my throat. I struggled hard to break free, but the person behind me was much stronger than I was.
We passed dozens of shelves—filing-cabinet-like units designed for case boxes—and stopped in a shadowy corner of the room.
At the same time, words were whispered into my ear, and I calmed down instantly, stopping my struggle.
"Don't make a sound, Jigglypuff. We're not alone."
I nodded. He removed his hand from my mouth, but he didn't fully let me go. We were pressed together, and the sudden closeness, the heat of it, made something twist weirdly in my stomach.
Then I heard voices from another corner of the room.
"Cem, stop! I thought I heard something."
"You imagined it, Merve. I didn't hear anything. Now… where were we? Oh yes…"
'God, please don't let it be what I think it is!'
The second a wet, smacking sound followed the woman's giggle, my face started burning.
And our position made it a thousand times worse.
How many people, in the middle of the night, while trying to steal a file from a police archive they broke into, were forced to listen to two cops violently going at it—while stuck with the one man they found most infuriating in their entire life?
The answer was obvious.
Aylin, damn unlucky Bozkurt. Because I was blessed with exactly this kind of awful luck, and being subjected to the most humiliating situations on Earth was apparently my unchanging fate.