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She went still at the top of the stairs. “Is William going to call?” she asked breathlessly, her face pale, and her wide eyes terrified.
My eyes narrowed and lips thinned as I tried to push back my anger. “I have a feeling we won’t hear from William for a long time.”
“Then who . . .”
I brushed Briar’s wild hair back from her face, and continued to cradle her head in my hand in those last seconds before that distinct ringtone went off. My heart was beating so hard I knew she could hear it, knew she could understand the urgency and anticipation in the hard pounding. “My handler at the FBI,” I answered. “I’m going to get us out of here.”
Chapter 39
Run Toward Death
Briar
Lucas dipped his head close, sweeping his mouth along my jaw to whisper in my ear, “Don’t say a word.” He pulled away then, answering his ringing phone and putting it on speaker. He placed his hand on the small of my back, leading me deeper into the living area of the top floor. “David.”
Seconds passed in silence, and Lucas’s eyes narrowed, triggering the most incredible change . . .
The wrath in his eyes since the knocking began burned darker until Lucas transformed into someone I’d never seen before.
He wasn’t the man our driver feared. He wasn’t the man who’d enjoyed torturing the hitman in the garage. This man was truly what nightmares were made of. This was him, whoever he was, and he was beautiful.
As I studied the fury that swirled with his darkness, I realized I had been right all those months ago. He was an avenging angel, even more lethal because he had fallen . . .
That was who this man was, and he loved me.
“I didn’t send that message lightly,” Lucas said darkly, his voice rumbling deep within his chest. “Speak.”
“What happened?” the man on the phone asked immediately, a tremor of panic woven throughout his words.
“William just sent men to kill Briar because he failed at taking her from me last week.”
“What do you mean failed at taking her?” the man demanded, his voice rising with each word. “What happened, and why didn’t you contact me?”
Lucas didn’t answer him, only continued. “I’m done; we’re done. We’re leaving today, and you’re providing that.”
Silence greeted us for nearly a minute before the man said “No,” in a dull, reserved tone.
Lucas slammed his hand down onto the table the phone was now on, and bent to lean close to the phone as he yelled, “Did you hear me? He tried to take her from me. He sent men to kill her. I need to get her out of here, so tell me how we do this.”
“We don’t. You can’t leave. You will stay there and finish—”
“If I stay, they won’t stop until she’s dead.”
A chill so cold it couldn’t be described spread through my body, and I swayed on my feet. The day—the last few days—were catching up with me. My fear was becoming a living, breathing thing as I listened to my devil’s voice twist in agony.
His head snapped in my direction, and he quickly pushed away from the table to wrap me up in his strong arms, steadying me as he pulled out a chair and sat in it, keeping me in his lap.
The adrenaline had faded from me, leaving an exhaustion so deep, I couldn’t fight it. I let my head fall onto Lucas’s shoulder and my body go limp as he held me close—trying to protect me from things I couldn’t push from my mind.
“My hands are tied. We can’t jeopardize everything, all these years, for one girl.”
Lucas went still as stone. After a few seconds, his chest expanded with a deep, shuddering breath. Without moving my head, I looked up to find his jaw clenched and eyes murderous.
“You can’t,” he said calmly, but no less terrifying. “I will.”
There was a crashing sound that came through the phone before the man yelled, “Two months. We have spent years preparing for this, and we’re two months away. You can’t ruin this.”
I felt Lucas’s shock, but his voice didn’t give it away. “Two months. It’s happening in two months? Didn’t you think I should kno—?” He cut off with a hiss, then said through clenched teeth, “The celebration. Were you going to warn me?” More silence. “Were you going to warn me?” he roared, the loud boom of his voice causing me to flinch.
