I could sneak up behind the man. Put my gun to his head.
I could help. Give Nico the opening to incapacitate him.
Or I could screw up Nico’s plan and we could both end up dead because I didn’t listen to instructions.
What do I do?
Nico stares at the man unflinchingly. “How about this? You put your gun down. And then I won’t have to kill you.”
Nico’s opponent snorts. “You might be good with your hands. But against a gun, they’re useless.”
I creep forward another few feet, well into the living room. I raise my weapon.
Nico doesn’t notice me. His focus is wholly on the man standing in front of him.
“Oh, but you’re wrong,” Nico says. “Maybe for an average man. But.” He grins. “I was Delta. And trust me, my hands arefardeadlier than that gun.”
Chapter Eighteen
NICO
Even in the dark, I can see his fear.
But it wars with cockiness. A stubborn belief that he still has the upper hand.
His gun is pointed at me, after all. Less than a foot from my heart. And from his stance and grip, it’s clear he’s no novice.
No, three armed intruders who somehow found their way past my security aren’t run-of-the-mill criminals. For them to enter the building, get past the guards, go up the elevator that requires a special code to use, and get into my condo, that means someone behind this—whether it’s one of these three or a mastermind pulling strings from a distance—knows what they’re doing.
Still, I would have thought it impossible.
Unless… they got in another way. Rappelling down from the roof and cutting the glass in a window? Masquerading as a tenant, or disguising themselves as a new employee? Or?—
Does it matter right now?
No. Not really. All that matters is neutralizing this asshole and keeping Sofia safe.
Narrowing my glare at the man in front of me, I growl, “This is your last chance. Put down the weapon. Or Iwillhurt you.”
He lifts his chin defiantly. “I’ll get a shot off first. And then you’ll be lying on the ground, helpless and bleeding, while I go find your little girlfriend’s hiding place.” He pauses before adding in a pacifying tone, “We’re not here to kill you. Stand down, and we’ll leave you alone. It’s not like you can identify us with the masks, anyway.”
“We?” I ask with a skeptical rise of my brows. “I don’t think your friends are going to be doing much to help. Assuming they’re not dead, themselves.” They aren’t. But they’re definitely both unconscious and suffering from several broken bones.
As I glance to my right at one of the intruders sprawled on the ground, his gaze quickly follows.
It’s only a momentary lapse in focus, but it’s enough.
Just as I practiced thousands of times, my arm comes down on his. I hit him just in the right spot to make him lose his grip on the gun. Like the other, he yelps in pain. Then, in a follow-up one-two move, I punch him in the sternum, and then the throat.
He lets out a wheezing gasp before dropping to his knees. His uninjured hand goes to his neck.
I leap on him, pinning him to the ground and choking him out in seconds. Once he goes limp, I snatch up his gun and quickly stick it on the bookcase behind me.
Scanning the room, I spot all three men, still incapacitated, but one of them is already stirring. And then?—
“Sofia!” My heart nearly explodes out of my chest. “What are you… You’re supposed to be in the closet. Is that?—”
She moves towards me, wide-eyed and trembling. “I couldn’t hide in there. Not with you out here.” After a quick glance around the room, she exhales heavily. “Okay. What do you need?”
