King shot up. “I don’tknow.”
“Is Diggs letting Faith play with the speakers thislate?”
“That’s not the speakers.” King bolted from the bed. “Get to Faith, bring her.Now.”
Laura scrambled from the bed, yanking on her clothes. “I left her in the kitchen withAudra.”
King shoved his legs into his pants and grabbed his pistol, checked the clip and then grabbed her hand. “We’ve got to get to her. Stay close to me, do not leave my side. Do youunderstand?”
Laura nodded, unable to squeeze out an answer past the huge lump choking off her airway. “What is it? What’s goingon?”
Chapter 19
King ripped open the door,raised his pistol and checked around the corner. “It’s clear.” He grabbed Laura’s hand and hooked it over the waistband of his pants. “Don’t let go.” He needed to know she was listening and staying close by, but he also needed his attention focused ahead. The booms ricocheting through his bedroom hadn’t been gangsta rap, they’d been legitexplosions.
He’d been in enough battles to recognize that pounding vibration in an instant. He could hear his team shouting throughout the mansion, detected half of them down in the training facility below, the others on the floor above. He kept his gun at the ready, and moved quickly down the hall, clearing left and then right until he could see light in the chandelier at the head of the staircase. Smoke drifted upward, thick and heavy. Christ. The kitchen was on the bottom floor of the front west side of thehouse.
For the first time in five years King started to pray. He prayed that Faith wasokay.
They increased speed, as fast as Laura could handle. They drew within a foot of the landing. He stopped, threw out his hand behind him and pushed her back against the wall. His shoulders slid across the hard surface of the wall edge as he leaned around, but before his nose cleared the corner a huge explosion rocked the mansion and the blast threw him sideways. He shoved his arm out, taking Laura with him. Debris rained around them. He took the brunt of the shrapnel in his back. They hit the floor, hard. He grunted, trying to lock his elbows out at a ninety degree angle to keep from crushing her, and rolled. They landed a few feet down thehallway.
Laura coughed, tried to catch her breath. He rolled off of her, hit his back and hissed in pain. He sat up in the next second, not giving his mind enough time to process the injury. “We’ve got tomove.”
He shot to his feet and yanked Laura up withhim.
“Faith! Oh my God, King, we have to findher.”
Her gaze bounced around the hallway wildly, and he knew that if she let it take over they’d both be in trouble. He grabbed her jaw, being careful not to hurt her, and said in a deadly calm voice, “Calm.Down.”
Satisfied when she locked onto him, he said, “I need you to calm down so I can focus on findingFaith.”
She nodded, sick with tears blossoming in her eyes. Unthinking, he pressed a hard, quick kiss to her lips and then planted her hand on his waistband at his back once more. “Stayclose.”
And then he was moving, the unconscious training taking over. The smoke was so thick in the foyer it provided plenty of camouflage for them to work their way down the staircase without worry of being spotted. When they reached the bottom step, the sound of a loud engine filled the air, followed by a loud crunching of debris under tires. Through the dust, an armed Humvee blasted through the gaping hole where the front doors had oncebeen.
King locked eyes with Dawson through the bulletproof windshield. His blood wentcold.
Dawson kicked open the door, his familiar face covered withrage.
King lifted his gun and stepped back, plastering Laura between his back and the wall. “Motherfucker.”
Dawson lifted his own pistol, taking aim at King’s head. “I should have finished the job when I had thechance.”
A primal growl worked up inside King. “How did you findus?”
Dawson kept his body behind the door, the armor plating protecting him from King’s fury. “Did you really think you could kidnap my family and I wouldn’t findyou?”
“John!” Laura called out and tried to step around King. He shifted his shoulder back, blocking hermovement.
“Stay put.” The last thing he needed was to try to focus on Dawson and Laura at the same time.Shit. Shit.Shit.
She leaned her face against his back and nodded. “Okay.” Her voice was weak and frightened. He wanted to tell her it would be okay, as if he knew that to betrue.
“Laura, are you okay?” Dawson called out. He kept his pistol angled around the door but his body behind it, giving King not one inch of a target to hit. “Did he hurtyou?”
“I’m fine,” shesaid.
His patience shrinking by the second, King eased slowly to the right, praying that Laura would stay with him. If he could get at a better angle, and put Dawson in his sights, he could gain control of the situation. At least until the rest of the team got there. He could hear them scrambling below, knew that they were gathering for the attack. But what worried him more, was that he hadn’t heard a single sound from Faith or the direction of thekitchen.
