“Enough!” Fernandez shouted as he waved the gun around wildly. “Find my damn money!”
“Could you not yell?” I asked as I stuck my finger in my ear and wiggled it. “You’re very loud.”
Fernandez started sputtering, his rage so great his face was red. “I have a gun!”
“Me, too.” I pulled mine out and slammed it onto the desk.
Lyn pulled one out of his boot and waved it around. “I got mine.”
“I have two.”
I laughed when I turned toward the sound of that voice and found Brant pointing two guns at Fernandez. “Hey, Brant.”
Brant gave a single nod, never taking his eyes off Fernandez. “Mr. Lany.”
I smiled evilly as I turned to look at Fernandez. “So, how do you want to do this? One, you can put down your gun and let me cuff you, or two, you can try to fight your way out of here, but you’ll most likely end up shot.”
Fernandez’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll take option three.”
Option three?
What option three?
Fernandez raised his gun, pointed it at me, and pulled the trigger. I barely had time to grunt before something slammed into me, stealing the air from my lungs. The world wavered around me as I was thrown back, hitting the floor.
I distantly heard several more gunshots, but I was too busy trying to breathe to care. Spots danced in my blurry vision. My chest felt as if there was an elephant sitting on it, and, yes, I knew what that felt like.
“Lany, breathe, Lany.”
I blinked a couple of times before Lyn’s face took shape. I weakly patted my chest.
“I know, Lany,” Lyn said. “Fernandez shot you in the chest, and it probably hurts like hell right now, but luckily you were wearing your vest, so it didn’t go through. It’s still going to leave a hell of a bruise though.”
I’d been shot in the chest before, and it hurt a lot worse than this, so I believed Lyn. Still didn’t mean I wasn’t anxious over what was going to happen when Sal saw the bruise.
I might not live through that.
Chapter Nineteen
Salvador
The moment the wheels on the vehicle screeched to a halt, I jumped out and raced for the house. I had to stop at the door and put in my passcode before I could get it open, but that didn’t stop me from moving as quickly as I could.
After learning Lany had gone missing along with the others, I’d gone into a panic, terrified that whoever had taken Cynthia had taken him as well. It wasn’t until I received a single text message from Brant of all people telling me that he was at the house that my panic began to lesson, but not by much.
Why had he gone home when he had fought so hard to go with me on this rescue mission? He didn’t even know that we had safely rescued his mother and taken down the guys that had kidnapped her. So, why would he leave?
As soon as the door opened, I stormed inside shouting, “Lany! Lany!”
Where the hell was he?
Brant stepped into the study doorway. “He’s back here, Commander.”
I started running, my heart pounding painfully. When I reached the doorway, Brant stepped back, and I barreled past him. It took one quick scan of the room to find Lany sitting on the couch, Lyn sitting next to him. Marcus stood behind him like a centurion, his muscled arms crossed as he glared at anyone that came too close. He was wearing a new vest.
The rest of the room was a blur, only Lany standing out bright like a beacon.
I ran over and dropped to my knees in front of him. “What happened? Why did you come back to the house?” When Lany winced, I knew I wasn’t going to like what he had to say. “Lany, what did you do?”
