“Sounds good,” I agreed, looking around for Kodi before remembering the security team often put him out back. He got edgy with so many unfamiliar people in his territory. I let him in, watching as he barreled up the stairs, not unusual when it came to wanting to greet Ellie.
The house felt oddly quiet as I grabbed a water from the fridge. Much of the security detail had ridden with us and were now outside, likely doing a shift change.
When my phone rang, Gunner’s name on the screen, I answered on the first ring, my body tensed in preparation for what he had to say.
As prepared as I thought I was, as it turned out, you could never truly plan for your world to spin upside down.
Chapter 18
ELLIE
When I walked into our bedroom, I immediately felt something was off. I couldn’t place it, but the chill slithering down my spine was all too familiar. Before I could backtrack, the bedroom door closed, Brian appearing from behind it, a gun pointed at my chest.
I didn’t know what I’d expected to feel if I ever had to see Brian again. Terror? Shame? What I didn’t expect was the rage that coursed through my veins as I looked into his frenzied gaze.
I was not about to let this monster who’d terrorized me for years cut my life short. Not when I’d finally figured out how to live and whom I wanted to live my life with.
“How did you get in here?” I demanded, knowing I needed to keep him talking.
He scoffed. “You took nearly every security asshole with you, and the two you didn’t are dead in the side yard. I did convince one of them to deactivate the alarm before I killed him,” he boasted.
My stomach churned with the knowledge that two good men were dead.
“There’s no way out of here,” I replied, stating the obvious.
“I don’t need a way out.” His tone was eerily calm as he stepped further into the room. “Neither one of us are leaving this room alive.”
“I thought you were in California.” I managed to speak through the terror now percolating in my veins.
His lips tipped up in a satisfied grin. “Paid a guy who looks a hell of a lot like me to use my credit card.”
It was one of the possibilities Gunner had warned us about.
“That was smart,” I commended, figuring flattery was the best way to keep him engaged, especially as the bedroom door was now edging open silently behind him.
It took all my willpower to not allow my gaze to flicker in that direction and to keep my focus on Brian. I saw from the corner of my eye as Mason edged into the room, silent as a panther, with Kodi at his side, silently waiting for the command to attack.
Despite my panicked state, I couldn’t help but marvel that my dog could actually practice the kind of restraint he was showing now, and at Mason’s command.
The fear I felt had nothing to do with me and everything to do with Mason and Kodi. I couldn’t live with myself if either of them were harmed while trying to protect me.
“Do you think it will hurt?” I asked darkly as Mason edged closer behind Brian. I knew the time was coming when I’d need to make a move, and I knew what it needed to be.
Without hesitation, I dropped to the floor like a rock just as Mason tackled him from behind, taking him to the ground with shocking force. Kodi barked and snarled, in full attack mode, tearing into Brian’s jeans and likely flesh as Mason punched him repeatedly in the head.
I stood there in muted shock, both awed and slightly terrified as my man and dog tore into Brian with a savagery only reserved for protecting someone you loved.
When the security detail rushed into the room, too little, too late, Mason was hunched over an unconscious Brian, his fists bleeding, chest heaving.
Kodi turned on them, snarling with a ferocity I’d never seen.
“Heel,” Mason commanded, and Kodi was quick to obey, padding over to sit at my feet. “Nice to see you assholes,” he grunted to the security team as he stood up. “You okay?” he demanded as he stepped toward me, taking me in his arms.
Once his arms were around me, I lost any semblance of calm. My knees gave out as he held my weight. “You’re okay. Fuck, baby. I’m so fucking sorry,” he rasped as he held me so tightly, it would have hurt if it wasn’t so goddamn comforting.
“I’m getting her out of here,” Mason directed to the team. “You remember what we talked about. Call the cops, follow protocol. I wasn’t here,” I heard him say through what sounded like water as he carried me from the room with Kodi at our heels.
I was numb as he put me in the Rover, buckling my seat belt and opening the hatch for Kodi. I didn’t know where we were going, and I didn’t ask.
