Page 63 of Defenseless
He wasn’t even halfway there, though, when footsteps behind him had his heart clawing its way into his throat. Turning to face whoever it was, he stood exposed, in the middle of the hallway. Time slowed, and his thoughts turned to Sabina and everything they had ahead of them.
He’d promised to fight for her. For them.
Raising his gun, he stood his ground. And watched the form of a man—and a gun—appear at the end of the hall.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
Sabina’s heartstopped when she caught a glimpse of a man at the end of the hall through the garage door. The light from the kitchen at his back made it impossible to see his features, but the outline of his gun was more than clear.
Ethan moved between her and the door, as if sensing her urge to rush to Chad. Before she’d given it a moment’s thought, she cried out his name. Then just as quickly, she snapped her mouth shut. She didn’t need to distract him.
Blood rushed through her system, drowning out any other sounds. He was a sitting duck in the hallway; the alcove was too far away and he had nowhere to go. An armed sitting duck, but still, there was no cover for him.
Both men raised their weapons, and an unholy panic flooded through her. She lunged forward, desperate to get to Chad. She made it two feet before Ethan’s arms caught her around the waist and held her back. Even knowing she was no match for him, she fought to get away. She was not going to stand there and watch Chad die. She might have been afraid before, but it had been nothing like what she felt now. And she intended to use every bit of that energy to get to Chad.
“It’s okay, Sabina.” She heard the words but was too busy fighting Ethan to let them sink in.
Then she heard a chuckle and found herself unceremoniously dumped into Chad’s arms. “Chad!” she cried, wrapping her legs around him and hugging him tight as she burrowed her face against his neck.
“It was Killian,” he assured her. “He’s cleared the house and grounds.” She heard him. She even sort of understood what he was saying. But she was too busy appreciating his warm, alive, body against hers to care. She didn’t even mind the butt of his gun digging into her back as he held her.
Then she remembered his leg and immediately jerked away from him. He wasn’t so keen to let her go, though, and her body slid slowly down his.
“In case there was any doubt she’d fight for you, I think we put that one to bed,” Ethan said from behind her. She was no longer wrapped around Chad, but she didn’t want to let him go and still had her arms looped about his waist. As his encircled hers. For one more moment, her gaze stayed glued to his face. Then she loosened her grip and turned toward the others. They were all watching her and Chad, but her attention snagged on Ethan. He was sporting a bright red mark on his cheek.
“You headbutted me, if you were wondering,” Ethan said with a grin.
“Oh my god, I am so sorry,” she exclaimed, slipping her hand into Chad’s and taking a step closer to his cousin to examine her handiwork.
“No, you’re not. You’d do it again in a heartbeat,” Ethan countered. There wasn’t much she could say to that, because it was true.
“Not to cut in on this little moment of joy,” Killian said. “But Teague texted, and the police are five blocks away. Unless we want to be the welcome crew, I suggest we head on out.”
As one, they walked toward the side fence, Kara reaching up and checking Ethan’s cheekbone as they went. When they reached the solid wall, Ethan boosted Chad up and over it in one smooth motion. Chad let out a soft curse when he landed on the other side. Sabina didn’t have time to think about that, though, because in her next breath, Killian was lifting her up and over. She wasn’t nearly as graceful as Chad, but she managed to shimmy over and, with him guiding her down, land on her feet. Next came Kara, whom he helped as well. Ethan and Killian came in quick succession after that.
In silence, they picked their way across a lush lawn and to the gate Ava had said they’d find in the far corner. Fifteen minutes later, she, Chad, Kara, and Ethan were climbing into the large SUV with Teague behind the wheel as Killian made his way to his own car. Without a word, Teague pulled out into traffic and headed toward the airport.
“I called the pilot, and she has everything ready,” Teague said. “We’ll be able to leave as soon as we arrive at the airport.”
The original plan had them leaving later that evening, but Sabina was glad for the change. As the miles clicked by, the adrenaline ebbed from her system, and she was itching to get home.
“Was he after us?” Kara asked the question Sabina’s mind hadn’t gotten to yet. Hers was still filled with concern about Chad and his wound. She’d seen enough operatives come back to HICC from the field to know that once his adrenaline dropped, he’d be feeling a whole lot worse than he did now.
Chad shook his head. “I don’t think so. There was no way Vitor could have known we were going to be there—”
“There’s always a way,” Sabina interjected. She didn’t disagree with Chad, but she also didn’t want to discount the possibility that they were being watched.
He sighed. “You’re right. But he would have had to know that we located your father and that we knew Benicio was involved with Kevin Jacobs eighteen years ago. Then he would have had to track our private flight. If someone on the team talked and leaked the info to him, it’s possible he knew we were coming, but I don’t think that’s the case. Besides, if it was about us, he could have taken us out at the hotel or anytime along the way. No, I think he was a plant.”
“I agree,” Ethan said. “It’s more likely that he was a stooge for one of the other crime families and he was placed with Benicio to keep an eye on him.”
“And he had orders to leave Benicio alone so long as he didn’t start talking,” Kara spoke, picking up the thread. “But when he did, even though he didn’t tell us much, Vitor’s orders were to eliminate him.” She paused, then added, “That does make more sense.”
Sabina had to agree. What was possible wasn’t always what was likely, and the scenario laid out made far more sense. Inasmuch as anything that day made sense.
“Is he dead?” she asked.
Teague nodded. “Killian took him out.”
