Page 91 of Serve ’N’ Protect

Her heart thumped faster than she thought possible. God. If she’d been any slower pulling the trigger…

She would have shot Markus.

Somehow, the hit man disengaged his ankle from Ghost’s teeth, kicking him in the head then pummeling Markus’s rib cage in the general area of the knife wound.

Again, she aimed. Markus gritted his teeth, grunting. Just as she was about to squeeze off another round, they flipped positions, with Markus now on the bottom and the hit man’s hands wrapped around his throat.

She pulled her finger from the trigger. This wouldn’t work. She wasn’t good enough with a gun and the risk of hitting Markus or Ghost was too great. But she had to do something.

Markus’s face began turning red as he struggled to breathe.

Ghost clamped on the man’s calf. He cursed loudly but didn’t release his hands from Markus’s throat.

Spotting her cane on the floor, she hurled the gun to the other side of the room then ran to her cane and picked it up. This weapon she was extremely competent using.

“Batter up, asshole.”

She raised her arm and swung, whacking the hit man in the back of his head and forcing him to momentarily disengage.

Markus reared back and smashed his fist in the guy’s face, knocking him to the floor, then straddled his chest and landed blow after blow. He landed one final crashing punch. Blood squirted from the man’s nose. His eyes shut and he went still. Markus slid off the man’s chest and slumped against the wall, holding his hand to his side as he sucked in heavy breaths.

Spotting a discarded zip tie on the floor, he made quick work of binding the man’s wrists. “Release,” he said to Ghost, who unclamped his jaw but remained on guard, the hair along his spine standing completely on edge.

Only then did Markus look at her. His chest heaved as he continued sucking in air. “You okay?”

She nodded, willing her heart to stop racing.

He reached under the armchair, pulled out the man’s gun, then stood and tucked it behind his back.

Sirens wailed, quickly getting louder. Markus tugged a black wallet from his back pocket and pulled the badge from the case. Attached to the badge was a beaded silver lanyard that he slipped over his head so the badge hung squarely in the middle of his chest.

Red-and-blue lights flashed through the windows. Multiple sets of booted feet pounded up the porch steps, followed by someone hammering on the door.

Markus reached for the knob then pointed to the middle of her living room. “Sorry about your window.”

Hysterical laughter threatened to escape her lips. Amidst the shattered glass was the metal support pipe from her broken railing.

It was the exact same pipe he’d used to break the window the first time.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Markus pressed an ice pack to his jaw, moving it around to one of the other half dozen parts of his face that ached before giving up entirely.

The professional’s ID said his name was John Smith, but Markus suspected the driver’s license was phony, probably purchased at a high-end ID mill. Whoever he was, the guy had skills. Military turned mercenary, Markus would bet. They wouldn’t nail down his real identity until his prints were run. Chances were he had a record.

After making sure Cassidy wasn’t hurt, he’d cleaned off Ghost’s muzzle, wiped away the blood, and checked him for cuts before giving him some water. Now, his dog lay on the sofa next to Cassidy, his head in her lap and half asleep, as if it had just been another average, ordinary day.

He squeezed the ice pack so tightly it nearly popped.

Nothing ordinary about it.

The woman he loved more than anything in the world had nearly been killed—again—and he hadn’t even gotten the chance to tell her how he felt. From the way things were going, that wasn’t about to happen anytime soon.

He leaned against the wall at the base of the steps, cataloging the different law enforcement badges inside the house and out on the street. Maryland State Police, including Trooper Collins and Detective Chang. St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office. Even cops from neighboring Charles and Calvert Counties had responded. A little late, though.

He’d already given his statement to Detective Chang. Now it was Cassidy’s turn. From across the room, shocked, frightened blue eyes momentarily locked with his before turning back to the detective. What he saw in that brief moment was a mixture of pain and uncertainty. She didn’t know why he’d come back, and the last thing he’d done before leaving was rip her heart out.

It amazed him how strong and resilient she was and yet he shouldn’t have been surprised. This was one of the many reasons he loved her. Her strength and courage.