“You’re super sexy handling that weapon,” he slurs, and Vienna tuts, dabbing at the cut above his eyebrow.
“I think he has a concussion. He’s loopy,” Vienna murmurs, and I can hear her concern.
“Call Suzy from my phone and explain what’s happening. Tell her I have it handled, but we are going to need the doctor when we get home. She will organize for him to check on Colton and the others. I think Xavier is going to need stitches.”
While we are talking, there are more shots exchanged between the guys and the enemy. Through the open door, I see the three of them exchange words and hand signals like they are a freaking military unit. I narrow my eyes in contemplation. Tristan and Xavier don’t just have gun range experience. Before I can ask Colton or Vienna about it, though, the other door is yanked open, and Vienna screams, yanking Colton away from it. I turn the gun and fire, my ears ringing from the sound inside the enclosed space. The bullet hits the man with such force, his body is thrown backward, away from the door, which gives me a clean line of sight. I count two more bodies and know only one remains. I’m not wearing my bulletproof vest, which I’m nowregretting. It looks like Sage and I may have to take to wearing them on a daily basis for a while.
I scan the dense forest for the last remaining enemy. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a shadow pass, and I swivel my head to look, but it’s just Tristan crouching behind the car and facing in the same direction as I am. I release the sudden breath I took and turn my attention toward the tree line. The silence is almost deafening. There are no sounds other than my heavy breathing and Vienna’s quiet murmuring to Colton, not even a rustle of leaves from the breeze.
Suddenly, there’s a sharp crack of a tree branch, and I turn to where it came from and fire. I’m not the only one, because a volley of bullets rings out from our side of the road.
Finally, I hear Sage yell, “Clear. They are all down.”
I relax, turning the safety on my weapon and sagging to my knees in the ruined vehicle, placing the rifle on the floor.
“Fucking hell,” I mutter, pushing a hand through my hair. It’s a tangled mess, and I feel little pieces of glass in it, so I only push it off my face. “Are you two okay?” I ask loudly, my hearing still compromised.
“What?” Vienna yells, shoving a finger in one ear like she’s trying to clear it. Instead of repeating myself, I give them a thumbs-up, to which she nods and Colton blinks.
Okay, we need to get him to a doctor fast. I grab my Glock and climb out of my car, wanting to question the man whose knee I destroyed. I look around and see Sage checking on the guy who tried to pull us out of the car. His wide, blank eyes stare at the sky, but Sage still puts a round between his eyes just like we were taught.
I look around and see Tristan doing the same with one of the others, but when I look toward the guy whose knee I destroyed, I find Xavier standing over him, his gun pointed at his body. Xavier is talking to him, his face furious, but I can’t make outwhat they are saying. I stumble slightly, my body banged up a little more than I realized now that the adrenaline is wearing off, but I feel a hand on my arm as Sage steadies me.
“I’ve got you, love,” he says, then he helps me over to where Xavier and the remaining alive combatant is. Before we can make it to them, though, there’s a bang, and Xavier puts a bullet between the man’s eyes.
“No. What the fuck?” I scream at him, yanking my arm from Sage and stomping over. “I wanted to fucking question him. You had no right to do that.” I slap Xavier’s chest, and he just glares down at me.
“He knew nothing. They were hired to ambush the limo, but they were told it was only going to be the two of you. They weren’t expecting us to be here as well.”
“Who hired him? Was it Lorenzo?” I demand, and he shrugs.
“He didn’t say.”
“Argh!” I stomp my foot like a toddler having a tantrum. “I would have been able to get that information out of him. I could have taken him back for interrogation.” I’m so fucking pissed.
“Easy, Tori,” Sage murmurs. “He was only protecting us. He didn’t know. They don’t lead the same kind of life we do.”
I’m not so sure about that now. They are way too familiar and confident with weapons than the average college student, as well as the way Tristan was making sure they were well and truly dead without even hesitating. Then again, they did grow up rough, so I could understand the need to know how to protect themselves at all costs.
I heave out a sigh as Xavier pushes past me and stalks toward the vehicle to check on the other two. Tristan drags one of the other bodies over to this one and drops their legs.
“If we put them in a pile, it will be easier to clean up.”
I wave a hand at him. “It’s okay, I have a crew coming.” I sag against a nearby tree and close my eyes, leaning my head back. My temples are throbbing, and my ribs ache something fierce.
“I’ll go check on Cecil, but I doubt he survived,” Sage tells me, and I sigh. Cecil has been our driver for years, and he even survived the bomb that took out Dad’s limo, the destruction being contained to the passenger section.
“I’m going to dig around in pockets and find the keys for that vehicle,” Tristan tells me, nodding at the SUV the armed men arrived in. “The limo is toast, and we need a way to get home, and that’s as good as any.”
“What about the drivers of the cars that hit us?” I ask, and he shakes his head.
“Both of them were knocked out when the airbags exploded, and Sage and I took care of them earlier,” he tells me, tilting his head to the side. “You know, Xavier meant well,” he explains, and I shrug, not willing to concede just yet.
“Let’s get moving. I want to get home. This day ended up being a huge clusterfuck after such a great start.” I can’t help but sound annoyed, especially since I still need to head out late tonight, and by then, everything is going to hurt.
Maybe I’ll have a smoke to ease some of the discomfort.
Chapter Twenty
