Page 50 of Flawed Revenge

When they were both dressed, her daughter’s medical bag slung over her shoulder, and the blanket from the bed in her arms, Kate guided Ariella out of the bedroom and into the hall. There were no curtains in any of the rooms, so even though there were no lights on, there was enough light to see where they were going. Pausing at the bathroom, they both did their business, and then they headed downstairs.

Everyone else was already gathered there, dressed, armed, and ready to defend themselves however necessary. It felt wrong not to have a weapon in her hand. Didn't matter that she didn't know how to use it, she’d feel better having a way to protect herself and her daughter.

Leo’s gaze landed on her, roamed over her and their daughter. He nodded, and took a step toward them. Whatever he was about to say, he never got the chance.

Gunfire erupted.

There was no chance to ask questions, gather details about what they were up against, or even ask if one of the weapons could be spared so that she could have it. Whatever was happening had already started, and all she could do now was follow Leo and the others’ leads and pray that they all made it out the other side.

“You all stay here, in the middle of the building, which protects you from shots coming through the windows,” Steel ordered. “If they get through us you shoot to kill.”

Kate shuddered at the thought. Facts were, if these people shooting at them got past the Delta Team men, then she, her daughter, and the others were all dead.

Again, she fought against the urge to call Leo back when he disappeared out into the dark night, instead clutching her daughter tight. Tension was high, even from Indigo, who was sitting on the bottom step, propped up against the wall. Everyone else was armed, but only Rose and Cassandra looked somewhat comfortable with their weapons. Maya pressed a gun into Kate’s hand, and she nodded her thanks.

The gunfire got louder, and Ariella screamed. Her daughter’s panic overwhelmed her, and Ariella ran. Kate grabbed for her, but the pain in her ribs made her too slow. Ariella ran right out the front door that Leo and the others had just gone through. Right toward the gunfire.

Without a second thought, Kate went after her.

Chapter

Fifteen

March 18th

3:24 A.M.

It felt good to be killing.

Felt like he was actually doing something.

Something useful. Something productive. Something that was going to go a long way toward saving his girls.

There was only one person who would go to these lengths to reach him and his team. One person who would have had the resources to have someone keeping tabs on Kate and follow her if she ever made contact with him.

While he knew his girl blamed herself for their home being compromised and them having to leave, really, Lion knew it was his fault. He was the one who, instead of bringing Kate in, letting her know what had happened, ensuring she was safe and protected, had left her to fend for herself. Without knowing that he was in danger, she’d had no reason to think anyone might be following her when she drove out to the mansion.

They should have suspected it might happen.

He should have suspected it might happen.

But when no one else turned up at the mansion right on Kate’s heels, he’d never really given it a second thought. Been too busy trying to find a way to earn his girl’s forgiveness and bond with the daughter he hadn't known existed.

Instead of coming right for them, River Gardner must have had her people search the area, looking for a different way to take them down, one that gave her the advantage. Finding the plane, sabotaging it, and planting tracking devices on it had been a good plan. While it might have killed them all, should have killed them all, it would have made whoever survived easy pickings.

At least that’s what Mrs. Gardner had obviously thought.

Only she was wrong.

With all six of them alive and already mostly healed from what amounted to minor injuries as far as he was concerned, the men who had been sent to capture or kill them didn't stand a chance. There was no way to know if River Gardner’s plans aligned with her son’s. While Ridge had wanted him and his team back in a glass cage under his control, there was every chance his mother just wanted them dead.

Preferably, she wanted them alive, not because Lion wanted to find himself trapped in a cage again, those three hellish years were forever seared into his memory, but if they were wanted alive, it limited how the men sent after them could act. Shooting to kill was easier, and Lion himself had already shot three, but there was something immensely satisfying about killing with your bare hands.

Thankfully, he and his team weren't under any constraints.

They could maim and kill to their hearts content, and that was exactly what they were doing.

Over the last several months, their desire for revenge on the man who had lied about his experimental drug program to trick people into signing up for it had shifted, grown deeper. It was one thing to want revenge for yourself, it was quite another to want it for the people you loved.