Page 82 of Witness Security Breach

Devlin pounded up the steps. His vile, evil energy was a force in itself, breathing down on her.

She shot the lock and kicked it open. Devlin charged toward her, taking aim. She threw the door wide open, punched holes into the other and ran into the construction zone.

Before she could get her bearings, he was barreling down on her.

She spun and fired but tripped on a cord and missed.

As he raised his gun, she was close enough to grab his right wrist and keep her head out of the line of fire, but he snatched her gun hand, as well.

They wrestled, struggling in a furious whirl to gain control or to break free. Both squeezing off shots, trying to nail the other with a bullet.

His gun clicked first. Empty.

Two more shots, and hers did the same.

The moment of decision froze between them, and their eyes locked.

One bloody lesson she’d learned in the group home as a teenager—hesitation could be fatal. Letting a fight unfold always gave your opponent the advantage.

She threw a headbutt to his face, slamming her skull down on the bridge of his nose, and nearly broke free of his hold. But he was tough. Unrelenting.

Devlin punched her, a quick jab that sent her to the floor and had blood pooling in her mouth.

Think! She inched away. Determination fired in her blood.

Think, or this man is going to kill you.

She’d never given much thought to dying, had never spent much time wondering what came after. But right then, all she cared about was living and breathing and having a life with Aiden. She wasn’t going to let this bastard take that away from her.

He stalked closer, violence etching harsh lines on his face.

Charlie shoved her hand in her pocket and gathered a handful of sand. Hold, she told herself. Pulse racing. Breath sawing from her mouth. Wait for him to get closer.

He reached down to grab her by the hair, and she threw the sand in his eyes.

Pitching away from her, he wiped at his face with his forearm.

She threw a boot heel to his groin.

Jumping to her feet, she drew the tactical knife from its sheath and lunged for him. The matte black blade slid into the sweet spot—the jugular notch right above the sternum.

A gurgling noise came from Devlin. He stumbled back, dropped to one knee as if still struggling to stand, to keep fighting out of sheer malice, but he toppled to the floor.

His lifeless eyes open. Blood pouring from his dead body on the floor.

She sucked in a deep breath and swallowed hard, her hands shaking. Her heart quivering.

Aiden stormed inside. His gaze fell to Devlin and lifted to her. The heated look in his eyes knocked her back a step. She saw the anger, the worry, the shadows of fear.

In a blink, he had her wrapped in his arms.

Relief rose like the sun inside her. They’d both survived. Together. She held him tight, pressed her cheek to his.

Then she remembered. Pulling away, she asked, “Where’s Albatross?”

“He ran with the money. Walsh went after him.”

She stared at him, her mouth hanging open. “Why aren’t you chasing them?”