With the FBI’s help, he and Brooke would be safer than if he tried to disappear on his own.“I can’t leave without my fiancée.She was in the car with me the last time I was targeted.I can’t risk her being here alone.”
Jessop began that incessant tapping of his pen.
Aiden gritted his teeth and waited for the man’s answer.
“I’ll make some calls and pull some strings.Just the two of you,” he said.
Aiden nodded, and let out a long sigh of relief.None of this was good news but at least he knew the facts and the truth.False promises of wrapping up the investigation soon wouldn’t do him any good.
“I have an agent waiting who will be your detail,” Agent Jessop said to John.“Mr.Sterling, I’ll escort you home where someone will join us later to watch the house, at least until we get your aliases and safe house set up.”
Aiden’s stomach churned, but he was aware this was the best possible scenario.Putting distance between himself and his family was necessary.They were way too important to be put at risk.
Agent Jessop followed him to the house in an unmarked sedan, and Aiden called Brooke along the way, telling her everything he’d learned and that he would be home soon.
He pulled up the driveway and put the car in park, the agent driving up behind him.
The front door opened, and Brooke stood in the doorway to greet him.At the sight of her, some of the heaviness weighing him down after his talk with Agent Jessop lessened.No matter what happened next, at least he had Brooke.She made all the hard stuff manageable.
He exited the vehicle and walked toward Brooke, heading around the front of the car.Movement on the side of the house caught his attention and he glanced over.A dark-haired man had stepped out from the side, as if he’d been waiting for Aiden’s return, a notion that was confirmed as the man locked eyes with Aiden and raised his gun.
“Aiden!”Brooke screamed his name as she stepped out of the doorway.He ran, then dove forward, colliding with her body and taking her to the ground at the same time shots rang out.
Chapter Thirty-One
Brooke took onelook at the man pointing a gun at Aiden and screamed.The sound of gunfire came next.Aiden slammed into her and they hit the ground hard, his body covering hers.
She lay in shock, her lungs seized up and her mind blank.She felt nothing but heart-stopping terror.She couldn’t say how many shots she’d heard, but the loud bangs echoed in her ears even after things went quiet.It took a moment for clear thoughts to return, and when they did, she realized that Aiden was lying rigid on top of her.
Oh no.No, no, no.
“Aiden,” she said, her voice cracking.
His face was buried in her neck, his body pressing her into the ground.She couldfeelthat he was breathing, but she had no idea if he was injured.“Oh God, please be okay.”
Suddenly, he moved, lifting himself up onto his elbows, his arms on either side of her head, keeping as much of her covered as possible.
At his movement, her heart began to beat again.
“Are you good?”he asked.
She released a sob.“Me?What about you?Did you… did you get hit?”
“No, sweetheart.I’m fine.”He swung his gaze around and she followed his line of vision, half expecting to see the gunman standing over them with a weapon pointed at Aiden’s head.But the stranger was nowhere to be seen.
“It’s safe,” an unfamiliar voice called out.“He’s down.”
“Who is that?”she asked Aiden, aware she was still shaking.
He visibly swallowed hard.“FBI.”Standing, he held his hand out to her.
She grasped his palm and allowed him to pull her to her feet.Her legs shook, and he slipped an arm around her waist, holding her up.Together, they walked toward the house where a man in a suit stood over the shooter, weapon in one hand and handcuffs in the other.
The shooter lay on the ground, writhing in pain as he held on to his leg above a bleeding wound in his outer thigh.
The FBI agent kicked the man’s gun far from his reach, then moved behind the shooter and cuffed his hands behind his back.
Seeing the would-be killer secured, a lightheaded feeling washed over her, and she swayed into Aiden.He tightened his hold on her before turning them away from the scene.
