Page 98 of Stolen Sun

Fuck!

Before I can catch my breath, Nate straddles me. His punches land hard on my face. Blocking him as best I can, I force my lungs to suck in air, so I can do more to defendmyself.

My fists start to make contact with him as he continues to lay into me. Reaching behind my head, I grab the chair and smash it on top of his head. The force pushes him back enough for me to get out from underneath him.

We both realize that he is closer to the gun at the same time. I dive for it, but he gets there first.

Before I can get back up, he has it pressed against my temple. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and call her face to my mind. If he pulls the trigger before I can pull his feet out from under him, I want her to be the last thing I see.

Just as I lift my hand to yank his ankle, a gunshot sounds and the cold metal falls away from my head.

Another shot is fired.

My eyes pop open.

It wasn’t me.

I jump up, and I’m stunned to see Noel standing on the other side of Nate’s body crumpled on the floor.

She’s shaking like a leaf holding a bloody knife looking down. Following her line of sight, I see Nate bleeding out from his neck at our feet.

Slowly, I close my hand around hers. When she remains still, I take the knife from her. She lets it go easily. I let it fall as soon as it’s out of her grip and pull her into me.

She wraps her arms around my shoulders. I lean into her embrace, finally allowing myself to breathe her in. She jumps up to wrap her legs around me, and I carry her out of the room and away from this fucking nightmare.

“Close your eyes. Don’t look,” I tell her, not even stopping when I see Zander standing over a dead woman with his gun still drawn.

Once we make it outside, I stop walking and position us so that all she will see are the trees. The car Nate left in is parked in the yard with the driver’s door wide open. They must’ve had a panic button of some sort to alert him so quickly.

There’s another car parked in the street that wasn’t here originally, and I’m going to guess it belongs to the dead woman in the living room, whoever the fuck she is.

Soft lips kiss the side of my neck, and I’m pulled into a vacuum with her. My arms squeeze her tighter, and I turn my face into hers, trailing kisses across her face as she turns her head slowly.

Finally, my lips meet hers. I release a sigh into our kiss that I’ve been holding since she was taken. We hold each other this way, kissing softly through her tears, for quite a while.

When she pulls away, I see the questions behind her eyes. I kiss her forehead and set her down.

“Am I going to jail?” She asks.

“Fuck no,” I scoff at her. “This may not be the best time to tell you this, but I have people who make shit like this go away.”

She looks confused but relieved. “My head is really foggy, but I think you just said you have people to cover up murders. Dec, why do you have people like that?”

“Another day. For now, do you think you can sit with Leah while I get things sorted out inside?”

“Her name is Veronica.”

“No, you won’t be getting anywhere near her again. Leah is my informant. I paid her to get close to Veronica for information.”

“You knew about Veronica?” Her voice is full of accusation.

“Yes,” I tell her without hesitation. She tries to shove me away, but I grab her wrists.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” She tries to pull away from me, but I’m not fucking letting go of her.

“It was irrelevant to your life,” I state matter-of-factly.

“Apparently not!”

---