Bile filled her throat but she ignored it, forcing herself up.
She opened the door and ran out, only to scream when she hit a large chest.
CHAPTER 31
Holden jogged down the side street, his gaze continuing to scan his surroundings. Searching.
His time as a Ghost Ops soldier was the only thing keeping him calm. But fear and dread still clawed at his insides.
Where was she? Had she gotten away from Briar? And if there was a second person, then who the fuck was it and were they also a threat to Clara right now?
He turned right onto the next street.
That’s when he saw it—shattered glass on the sidewalk.
He sped up and had just reached the front of the florist when the door flew open and a woman ran straight into him.
Air cut off in his throat. “Clara!”
Her gaze shot up, fear and relief swirling together. “Holden!” She dropped against his chest and he tightened his arm around her.
“Shit, Clara, you’re covered in blood.” Panic soared through his lungs. Had she been shot? Stabbed? Where was the wound?
“No. It’s not mine. It’s Briar’s.”
“Briar’s?”
“Yes! Helen killed her and is still in there. So is a gun, but I think she’s unconscious.”
“Helen?”Shewas the second person?
“They were working together.”
Fuck. He stepped in front of Clara. “Stay behind me.”
He didn’t want to take Clara back inside the florist, but there was no way he was leaving her on the sidewalk by herself when they didn’t knowhowmany threats there were.
He grabbed his phone and sent a pin of his location to Jesse with two words: “She’s here.”
Then he stepped inside.
Briar lay on the floor, a bullet wound in her temple and a pool of blood around her head.
Jesus. He hated that Clara had witnessed the woman being killed.
He inched farther inside, scanning the shop as he went. He couldn’t see Helen. Had she slipped behind the counter? When he reached the counter, he swung his weapon around, only to stop. She wasn’t there either.
Clara’s breathing grew louder. “She’s gone…”
Holden looked into the room behind the counter. He saw the muzzle of the pistol a second before it fired. He lunged on top of Clara, sending them both to the floor and covering her body with his own before crawling them to the other side of the counter.
He pulled his second gun from the holster on his ankle and handed it to Clara, whispering, “If she gets past me, shoot.”
Clara’s eyes widened, but she nodded.
There was no way in hell Helen would get past him. But having Clara armed gave him peace of mind.
He lifted a fallen vase. “When I get to the other end of the counter, I need you to throw it in the opposite direction. Can you do that?”
