Scalding-hot rage coursed through his veins and pulsed against his temples. He grabbed Emmy’s elbow and pulled her from the man’s hold. While twisted, he held Emmy close to him and fired at the man again. This time the bullet went through his face.
Thank fuck Emmy couldn’t see.
Laine’s skin paled as she stared at the attacker in shock. A few bystanders gasped in horror. One man approached, offering his assistance. Roarke shook his head as he pulled Emmy over the console, his heart rate settling a fraction now that she was in his hold. He got out of the vehicle with the kid glued to him.
Laine clambered out of the back seat, tears thick on her lashes. Roarke passed Emmy to her and guided them to stand next to him while he grabbed their bags from the hatchback.
“I’ll call the police,” a woman said reassuringly.
Roarke looked up at her. “Don’t,” he said firmly. “You didn’t see anything.”
The woman blinked.
Roarke didn’t wait for her response. He seized Laine’s elbow and guided her and Emmy back into the parking garage, their bags slung over his shoulder. They walked briskly through the cement enclosure.
“Where are we going?” Laine’s voice was damn near hysterical. She clung to Emmy as if she were afraid she’d be ripped from her hands—because she almost had been.
“Just trying to lose any tail we might have.”
They reached the stairs. No way he’d take the fucking elevator right now. With his gun still drawn, he led them up the cement steps to the lobby. The normal hustle and bustle of the space told him no one had heard about the incident yet.
Pausing at the front door, he stared out at the morning street. If he were outside and looked south, he’d see his rental car smashed and abandoned—and people crowding around a dead body.
They needed to get to the airport ASAP, before their pictures were posted all over social media and the news. He hadn’t seen any cellphone cameras pointed at him, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.
A bus hissed to a stop at the curb.
“Let’s go.” Keeping Laine close to his side and his gun tucked beneath the bag hanging at his waist, he exited the apartment building.
His muscles tensed as they crossed the sidewalk, every instinct on high alert. They reached the bus and climbed inside. He paid the fare and in seconds, the vehicle lurched and then sped away from the scene.
“Sit right here,” he told Laine, ushering her and Emmy into a seat next to a partition wall. The bus wasn’t packed, but there were enough people aboard that it didn’t seem odd for him to stand. He held on to the pole and watched every motherfucker who eyed them.
Once he was satisfied no threat was near, he pulled out his phone and sent a text to the group chat, prefacing it with911, their code for emergency.
We were attacked outside my apartment. One fatality. Wipe clean ASAP.
He hit send. His pulse still thrummed along his skin at breakneck speed. He wouldn’t breathe normally until they landed in London.
Viper responded first.I’ll handle surveillance.
Some of the tension leaked from his shoulders. With any luck, his friend would have the camera footage wiped before the police arrived.
Striker responded seconds later.What’s your location? I’ll pick you up.
Roarke quickly figured out their next couple of stops and relayed the information to Striker. He said he wasn’t far and would meet them there in ten minutes.
With some of the constriction off his chest, he glanced at Laine. She held her daughter tight to her side, her eyebrows knitted together and her gaze darting around nervously. Emmy had her tiny hands balled into fists and her lips turned down in a frown.
He met Laine’s eyes, and the world fell away.
Pain and fear flashed in her green irises—a sight he’d do anything to erase. Hell, he couldn’t promise anything anymore. How Cameron had found them so quickly was another thing to worry about.
He’d keep them moving until they were safe.
Then he’d handle Cameron the way he should have two nights ago.
Laine exhaled.Even though they’d made it through security and onto the plane without a hitch, her nerves wouldn’t settle. After the collision leaving Roarke’s place, she jumped at every corner. But no one else had attacked them, and they were now thousands of miles from Cameron and anyone he could possibly hire to find them.
