I’ll make the seconds count, then.“In the office earlier ... the way you looked at me when Trevor told us about Mitch’s alleged betrayal, it felt like you understood what I was going through. Why do I feel like you’ve been through this yourself?”
He didn’t answer right away, but he didn’t deflect, either. He just looked at me with the same quiet intensity that made me feel seen. “Because I have.” His rough voice scraped across my skin.
That was all he said. No details, just the truth. But it was enough.
“Does it get any easier?” I asked. “Living with it? Trying to move on?”
He checked the property again, always vigilant, then met my eyes. “It doesn’t.” He paused. “Or maybe it does? I don’t know. For me, it’s been almost two years since we divorced, and I’m still trying to ...”
“Move on?”
“No, I’m very much over her. It just seems that when I think the past is behind me, it comes back to bite me in the ass.”
Well, that wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but I did appreciate him being honest. “I hate that you can relate to what I’m going through.”
“I hate thatyoucan relate,” he echoed in a somber voice. “And I really, really want to hug you right now.”
“Do it,” was all I could get out. Because his arms around me was all I wanted. “Inside, if you prefer, though. Think we exceeded my time limit.”
He smiled and started to gesture for the house when something behind me caught his eyes, and his expression turned deadly.
“Get inside. Now,” he ordered, using his body as a shield.
I bolted for the back door when I heard it. Thecrack. A single shot rang out.
Ryder yanked the door open before I could reach it, dragging me inside as Alex hissed what Ryder clearly already knew: “Breach! We’re under attack!”
Chapter Thirteen
Alejandro
Gunfire cracked behind me, closer this time. The window didn’t shatter. Reinforced glass.
I dropped low, scanning the tree line before bolting for the same back door Audrey had used a minute ago. My Glock was useless against trained snipers in broad daylight. No sense standing out there like a damn target.
“Where’s Chase?” I asked the second I spotted Ryder moving solo down the hallway. He had an M4 slung around his body and my rifle in hand, along with a radio.
“Trevor’s got Chase and the women moving to his safe room,” he said.
Thank God for Trevor’s paranoia.
I should have been more paranoid, never given in to her request for air. Should never have let Audrey step outside. She could’ve been clipped. Killed.Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Sheriff and his deputies are holding the front with Reed on the first and second floors,” he continued. “Audrey’s house is also under fire. Beau said his guy parked out front never made it inside. Outnumbered and had to pull back.”
“He make it out?”
“Yeah, he’s safe.” Ryder handed me a radio already tuned to our frequency, along with my M4.
“Multiple targets. North and east flanks,” Reed reported over the radio, remaining calm. At least one of us was. I was a disaster, knowing Audrey and Chase were here.
Ryder started to issue orders but stopped when Trevor rounded the corner at a near run, shotgun gripped tight.
“I’ve got the safe room upstairs,” Trevor said without hesitation. “I’ll hold the hallway outside it myself.”
Ryder gave him a short nod, then turned to face me. “You take the back. I’ll cover the northeast.”
“Room 11 upstairs has the clearest angle of the back,” Trevor said, tossing me a set of keys.
