Page 108 of My Rose

“They said you weren’t answering.”

I double-checked my phone. “Fuck. Ten minutes ago?”

“Seems that way.” Dean stepped to the side, letting me exit my front door first. “Don’t chew them out just yet. Maybe it’s nothing.”

“Anyone or anything being this far out here isn’t nothing.”

The head of my security team came rushing up from the end of the driveway, waving a flashlight to alert us it was him. “Sir,” he panted out, making me think twice about his role on my property. “Sir, we called as fast—”

“Which alarm was triggered?” I cut him off. He looked at Dean, then back to me, his brows furrowed.

“Several, sir. All along the main road, except for one in the woods.” His warm breath billowed out in plumes against the icy night. “We found nothing. We didn’t want to wake you, but you said to call if anything—”

“Show me.”

“Of course, sir.” He pointed behind him. “The car is waiting for you.”

“No.” Dean pointed to our cars. “We’ll follow you.” The guard nodded reluctantly, looked us both over once more, and then darted for the car at the end of the driveway. Dean turned towards me. “Got your keys?”

I reached into my sweats and pulled out my fob. Dean shook his head. “No fucking way we’re taking that car.”

“It’s fast,” I replied. “What if they run?”

“If there’s even someone to run, you mean?” Dean laughed. “If that’s the case, then we need space for a body. That trunk of yours have room for that?”

I smirked and put my fob back into my pocket, then used my phone to open the garage door and turn the SUV on. “That the kind of space you’re looking for?”

Dean rolled his eyes to me as he made his way to the passenger door. “Don’t be a smart ass.”

We drove behind the other blacked-out SUV, following my head of security, who I think was named Jake, but waking up at two in the fucking morning really put a damper on my ability to remember something as small as his name—especially when someone was actively trying to come after my girl and me. When my phone rang again, I set it to speaker.

“What is it?”

Jake, or whatever his name was, replied quickly, “Another alarm, sir. Closer, this time.”

“Fuck,” I muttered. “Where?” My knuckles tightened as I sped up, pressing Jake to go faster. At least he had the brain to pay attention, snow sputtering from his wheels as he tried to match the fervor of my car from behind him.

“About a quarter mile away, sir.”

“Don’t you have an app for this shit?” Dean whispered hastily.

I scanned the tree line, hoping for a bear and not a person. “No. That’s what I pay people for.”

“And how has living in la-la-land been treating you?” Dean arched a brow, and I slammed on the brakes as the SUV in front of us slid to a stop. My car slid across an icy patch, and I swerved to avoid hitting the other car, stopping mere feet away from the tree line. The doors from the other car opened, and two armed guards started firing at whatever made them stop. “What the hell?”

Muffled gunshots ceased as fast as they’d started, and both guards rushed to meet Dean and me as we ran to their car. One of the menstepped to the side, talking into an earpiece while my head of security described what he’d seen—a man, shorter than me, covered in black. That was all they got as he ran across the dirt road—one of several along our property.

“Go back to the house. Surround it. Guard it with your fucking life.” I took my gun from my waist and cocked it. “If she gets hurt, you’re all as good as dead. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

Dean’s gun cocked beside me. “Same goes for mine, except you’ll be dying bymyhands. Clear?”

“Y-yes, sir.” Jake didn’t hesitate to force his companion back into the car and turn around, speeding back to protect Rose and Jasmine.

“You go left. I’ll take the right. There’s a pond up ahead. He’ll have to choose a side unless he plans on running across half-frozen water.”

Dean grinned. “Let’s see which lucky bastard gets him, then.”

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