Page 59 of The Vigilant

“That profile is gone.”

She jerked like I’d hit her. “Gone? What do you mean gone?”

My jaw wrenched tight. “I mean, by the time I got back to the garage, the profile had been deleted.”

Her eyes went wild. “Are you—” She broke off, looked into the bedroom for a second, and then whipped back to me, grabbing the edge of my jacket. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Anger was etched all over her beautiful face, but I swore I was the only one who could see the tears that glittered behind the glassy rage in her gaze.

I grabbed her arms, pulling her dangerously closer. “Sutton, listen to me—” I broke off, hearing several distinct thuds coming from?—

The sliding patio door in the bedroom shattered against the metal butt of a knife. The house alarm started blaring full force, but the squeal of warning didn’t deter the three Asian men in black suits who broke in, the curved, glinting knives shining with singular intent: to leave no one alive.

“Run,” I ordered Sutton low and then shoved her down the hall before rushing into the bedroom, shutting and locking the door behind me.

The only benefit I had was that these thugs had clearly expected to find Sutton alone in here. I pulled my Glock from where it was tucked in my back holster, getting off one shot straight into the chest of the first man to approach me.

But one shot was all I got.

The second had already climbed over the bed and kicked my wrist, knocking the gun from my hand.

I ducked under the swing of his blade and slammed my arm into the back of his knees, destabilizing him and giving me time to manage the third man.

“Give us the girl,” he demanded with an accent, the jagged scar along his face hardly moving as he spoke.

“Sorry to disappoint, gentlemen, but no girl here.” I motioned to myself and the otherwise empty room.

“Tynan!” Sutton screamed from the other side of the door, and there was no curse sufficient for my anger with her at the moment.Why couldn’t she just fucking listen to me?“Let me in!”

The older Asian man smirked. “No girl? Then what is that?”

I gritted my teeth and lifted my arms, watching carefully as the two men drew closer.

“A wasp.”

The second man lunged for me again and I spun to the side, sufficient to avoid his knife but not the blade of the older man.

A pained growl tore from my chest as I was forced to grab the scarred man’s knife by the blade. Better it slice my hand than my chest. I used brute force to deflect it and then punched him in the face.

“Tynan!”

Adrenaline pumped with the sound of her voice.

The scarred man stumbled back from my blow, and I faced the other man again, dodging his thrust and punching him right in the throat. He coughed and sputtered, but still tried to attack me. Never attack from a position of weakness. I elbowed his wrist as it nearly missed my middle and grabbed the knife from his momentarily loosened grip.

The older man cried out, and I registered that the two must be close—friends. Family. And then I drove the knife into his back. It was two versus one. I couldn’t afford to try for prisoners, especially when Sutton was still banging on the door behind me.

The older man let out a wail and then came for me. He swung, and I dodged, his knife landing through the wood of the door.

Fury seized me. If Sutton had been right there.

I let out a snarl and shoved him back, he stumbled with the force and then tripped over my gun on the floor, kicking it closer to me, and I saw my opportunity.

Just as I went to lunge for it, the door opened behind me.

Fuck.

FUCK.

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