Page 80 of The Bodyguard

Sawyer quietly inspected their exterior surroundings while mentally kicking himself in the ass for dropping his guard. His primary responsibility in all of this was Angela. No matter what they’d agreed to work on, her safety was the priority.

He didn’t see anyone else, but he also didn’t see the person who had just skirted by the window. Even though he had a good look at the house’s exterior, he certainly didn’t have a thorough one.

When Sawyer made his way back to the kitchen, he saw Angela waiting in her chair, frozen in place.

“I think there’s only one of them,” he said.

Her eyes darted to the windows and door. “But there could be more?”

“Possibly.” He wished he had a better view of their surroundings. “They likely have several ideas that they’re following up on.”

“Maybe he thinks no one is home,” she offered.

“Doubtful.” Upon reading her body language, he added, “The grill’s been used recently. Depending on when they first pinged the house as a possibility, they’ve seen the car move.” He had always checked their surroundings when they left and when they arrived. Sawyer consistently scanned for tails when they were out. It wasn’t as if he’d been negligent. Just not on high alert.

“So is there someone out there or not?” she finally asked.

“Probably.”

“Are we just going to hide in here until they leave?” She tossed up her hands at his silent, incredulous expression. “I don’t want someone to shoot at us again.”

“Me neither. My best guess is they’re new on the scene and trying to ascertain if we’re home.”

“The car’s here. We’re obviously home.”

“We’re quiet with the windows covered,” he countered. “Either way, I want to get the hell out of here.”

Someone tried to twist the deck door’s knob. Another shadow hovered by the window. All right, Sawyer needed to contend with two people out there. At least they weren’t shooting their way inside. He decided it was time to roll. “Let’s go.”

Angela followed Sawyer, crouching when he did, hurrying toward the front door. They donned the flip-flops they’d left on this floor. It wasn’t the footwear he wanted at the moment, but it was better than none. He double-checked the nearby windows and inspected as much of the space as he could see of the front. Sawyer snagged the car keys from the hook but wasn’t sure if he and Angela could reach the vehicle without being spotted.

Theirs was a tricky situation. The people outside didn’t want to take Angela. They wanted her dead. He had to limit her exposure.

Sawyer turned the deadbolt open. The click sounded in his head as though he’d hit a gong to announce their position. His hand rested on the doorknob. “Stay close and behind me.”

“Where are we going?”

“I haven’t figured that out yet.”

“Good thing I trust you.”

He laughed. “Good thing.” Sawyer twisted the doorknob and allowed an inch of daylight to fall inside. Semi-blinded butmostly sure they were safe, his ears pricked at the sound of the opening door on the other side of the house. He grabbed her hand, and out they went.

A man yelled from the street that they’d slipped out the front door.

Sawyer jerked to his left then his right, dragging Angela. A bullet splintered into the side of the house. She screamed. Another one popped.

The man called for his partner.

Sawyer made it to a tiny plastic storage shed that would do nothing to slow a bullet. “You okay?”

“I lost a shoe.”

“Given the situation, I’ll take that as a yes.” A bullet thumped the storage shed. They didn’t have many options of where to go. One way would leave them wide open and in the middle of the street. The opposite way would head toward the beach. They’d be sitting ducks, as would anyone else who had the misfortune to start their beach day nearby. The last option was to go onto their neighbor’s property, where ideally someone would have left the keys in a car. Not likely, but they didn’t have any time for another plan. “Time to move boots.”

Sawyer lifted her over a nasty patchwork of thorns and cactus, cursing every flip-flopped step he took. The chasing voices stayed close—and fire exploded in his arm. His hold on her faltered.

“Sawyer!”

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