Cord reached the front of the truck and slammed his back against the grill, readying his rifle. He lifted a hand, swiped the beads of sweat dripping down his forehead and temples. There was another bang and then Samantha’s sharp cry, cut offquickly.
A rough, gravelly voice reached his ears. “I warned you what would happen if youleft.”
The ex-boyfriend, Brad. He’d been working with Matt. No, he’d used Matt as a distraction to draw Sam out in the open away fromCord.
Suddenly, a loud smack rent the air. Sam cried out. There was the sound of a struggle. Cord blew out all of his air and took in a deep, calming breath. His rage wouldn’t help her. She needed the killer in himnow.
Barely aware of the heat pounding down his back or the throbbing in his leg, Cord stepped out from the hood, lifted his AR in one fluid movement, and sited in Brad in one second. “Touch her again, and you’re a deadman.”
Brad had her by the throat, a knife balanced against her cheek. All he had to do was shift his wrist and he could slit her aorta. The bastard scrambled behind her, an arm now locked around her waist, the other repositioning the knife so that it lay against her throat. Sam’s wild, blue eyes focused on Cord, silently pleading for his help, a bright, red handprint already swelling hercheek.
“Put the gun down. You can’t get to me without hurting her.” Brad kept his head tucked down close to her neck, smartly using her as ashield.
“That was smart using Matt as a distraction to draw me out.” Cord kept the rifle pressed to his cheek, the crosshairs trained on Brad’s exposed right temple. At this distance, he could easily take the bastard out, but Sam’s proximity held hisfinger.
Brad had his face out far enough to smile at Cord. “Dumb bastard was in love with her. It was easy enough to controlhim.”
“And you knew the whole time I’d take him out,” Cordfinished.
Talking was distracting Brad; he wasn’t quite tucked down behind Sam as he had beenbefore.
In his periphery, he saw Samantha’s lip tremble with the news that delivered a hard blow to her, but he couldn’t focus on her painnow.
“One or the other—if you hadn’t finished him off, I would have,” Brad said in a condescending tone that said he thought he still had the upperhand.
The dumb bastard didn’t realize he was alreadydead.
“And how exactly did you plan on getting her away from me?” Cord asked quietly, keeping an eye onBrad.
“You’re going to let me walk out of here with her, because if you don’t, I’ll slit her throat.” Brad shifted slightly to the right, exposing another inch of his temple. Cord blew out a breath and squeezed the trigger. Brad flew backward, his knife falling to the dirt at Sam’sfeet.
Blood sprayed across her face. She screamed and ran right into Cord’s arms. He caught her up, squeezed her tight, and buried his face in her hair, drawing in a deep inhale of her scent. “It’s all right, everything’s okaynow.”
