Page 107 of Triple Power Play 3
I snatch the bat from the floor but feel foolish. What chance does a bat have against a gun?
Still, I grasp the metal like a lifeline and listen for noise.
I glance at the door. It’s me they want. I can’t stand here, useless, while Reece bleeds out.
“Jax, don’t.” Ethan’s voice is gruff. “Don’t fucking think about it. I’ll come after you, and that’ll mean letting go of Reece. You don’t want that.”
My stomach clenches painfully, my eyes burn with unshed tears. “They could hurt you next.” I step toward the door.
“Jax…” he growls low in warning.
“Jackson, call the twins.” The fear in Reece’s tone seizes my attention. “Check the video feed. Charlie isn’t answering.”
My blood runs cold.
No. No. No. Please, anything but that.Anyone but Aurora.
48
AURORA
I jolt awake to raised voices and heavy footsteps outside Reece’s bedroom.
“If they break into this house, I’m shooting first and asking questions later.”
Desi’s snarled words carry down the hall and send a wave of fear through my entire body, pushing aside any remnants of sleep.
“Try not to kill anyone!” Charlie shouts. “Ethan wouldn’t want that.”
“The fuck he wouldn’t,” barks Dante from farther away, his voice deeper than his twin’s. “He’s a Rossi. Ain’t nobody touching his family.”
Desi throws open the door Reece and Charlie only finished fixing this afternoon, and a beam of light trails behind him. In a hoodie and joggers, he rushes toward me.
I throw off the covers and swing my legs over the edge of the bed. “What’s going on?”
“We need to get to the safe room. Men are surrounding the house.”
My heart rate skyrockets. “Where’s everyone?” If the twins are home, Jax and Ethan should be home. If not… “Reece?”
“At Kyle’s.” He crouches. “I’m going to lift you.” He brings my trembling body into his arms and cradles my head. “Tuck in. We have a lot of windows to pass.”
Why would Reece be at Kyle’s? He wouldn’t leave me unless it were urgent—unless there was an issue when Jax went to retrieve his bike.
Now, we’re being hit here, which can’t be a coincidence. “They wanted me alone? They want to use me against Jax?”
With a forearm under my ass and the other shielding my head, Desi moves into the now silent hallway. “If so, they’re in for a big fucking surprise.”
Slowly, he approaches the living area. Glass shatters downstairs, a window breaking, and I jolt, letting out a whimper.
“Shh… Dante is down there. He won’t let anyone up the stairs.”
He presses his back to the wall and peers around the corner at the glass doors leading to the patio and pool. My heartbeat pounds in my throat, and the baby moves, either from adrenaline or from not enjoying the confined space.
I tense, a cold sweat prickling along my skin, and nausea rolls in my gut. It’s the oddest thing, but I’m suddenly disturbed by being in someone else’s arms—even if it is Desi, and this is an emergency.
Before I can think more of it, he’s creeping forward, only to jump back.
“Fuck,” he curses under his breath and pivots toward the bedroom. “We won’t make it to the safe room. It’s gonna have to be the security room.”
