And I attack.
My limbs a blur, muscles moving from memory, I leap at the first masked man, feeling grimly satisfied by his shocked gasp. His eyes widen in surprise as I come flying out of the shadows at him, and he utters a startled curse.
He tries to aim his gun at me, but he’s far too slow. With a quick chop to his arm, the gun falls uselessly to the ground.
Then I smash the heel of my palm into his nose. The cartilage snaps.
The man falls to his knees, moaning.
The other is quick on the uptake, and I spot the gleam of silvery metal even as I’m spinning towards him. But the gun never makes it all the way up.
Like a ghost in the night, Ronan appears from out of nowhere to disarm him. With a quick blow to the throat, the second man crumples, clutching his neck and gasping for air.
Knox leaps onto the second man, flipping him over and yanking his hands behind his back.
Gage emerges from the darkness, a drone controller in one hand and his Sig in the other. He jerks his head at the first man I attacked, who’s still lying on the ground with his hands clamped over his nose. “Want me to get this one?” he asks.
“You should make yourself useful somehow,” Ronan quips. “Instead of just playing with your toys.”
Gage smacks Ronan’s arm as he moves towards the man with the bleeding nose. “It’s a drone. Not a toy.”
“Kids,” Knox says. “Let’s focus on getting these two taken care of.” He turns in a semicircle, scanning the yard. “I just have this feeling. Like?—”
A loud crack splits the silence of the night.
Heat brushes my arm.
“Shit!” Knox exclaims. “Another one’s out there!”
We all drop to the ground in unison.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
A third attacker is out here.
“Are you okay?” Ronan asks. His voice is strained. “Alec. Are you hit?”
“I’m fine,” I reply. “I think he’s just north of us. In the trees.”
Gage’s eyes are white in the darkness. “I’ll go after him.”
Knox lifts his chin. “So will I.”
Anger and worry are fighting for dominance. I’m pissed we missed the third man to start with. And even though I know Hazel is safe inside, I don’t want him anywhere near her.
“Go,” I grit through a clenched jaw. “Get him. Ronan and I will stay here with these two. Don’t let him get near the house.”
Knox clasps my shoulder. “We won’t, Alec. We’ll get him. Trust me.”
CHAPTER 15
HAZEL
He saidhe wouldn’t get hurt.
He said he’d be careful. That he’d be okay.
But while I was hiding in the bedroom closet, Alec was nearly shot.
