Another gunshot rang out, the bullet striking the cabinet beside them.
“Don’t move,” Emmett commanded as he risked a glance around the cabinet’s edge.
Janie covered her ears when he fired his weapon. The blood in her veins turned to ice.
Please don’t let us die.
The house grew eerily quiet, which was almost as bad as the barrage of gunfire.
“Come on.” Emmett stood, using his free hand to pull her to her feet. “Stay right behind me, and don’t make a sound.”
She wasn’t about to argue and put their lives in further danger. Janie kept her front so close to the back of his body she could feel his masculine heat. Fear left her ears filled with the sound of her frantic heartbeat, but she pushed it away and focused on Emmett and their shadowed surroundings.
Her assumption was, they’d make their way into the garage before jumping in the car and escaping to safety. But you know what they say about those who assume.
Emmett opened the door to the mansion’s den, not far from the massive home’s entrance. With his pistol held steady in his strong, unwavering grip, he cleared the room in seconds.
“Stay here,” he whispered, pointing to the far-right corner of the room. “Lock the door behind me and take cover behind the desk.”
He was leaving her here? Alone?
“Emmett, I?—”
“There’s no time to argue. Just do as I say. Lock the door, and do not open it for anyone else but me.”
She wanted to argue. Janie wanted to refuse the staunch order and stay by his side. But this was his wheelhouse. Situations like the one they were in . . . It’s what he and his team did.
“Okay.” Her head bobbed with a jerky nod.
Emmett looked back at her with an unreadable expression before his parting, whispered words.
“It’s going to be okay.” He cupped one side of her face with the hand not holding the gun. “I’llwillcome back for you, but I need to know you’re safe while I handle this.” He leaned in and pressed his lips to the center of her forehead.
And with her next breath, Emmett was gone.
Janie rushed to the door, her fingers trembling as she hurriedly secured the lock on the knob. As far as security went, it was minimal at best. But it was something, and for now, it was all she had.
She spun on her heels and ran across the carpeted room. Her pulse raced, and her mind whirled with endless worst-case-scenario possibilities.
Emmett could get hurt. He could get shot. The man she’d put in this position could die.
Tears rushed to the surface, but Janie refused to let them fall. Crying now wouldn’t accomplish anything, and it certainly wouldn’t help.
The only thing she could do now was follow the orders she’d been given. She rolled the wheeled chair from the desk far enough to give her room to fit through. She dropped to her knees, crawled under the desk, and pulled the chair back into place to help conceal her presence.
And there, beneath her mahogany shield, Janie began to pray.
Please, God. Please, keep Emmett safe.
The unspoken plea had barely left her thoughts when the sound of muffled gunfire came from somewhere within the home’s walls.
Janie leaned her head on her knees, hugging her legs tightly as she forced several slow, deep breaths. Another shot rang out, and after that, there was nothing.
No shooting. No yelling. No footsteps heading her way.
The silence was deafening, and she felt more terrified than ever before. Had the shooting stopped because Emmett had taken out the bad guy? Or did it mean her time was up and Emmett was no longer shooting because he was?—
A loud pounding came from the door. “Janie, it’s me. You can come out now.”
