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The squibs exploded against his chest in the little make-shift vest they’d placed on him under his button-down shirt, which was now ruined. At least it wasn’t his favorite. His chest felt like someone had hit him with a hammer, and he swore he could smell burned chest hair, but he ignored it, trying to remember the instructions Trent had given him on playing dead. Be still. Let your entire body go completely loose.
Gravel dug into his cheek and the fake blood was seeping through his shirt, chilling his skin. More shots were fired. This time from James’s direction and Abe prayed for the fake stalker. He was relieved when he heard the squeal of tires as the SUV peeled out of the empty parking lot.
There was a scrabble of feet on the broken pavement and then a hand on his shoulder, tilting him slightly upright. Abe struggled to keep his gaze unfocused.
“Run, Dom!” he choked out. “Call for help.” He gave a thick, phlegmy cough. “Run.”
“Yeah, help,” James mumbled, releasing Abe to flop back down on the sun-warmed pavement. There were more footsteps, but this time they were running away from the car…toward the warehouse.
Closing his eyes, Abe chanced a deep, shaky breath. The overwhelming need to both laugh and cry rose up inside of him at the same time. He’d come up with this insane plan and somehow, he’d managed to survive it. There was just one more dangerous part, and there was nothing he could do to help Dom from this point on.
“Hey, Abe.”
“Yeah, Trent,” he replied, still lying facedown on the pavement.
“This is a normal day for Dom?”
“Yep.”
“Fuck…I need a damn vacation after this.”
“Yeah, me too.” Taking a deep breath, he whispered, “He’s all yours, Dom. Be safe.”Chapter SeventeenDom waited in the shadows, sweat running down the side of his face in the stifling hot warehouse. He held close Abe’s admonishment to be safe. It was not his priority, but for Abe, he would try. They were not finished, not by a long shot. He wanted everything that a relationship offered when it came to Abe. He wanted the arguments and the tense moments of fear as much as he wanted years of laughter and joy. He wanted to wake up beside Abe and plan their day while lying in bed.
But first he had to deal with James.
His brother had threatened Abe, threatened the family that he built with Ward Security. Threatened the fucking life that he’d finally gotten for himself after years of struggle. It couldn’t continue.
James might be all that was left of his blood relatives, but it carried no weight when it came to the lives of the people that he loved.
When Abe had described his plan, he was sure that his lover had absolutely lost his mind, but then they wrangled in Rowe and Trent. They all rallied together to help Dom. To confuse and distract James until he ran straight into Dom’s clutches.
“We’ve got Abe and Trent in sight with Noah. We’ll have them in two minutes,” Rowe relayed in the earwig he was wearing.
“Got it.”
“Don’t be stupid, Dom,” Rowe said in a low, firm voice. “We need you back safe and sound too.”
Dom grunted. He wasn’t planning to be stupid, but there were a few choice words he wanted to say to his brother before this was finally over.
Heavy footsteps pounded on the pavement and echoed off the high walls and ceilings in the empty, two-story warehouse. Dom watched from his perch atop of a pair of crates in the shadows as his brother ran into the warehouse and slammed the door shut behind him. He continued to move into the room, twisting to the left and then right as if searching for some unseen assailant. Harsh, broken breaths filled the relative silence, and James frantically ran his hand through his hair.
“Fuck!” he swore softly, and then a second time, louder. Loud enough to disturb the doves from where they were roosting up in the steel rafters. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out his cell phone. After tapping a couple of buttons, he held it up to his ear while he paced in the center of the room. He swore again after a few seconds and lowered the phone. He tried again…and again.
“What the fuck, Slaney? Where are you?” he snarled. He tried again but still got no answer. He started to throw his phone but caught himself at the last second and shoved it into his back pocket again.
“Trouble?” Dom called out.
James spun around, whipping out the gun he had concealed in a holster at his back. “John?” He pointed it in the general area where Dom was but had yet to actually spot him.
Dom let the name slide without comment as he jumped down from his perch. He wasn’t worried about the gun, yet. And he’d learned from his past mistakes when it came to James, bringing his own to this fight.
