Hatred flickered across Matt’s eyes as he scowled at me from behind gritted teeth.“You really are a manipulative little bitch.”
I lifted my guns just a little higher.“Like I said earlier, I prefer the term ‘opportunist,’ and now that you’ve finally outlived your usefulnessto me, I think it’s time we?—
“Mrs.Davis!What are you still doing here?”cried the horrified voice of a familiar guard.A glance to my left revealed Eric rushing over to me, looking a complete wreck as he stumbled all over himself.Fuck!“You can’t be here!We have to get you out!Where is Sloane?”he called as he staggered to a stop, practically knocking me over.
“Eric!What the fu?—”
But I didn’t get the chance to finish my sentence before Matt took advantage of the distraction, pulling out another gun and firing multiple shots right into Eric’s back.
Goddammit!
Eric’s heavy body fell forward over me, his temporary use as a shield from Matt’s gunfire lasting just long enough for me to make it around the corner to find cover before returning fire and making my escape.
Racing through the house, I made it into the kitchen, and nearly tripped over huge hunks of brick, timber, glass, and insulation that had been scattered all across the floor.A gust of salty air hit me in the face through the new gaping cavity of what had once been the exterior wall of the side of the house leading into the kitchen.The floor-to-ceiling windows had essentially evaporated while water leaked onto the floor from the exposed copper piping now dangling from behind the pulverized drywall.
Despite the extensive damage, I quickly navigated through the mess of debris and took cover from Matt’s erratic gunfire behind the kitchen island as more stray bullets flew overhead.
“Where the fuck are you, you little shit!”he screeched as he stormed through the house.
Chest heaving, I tried to steady my breathing as I stayed crouched to the floor, listening for angry footsteps through the blood pumping loudly in my ears.Staying low, I quietly inched my way around the island, but then suddenly froze in place when my eyes met the pretty blues of a very familiar blonde standing not more than thirty feet from me.
“Ka—”
“Gotcha,” Matt suddenly said as I felt the barrel of his gun press against the back of my head.Fuck!“On your knees.”Cursing myself internally, I carefully raised my lower body, keeping my hands in the air and stood on my knees, trying not to make any sudden moves until the right moment.“After Darren kills Jason and comes back to find his home under siege, I’m going to make sure the last thing he sees is me blowing your fucking head off right before I put a bullet between his eyes.”
“Like fuck you will,” quipped a strong female voice to my left.“Put the gun down, Matt, and let her go.Now!”
I smirked to myself, wishing I could see Matt’s face as he turned to see the woman he’d been chasing down for the last several months standing there with a fucking M4 tactical shotgun pointed right at him.
“Kayla,” he murmured, the ghost of a smile in his voice.
Glancing up from the floor, I winced at the cringeworthy longing in his eyes as he grinned back at her like a fucking doofus.But while he was completely mesmerized by her very presence, all I could think about was what the fuck was she doing here?She shouldn’t be here at all.Especially if Jason’s team really was dead.
“I’m serious, Matt, let her go,” Kayla reiterated, clutching her shotgun even tighter.
And she was serious.With her hair back in a tight ponytail, she wore Kevlar over a black shirt and dark camouflage pants tucked into combat boots.With two pistols strapped to her hips, the shotgun in her hands, and fury in her eyes, Kayla looked every bit the woman scorned who was finally back from hell to settle a score.
“Oh, Babygirl,” Matt drawled, his eyes following her body up and down, “did you get all dressed up like that just for me?It looks good on you.”
“Shut up,” she snapped.“I’m not going to tell you again.”
Matt’s only response was to reach down and grab my hair, yanking me up from the floor to pull me back against him as he shoved the barrel of his Glock under my jaw.
Fuck.
“Those are some pretty bold words coming from you, Babygirl.When did you get so brave?”
I rolled my eyes.He was toying with her, stalling for something to happen, but as of right now, I wasn’t in a very good position to counter anything.
“Since the moment I woke up in that fucking dog cage.Now let her go!”
“I’ll tell you what, baby, we both know your aim isn’t that good, and you’re more likely to kill Jaden than me from where you’re currently standing.So how aboutyouputyourgun down first, I’ll let Jaden go, and then you and I can walk out of here together like you promised me.Deal?”
I practically roared my disagreement.“I think the fuck not!”I shouted wildly.“Kayla, don’t you dare!”
“Shut the fuck up!”Matt growled at me, gripping my hair even tighter before turning back to address Kayla.“Come on, Babygirl, we both know you don’t have it in you to pull that trigger.Let’s stop risking your friend’s life and put the gun down so we can finally end this conflict.”
I gritted my teeth as Matt dug the barrel of his Glock even deeper under my jaw, his grip on my hair nearly ripping it from my scalp.I tried not to let the pain show on my face for Kayla’s sake, but the panic glistening in her eyes as she faced off with her tormentor hinted that she was very close to breaking.And I was not about to let her walk out of here with this monster who was totally going to just shoot me anyway.
