Page 65 of The Agent
With lightning speed, he spun the gun at Marley.
Caleb didn’t hesitate. He squeezed the trigger of his Glock, eliciting an outraged shriek of pain from Patrick as his arm took a hit. The other man stumbled, but not before his gun spat out a wild, desperate bullet in Marley’s direction.
A bullet that Caleb dove in front of.
* * *
MARLEY LIFTED HERSELFonto her elbows in time to see Caleb’s big, strong body thudding to the ground.
Chaos ensued. The hurried footsteps of the other agents rushing for Patrick. Patrick’s shouts of indignation as he was thrown down, his arms yanked behind his back.
Still stunned, Marley watched as a pair of handcuffs were snapped around Patrick’s wrists. And then the agents hauled him toward one of the cars, while he spat and struggled.
She winced when she heard him call her name.
“Marley!” he wailed. “You tricked me! You little bitch!”
He was still shouting at her as the cops shoved him into the cruiser.
“Are you okay?” a deep voice asked, and then a big hand helped her to her feet.
She flinched when she realized the hand belonged to Detective Miguel Hernandez. “I’m fine,” she squeezed out.
“Ms. Kincaid,” the detective started awkwardly. “I wanted to apologize for—”
She was already rushing away before he could finish the sentence. She didn’t want or need Hernandez’s apology, not when Caleb lay there on the grass after taking the bullet that was meant for her. What if the bullet had missed the vest?
“Caleb,” she said urgently as she fell to her knees beside him.
He let out a groan and then, to her relief, sat up. Marley scanned his torso, wincing at the neat hole in the middle of his dark-blue button-down shirt.
“It got the vest, right?” She ran her fingers over him, checking for damage.
With a soft chuckle, he unbuttoned his shirt and spread it apart, revealing the black Kevlar vest molded to his broad chest. A small bullet was lodged in the material, an inch to the right of Caleb’s heart.
“They always aim for the vest,” he said gruffly.
“Unless they’re aiming at your head,” she said, mimicking his earlier words. “Seriously, are you okay?”
“I feel like I got the wind knocked out of me, but I’m okay. I’m more worried about you.” Caleb stumbled to his feet, pulling her up with him. “Did he hurt you?”
She stared into his gorgeous blue eyes and the love and concern she saw shining there robbed her of breath. He was worried abouther. He’d just taken a bullet while trying to save her, and he was thinking about her?
“He didn’t hurt me,” she assured him. “He was too busy planning our happy little life together. I did good, didn’t I? I really had him going.”
Caleb’s eyes became cloudy. “You took a big risk, Marley. You could have gotten yourself killed.”
“I knew you would protect me,” she murmured. “I knew you would save me.”
He opened his mouth to respond, but someone called his name. Agent D’Amato, a tall man with shaggy red hair, stalked toward them. “Agent Ford, we’re taking the perp to lock-up. Stevens said you’d want to head up the interrogation.”
Caleb didn’t even glance at the other man. “You take care of it, D’Amato. I’m staying here.”
“Yes, sir.”
As the other agent walked toward the cruiser by the curb, Marley shot Caleb an inquiring look. “Shouldn’t you go with them? You’ve been working this case for months. Don’t you want to be there to see it come to a close?”
He shook his head. “I’m not leaving you. D’Amato and AJ can take care of Grier. I need to take care of you.”
