All my muscles tense.
Anger surges.
He thinks he’s going to hold a gun on Bea? Or worse yet, shoot her with it?
Not tonight. Not ever.
Time slows as he crosses the threshold.
I see his right foot first.
Then his body emerges.
And before he even realizes I’m beside him, I attack.
My forearm snaps down, knocking the gun from his hand.
Then I punch him in the chest, not hard enough to stop his heart, but enough to take the wind out of him.
As he gasps for air, I sweep his legs out from beneath him.
Webb races over and grabs the asshole around his neck, tightening his hold as the man bucks against him. “I’ll knock you out,” Webb snarls. “Or maybe I’ll just kill you. Honestly, I’d be happier with the latter.”
And here I was thinking Webb was the nicest of the group.
I scoop up the discarded gun with my right hand—no worries about fingerprints there—and set it on top of a nearby bookshelf. While I’m doing that, Webb drags the man over to the dining room table and shoves him into a chair. Then he holds him still while I zip-tie the asshole within an inch of his life.
Once he’s fully restrained, I move in front of the asshole and yank the knit mask off his head. He blinks at me, his fear a visible thing. I point my gun at his chest and growl, “So. I’m guessing you weren’t expecting us, were you?”
Webb flanks me on my right, his weapon also drawn.
“Well?”I demand. “Whyareyou here? Breaking into a house is a crime, you know.”
The man’s eyes flicker between me and Webb. “I thought it was my house,” he finally says. “I… I just moved. All the houses look the same.”
I bark out a laugh. He flinches. “Are you seriously going to try that shit with me?” I ask. “You broke in. Using lockpicks. I saw you on the security camera.”
“What? What cameras? I didn’t see?—”
“Because we didn’t want you to see them,” I snarl. “Just like we didn’t want you to know about the alarms.”
“The alarms?”
I get right in his face. My lips bare back in a snarl. “Yes. The alarms. The silent alarms that told us you were here. About to break in. But you thought this was an easy job, didn’t you? Just a vulnerable woman, maybe a cheap bodyguard sleeping on the job, huh?”
“No. No. That’s not what I thought.” He shakes his head frantically. “I thought it was my house. I don’t know what you’re talking about. What woman? What bodyguard?”
I cock the trigger.
The man’s face drains of all color.
“We’re not playing games,” I snap. “Don’t give me bullshit excuses. You picked the lock. Broke in. Armed.” I pin his frightened gaze with mine. “But I’m armed, too. And trust me, I won’t hesitate to use it if you keep lying to me.”
“Or maybe I will,” Webb muses. His eyes narrow. “Because I really hate men who hurt women.A lot.”
The man sucks in a shaky breath. “You won’t shoot me,” he says weakly. “That would be illegal.”
I laugh at him. “Are you kidding me? You broke in. While my friend and I were just sitting here, watching TV. Legally, I have every right to use deadly force to defend myself.”
