Diego’s finger twitches on the trigger, and I throw myself to the side. The chair tips over. My head slams into the floor. Glass shatters. Switchblade goes down, but Diego sends two shots toward the stairs before pressing himself against the wall and turning the gun on me.
I try to roll the chair. A quiet pop sounds, and fire licks across my right arm. A dark blur moves in my dining room seconds before Diego’s gun crashes to the floor.
Eyes wide, he grasps for the tactical knife piercing his throat. He’s already dead. He just doesn’t know it yet.
No sound escapes his lips as he stumbles until his back hits the wall. West stalks over to him, the black greasepaint covering his face turning his eyes deadly cold. “Well, that was fun.” The SEAL retrieves his blade and swipes it over his thigh, smearing the blood into the fabric. “Indigo, get in here. I need an assist.”
He cuts me loose, eases me upright with an arm around my shoulders, and gently turns my head so he can look at my ear. “Shit, probie.”
“I thought we’d agreed,” I manage, so fucking happy to see him tears spring to my eyes, “I ain’t anyone’s goddamn probie.”
Chapter Twenty
Raelynn
Inara holds a thick wad of gauze to my ear while West drags the two bodies onto a tarp he retrieved from his truck.
“Nash…” I start to shake, and fresh tears prick at my eyes. “He’s—”
“On a plane,” Inara says. “The tracker we slipped into his backpack pinged a couple of times over Idaho and South Dakota. We lost the signal after that.”
It takes a minute for her words to register, but when they do, I slap her hand away. “You knew? And you left me here for an hour? Those fucks cut off part of my ear!”
“We didn’t know until your phone went dead.” Ryker’s deep, raspy voice startles me. The man ambles in from the dining room and surveys the bloody mess in front of him. “I missed the party.”
“You can tape up Raelynn’s window,” West says as he secures the tarp around the bodies with bungee cords. “And call the doc. She needs medical.”
“I need to know what we’re doin’ to save Nash from the DeLucas.” I get my right leg under me, but the room starts to spin. “Shee-it.”
Ry catches me before I hit the ground. “You aren’t doing a damn thing until Doc Reynolds checks you out. Sit down and try not to lose any more blood.”
“Like I can control that, asshole.”
He glares at me, the streaks of hazel in his eyes almost golden with his frustration. “Stay still and let Inara tend to that ear.”
Pulling a roll of duct tape from West’s bag, Ryker heads for the window next to the stairs. Inara’s shot left a tidy hole in the glass, but a large crack spreads out on either side.
Stars burst in front of my eyes when Inara tightens the compression bandage around my head. The adrenaline has worn off, and every bruise, cut, and broken bone scream at me.
I’d care how much blood I’m getting all over my couch if I thought I could move. But since I can’t, I sink back against the cushions, staring at the complete destruction of my living room. West and Ry haul the bodies out to the SEAL’s truck while Inara stows Diego and Kellan’s wallets, phones, and keys in her bag.
A gust of wind is quickly followed by a loud, petulant meow. “Raelynn, does this belong to you?” Ry asks.
Kiki stands just inside the door, back arched like he’s ready to do battle if the big man breathes too loudly. His tail is twice its normal size, and he hisses once before Ryker crouches down to glare at him.
“Kiki!” Nothing is more important to me in this moment than knowing my cat isn’t hurt. I shove myself off the couch, whimpering when my ribs, knee, and foot all protest the movement. But as soon as I hit the floor, I’m rewarded with a rough tongue licking my hand and little paws kneading my thigh.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Ry taps his earbud once. “Whiskey, bring another tarp. Sierra has a cat she probably doesn’t want rolling around in all this blood.”
I scoop Kiki into my arms and bury my face in his soft fur. “You ran when they came, didn’t you? Good boy. Very good boy.”
The ride back to Hidden Agenda passes in a haze of shock and pain. Even in Ryker’s massive SUV, I feel every bump in the road. I’d let myself pass out if I weren’t so worried about Nash.
My house is as secure as it can be. The cameras are back up, and West added two more battery-operated units since the wind isn’t supposed to die down until morning.
Had the power not gone out, the motion sensors would have alerted me when they took Nash. “I need a generator,” I say absently.
“You’ll have one tomorrow. Electricians by Thursday.”
