A long sigh. “I guess I can give you that. You are in my way. The end.”
“In your way? Of getting to Ian?” She inched closer, trying her best not to make any big movements to scare the other woman.
“Of him realizing the two of us are perfect. I spent months putting this into motion, expecting him to call me for help. I mean, why wouldn’t he?”
Because you’re unbalanced?
“But you got in the way every bloody time. Every time!” Spittle flew out of Vivian’s mouth.
Ooookay. “I was just trying to keep him safe.”
She took another sliding step closer.
Vivian snorted. “He didn’t need your help.”
The woman had unleashed people who had wanted Ian dead and thought that it was no big deal.
“He did. Vegas was a close call.”
Vivian blinked. “That was unfortunate. That’s why I got more careful after that. It didn’t take much to let this or that person know where he was.”
“So you’re telling me that you risked his life and traded these secrets to adversaries to the Crown to get a man to notice you?”
Yep. She was definitely insane.
Her expression turned mulish. “It was a good plan.”
“It was a stupid plan.”
The woman’s eyes widened, the craziness taking over. Lila had one chance and that was to bum rush her and make a play for the gun.
Lila rushed forward, then jumped on the woman, tackling her, taking them both to the ground. She once again hit her head on the wooden floor. Fuck, that hurt. Then, they rolled over the floor, both of them struggling for control of the gun. Lila got her hands on it, but not soon enough because it went off. The burn she felt in her thigh was probably not a good thing. But she ignored the pain. Adrenaline spiked. She had untangled herself from Vivian just as the door burst open.
“Lila!” Hands pulled her off the floor and away from the nut with the gun. The world seemed to revolve as Ian lifted her up into his arms.
“Autumn!”
“Bedroom,” Lila said, as the room kept moving as if she were on a carousel, even though she knew Ian wasn’t moving.
The door to the bedroom opened and Autumn came running out. “She made me go. Blackmailed me.”
Autumn sounded really put out by that.
“I couldn’t let you risk the baby.”
“Ian! I am here to save you!” Vivian yelled out.
Ian blinked and looked at the woman as if he hadn’t registered that she was there. He said nothing to Vivian as she was pulled up off the floor.
“How did you know there was a problem?”
He turned to look at her. “Your father said he had nothing to do with the attacks against me, and then a friend told me that Vivian was fired from MI-6.”
“Anyone shot?” someone yelled out.
“No,” Ian said at the same time Lila said, “Me.”
“What?”
