Page 70 of Defender

“That may be true, but why are you just now deciding that’s the case?I think you had to be talked into it.I think maybe you know your father was wrong, but when someone started talking about revenge, that sounded interesting so you went for it.”

Harper’s eyes darted around the room, and he rocked his weight back and forth, agitated.Ashton knew he was on the right track.

But the voice in Harper’s ear refused to give the man too much time to think it through.When Harper looked at Ashton again, his face was full of resolve.

“Shut up or she dies right now.”

“Ah-ta!”Little Chloe’s voice drew everyone’s attention.Harper’s gun swung around to her and Summer stood, terror in her eyes.

“Harper, calm down,” Ashton said.“Point the gun at me, not at the baby.”

Tears streamed down Summer’s face, but Ashton forced himself not to focus on her.He needed Harper to point the gun away from Chloe.

“Harper, you have to admit, that baby has absolutely nothing to do with this.You’re not going to shoot her, are you?”

Chloe began to cry, upset that Ashton was ignoring her.“Ah-ta.Ah-ta.Mama.”She stretched her arms, trying to get free of the restraints of the car seat where she was buckled.It didn’t take long for her cries to turn into wails.

“Somebody shut that kid up!”Harper yelled, agitated.

“Let her mom get her out of the car seat,” Ashton argued.“She’s a baby, Curtis.She doesn’t understand what’s going on.”

“I have a confirmed shot on Harper.”Lillian’s voice sounded in his ear.

Ashton immediately held a fist up at shoulder level.It would look odd to Harper if he noticed, but to the team it would be an indication to hold.It was too dangerous to take the shot when Harper had the gun on Chloe.

“Ashton signals to hold fire, Lil,” Derek said.“Harper has the gun pointed at the baby.”

“Roger,” Lillian said.

“Let her mom pick her up and she’ll stop crying,” Ashton said.

Harper put the gun against the back of Summer’s head.“If you try anything, both you and your daughter are going to die.”

He saw Summer flinch, but she nodded.Harper pulled out a knife and cut through the long rope that kept her bound to the couch.She walked over to Chloe, Harper with her the entire time, knelt down and unhooked her daughter as best she could with her hands bound with zip ties, and helped her out of the car seat.

Chloe wrapped her tiny arms around her mother’s neck and stopped crying as Summer scooped her up awkwardly.“Mama.”She patted her mother’s cheek and touched the gag wrapped around her face.Summer just snuggled up against her.

Ashton took another step toward the couch, which drew Harper’s gun away from the girls and back to him, which he wanted.

Harper actually smiled that Ashton had moved closer.“Is that close enough?”he said into his communication device.

Close enough for what?

“Hey, are you there?”Harper tapped his ear.“What are you waiting for?”The man said something to him as Harper listened.“Wait.Are youdriving?”

With Harper’s shock, Ashton finally figured it out.Harper thought his partner was out there.But he wasn’t.He’d left Harper here alone, and Harper obviously wasn’t expecting that.

“Guys, something’s not right here.Tyrone and I are trying to get under the house and it’s locked up like Fort Knox,” Roman’s voice said through the comm unit.“Weird, considering the state of the house.What would someone want to protect under there?”

Ashton looked over at Harper who had pulled the communication device out and hurled it down in anger.What would someone be willing to go to great lengths to protect under the house?

The plan.

There was obviously some elaborate plan going on here and Harper didn’t know about it, probably because he was expendable to the unknown second man who’d been pulling the puppet strings from the beginning.A plan put in place by a man willing to kill Summer last night and willing to kill her now again.

A plan that didn’t require the man to be here, but required that no one interfere with whatever was under the house.

“Lillian, take the shot now!”Ashton called, not caring anymore if Harper knew he wasn’t alone.Ashton was already leaping toward Summer and Chloe when the shot rang out.He didn’t wait to see what happened to Harper.Lillian wouldn’t miss.

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