“Uh-uh!” Neanderthal yelled, shoving the barrel of his weapon so hard against Emily’s temple that her head tipped sideways, water running horizontally across her face. She couldn’t help herself. She cried out in pain. “Unless you fancy this woman’s blood on your hands, you’ll stop right there!”
“What do youwant?”Christian shouted, veins standing out on either side of his neck. The look in his eyes as he blinked the raindrops from his lashes was like nothing Emily had ever seen.
There he was. The man she had always known was buried beneath that refined exterior. The warrior. The soldier. The down and dirty. The nitty-gritty.
He was beautiful in his fierceness. Terrifying in his rage.
“Jesus,Mary, and Joseph!” Ben screamed. “I killed him! I bloody well killed him!”
“Shut up!” Neanderthal yelled.
Ben didn’t shut up. “We hafta get outta here!” His voice broke like a pubescent boy’s.
Neanderthal didn’t seem to hear him. Just continued to stare daggers at Christian. Christian stared cleavers right back.
Keeping his weapon trained on the group, his arm shaking violently,Ben ran over to Neanderthal. “Please.” His eyes rolled with hysteria, water droplets beading up in his bushy eyebrows. “Please, Brother. I killed that man. Please. You gotta get me outta here.”
Emily felt Neanderthal shudder with fury. He wanted to kill Christian. She couldfeelhis need for it. It battled with his need to save Ben.
“Please!” Ben used his free hand to grab the sleeve ofNeanderthal’s jacket and give it a hard shake. “Please, get me outta here! You wanna lose another brother, for Christ’s sake?”
That seemed to snap Neanderthal out of it.
Emily felt the pressure on her throat ease a split second before Neanderthal planted a hand in the middle of her back and gave her a hard shove toward Christian.
Stumbling into the arms waiting for her, she didn’tpretend not to need Christian’s strong, warm embrace.
“This isn’t over!” Neanderthal yelled as he backed toward the SUV. “We know who you are now!”
Christian didn’t respond. None of them did.
Three seconds later, Ben and Neanderthal were inside the SUV and fishtailing their way out of the parking lot.
Emily blew out a ragged breath. But any reprieve was short-lived because thesound of boots splashing through the rain puddles reminded her of the man in the black slacks and white shirt. The dead man. She’d seen the blood bloom on his chest like a sickly red rose, watched his eyes roll back in his head, and had known in that instant that he was a goner.
Damnit.Damnit!
She pushed from Christian’s arms, but couldn’t stand to lose contact with him completely. Shefelt dazed, confused, like someone had glued wool around the inside curve of her skull. She was an office manager, for crying out loud. Not an operator. She’d never had so much as a stapler pressed against her temple, much less a semi-auto. And she’dneverwitnessed a man being murdered. Considering all that, she wasn’t too proud to admit she needed Christian’s support.
Threading her fingersthrough his much larger ones, she turned and raced with him toward the trio already huddled around the fallen figure.
She didn’t get farther than five steps before Christian tugged her to a sudden stop.
“What?” She glanced up at him through the downpour. “We need to go—”
“Why, Emily?” The muscle beneath his eye was going mad. His jaw was working to beat the band.
“Huh?” She blinkedaway the rain, only to have more cling to her lashes. “What do you mean? Why what?”
“Why did you do it?” His voice was quiet. His eyes were not. “Why did you step in front of me?”
“Because I thought he was about to fucking kill you, you big dummy! I thought—”
She didn’t manage more than that. Her face was suddenly caught between Christian’s big, warm hands. His touch was gentle despitethe strength of his fingers and the rough calluses on his palms. Then, in an instant, her lips were sealed tight against his.
She blinked, shocked as shit, going cross-eyed trying to look at him, trying to determine what the hell was going on. Christian was kissing her?
Then his hot tongue pushed against the seam of her lips. Sweet baby Jesus, Christian waskissingher!
