They beat the crowd and came in from the opposite side of the gathering. The laughing revelers were forming an aisle way down the shallow fieldstone steps leading to the limo that was going to take the newlyweds to the airport. Izzy had said that there was a private plane ready to fly them south.
Drake drew her to a rock formation that was part of the landscaping. If she stood here, she would be able to see them leave.
The newlyweds ran down the steps, holding hands. The attendees showered them with birdseed and good wishes. When they got to the limo, Tyler and Kiko turned, giving their families a final goodbye.
In the last light of the evening, something glinted in the light to the east of the gathering, on a landscaped slope similar to the one they were on. Drake looked that way and at first couldn't make anything out. Then the glint flashed again. He'd seen enough riflescopes in his life to know what he saw.
"No fucking way," he growled.
He pushed Izzy to the ground behind the landscaping rocks. "Stay right there. I think Brendon is being an ass again."
Her eyes widened in fear but he couldn't stay to comfort her. He took off running.
Praying that his men would see him, he started going through the hand signals all teams were trained with. Attention. Look in that direction. Assault and Eliminate. Over and over again, even as he plowed through the crowd. Tyler took Kiko to the ground just as a shot ricocheted through the air. Drake didn't even slow, though he knew he was probably the target. He just pounded on. Then there were men running beside him, other SEALs that trusted in him and his word, even if they weren't on the same team.
When they reached Brendon, they completely overwhelmed him. Within a fraction of a second, he was disarmed and flipped over onto his belly. Struggling, he tried to buck them off. Drake was forced to immobilize him with a strike to the ribs, then a second one. Brendon gasped for breath, his arms going lax. Someone produced a white flex-cuff zip tie and he almost laughed, wondering who’d come so prepared to a wedding reception, but he took it without comment. He cinched it around Brendon's wrists, till the man cried out with pain. Drake couldn't give a flying fuck if he was in pain though.
Three of the men around him took over for Drake as he stood. Cody stood a few feet away with a beat up hunting rifle in hand. "Looks like he was hunting something, Zero. It's clear now."
Cody had the sense to handle the weapon gingerly so as not to smudge prints. Another SEAL stood to the side recording everything on his phone. Yet another group was directing the rest of the crowd back down the hill. By the time the sheriff arrived a few minutes later, the scene and suspect were completely preserved.
With a stunned look, Izzy walked into his arms when he got to the bottom of the hill. Then she pushed him away and looked him up and down. "You're not hit?"
Drake looked down at himself. It wasn't unusual to find injuries after the adrenalin had worn off, but he didn't see anything. "I don't think so. Judging by the state of the rifle he had, I doubt he could hit anything."
She swiped sudden tears from her cheeks, dragging in huge gulps of air. Drake was a little shocked at Izzy's reaction, and she seemed to be too. She turned away a little to get control of her emotions. When she turned back, she’d wiped her face and clamped down on her reaction, but her skin was still flushed.
Giving in to the need to hold her in his arms, Drake pressed a kiss to her head, running his fingers through her hair. Tucking some behind her ear, he brushed a touch along the outside shell, over the dangling silver earring she wore, then down to her collarbone.
"That scared me, Drake. I'm not going to lie."
Moving his hand up and down her back, he sighed. "I know it did, Izzy, but you're handling it well. I appreciate that."
She leaned back in his arms enough to look up into his eyes. "You think you were his target. Don’t you?"
He winced, his gaze sliding away. "Not sure. We're hoping the resort has footage of the area up there, but we're not holding our breath. They do, however, have footage of him getting into his truck for the weapon. The security guards said they were parked outside his room the entire time, so he must have jumped out of his second-floor window or something." He dragged his gaze back to hers. "He's not going to do anything else though. I promise you."
Tyler and Kiko were talking to the sheriff when they wandered over, and Izzy gave her a wan smile. "You okay, Mrs. Cutler?"
Kiko grinned for a moment at her new name, before sobering. "Yes, I'm fine. Not exactly the splashy end to the wedding I wanted, but, you know… at least no deaths occurred."
Kiko gave a sardonic shrug and Izzy leaned forward to pull her into a hug. Ginny slipped from the crowd to join them, and they held each other for a couple of minutes, not even saying anything. Just reassuring each other.
"I'm still going on my damn honeymoon!" Kiko declared, pulling back.
Izzy squeezed her friend's hand. "Of course you are! Besides, you have a private plane. You can go anytime."
They laughed together and within a few minutes Kiko and Tyler took off for real this time, beer cans rattling from the bumper of the limousine.
Ginny declared that she was tired from all the drama and was heading up to the room. But she winked at Izzy. And grabbed the good-looking man from the dinner table she'd been with earlier to tow behind her as she left.
Izzy laughed, because though this had been a harrowing day, they would all move on. And they would all find pleasure where they could.
Drake stood a few feet away, arms crossed as he waited for her. Izzy gave him a playful smile. "So, Navy man, I think you need a physical, just to make sure we didn't miss something."
He gave her a funny look. "You know, maybe we should. I might have missed something important. Thank you for taking care of me, Ms. Greer."
"No problem, Mr. Hardwick."
