I take the stairs two at a time, moving like a shadow. Her door is open with the bed made but the room is empty. I check her bathroom and closet and peek under the bed in case she’s hiding, but find nothing. Fuck.
I double back, dart into my room, and grab the bat from under my bed. The old wooden Louisville Slugger feels heavier than I remember, but comforting, like an extension of the rage simmering in my chest.
Then the front door slams open downstairs. Voices and heavy boots ring out, so I throw myself to the floor and roll under my bed, gripping the bat tightly, barely daring to breathe.
"Nothing on the main floor. Check upstairs," one of them barks.
Bootsteps hit the stairs. My muscles lock. I go stone still as dust tickles my nose, and I fight the urge to sneeze.
"Clear," someone calls from Luna’s room.
"Nothing here either. Let’s go, mate. It’s empty."
Their voices fade, but I wait until I hear the front door close before I start to breathe again and count to twenty before rolling out from under the bed into a crouch, bat at the ready. Slowly, I make my way to the door and listen. When I’m met with silence. I step into the hall, careful and quiet, ready to go search for where Luna might be hiding. I’ve only taken two steps when…
"Oi, be just a second," a new voice says from below. "Saw a video game I’ve been wanting. Calling dibs!"
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!
I dive back into my room, heart hammering as I slide under the bed again. The bat clinks softly against the wood floor. I clamp a hand over my mouth. I can hear him now. One set of boots walking with zero urgency, like he’s fucking shopping in our house. I hear drawers open. Something falls with a thud. A soft laugh.
Come on, you bastard. Take your loot and piss off. Because if he comes up here… I might just forget the plan and smash his face in, and that could blow everything. It’ll have his mates coming back to look for him.
So I wait. Again. Gripping the bat tighter. Praying he leaves and hoping Luna is still safe somewhere in this house and that I’m not already too late.
Chapter 70 - Gage
My sights back on the house now that Penny is safe in the church, I look through the windows and spot her just as she disappears into the storage room under the basement stairs. Smart fucking girl. As long as she stays quiet in there, I doubt the soldiers will find her. The door blends perfectly into the paneling.
A second later, movement catches my eye as someone sprints to the door on the walk-out level. I squint to get a better look through the scope. It’s not a soldier in uniform, but something about the guy nags at my memory. He turns a bit so I can see his face and my stomach drops.
Mars. Fucking Mars.
That fucker. I watch him sneaking into the house after her like he belongs there. My blood boils. Where the hell has he been? And what the fuck is he doing here now?
I keep my rifle steady, my eye on the windows of the lowest level, and see him slide into the storage room where Luna’s hiding. I swear to God, if he gets her caught by these guys…
Then I see the soldiers moving around on the upper floors. They’ve entered the house and are moving like they’re sweeping the place. I shift my aim. The barrel lowers slightly, zeroing in on the basement windows again, the ones near where Luna’s hiding.
They won’t take her. Not while I’m breathing. My finger curls around the trigger as doubts fill me. Can I make the shot? I’ve made longer shots than this when hunting, but never through a window or with so much at stake. Is this the right play, though? If I start shooting, it could distract them and get them out of the house, but so much can go wrong. I blow out a deep breath, and a picture of her face flashes before my eyes.
I love her. I know I do. I’ve known it since she put her small hand on my chest and demanded that I share my pain with her. I’ve been waiting what feels like my whole life for our time to be together. Just how far am I willing to go to make her mine? To protect her? Is it murder to take a life to protect someone you love? That’s a whole different fucking level of commitment.
I force a breath out. Try to calm the thundering in my chest and decide that I’m all in. If I have to kill these soldiers to keep her safe, then that’s what I will do.
The men search the basement just steps from where my girl and Mars are hiding. My hands ache with how tight I’m holding the rifle, just waiting for the moment they discover her and I have to take the shot that will change me from the man I am.
"Breathe Gage, relax your hands. Let the tension go," I tell myself. I know if I'm too tense, it will make it harder to make a good shot.
It feels like an eternity with my finger on the trigger, watching the soldiers make their way through the basement. Finally, I relax my hold when they don’t find her and head back upstairs.
That was too fucking close.
Another few minutes pass before I see her again. Luna steps out of the storage space under the stairs with Mars right behind her. She looks angry, and I smirk when I see her bat away his hand on her arm. Make him fucking grovel, sweetheart.
Any amusement I have turns to ashes and fear in the next second.
Chapter 71 - Mars
