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I grabbed her by the hand, keeping her behind me as I made my way down the stairs. The moment we were at the bottom, a quick noise drew my attention. I threw my arm to the side, Mother Nature cooperating by allowing me to catch a masked, armed intruder. I fired a single shot, waiting just until the asshole dropped before jerking her quickly through several rooms, taking her to the hidden door leading to the basement.
To her credit, she didn’t fight me, managing to keep up as I raced from room to room. The moment I opened the hidden panel, I heard the front door being kicked in. Where the fuck was Jeremy?
With no time to waste, I pulled her down the stairs, remembering the location of the switch for the light. As I yanked open the door for the tunnel, I finally turned. “There’s a lock on the inside. I don’t care what you fucking hear, you stay in there until you’re certain the person on the other side of that door is either Jeremy or myself.”
“Listen. You need to know something.” The sound of her voice was imploring.
“There’s no time, sweetheart.”
“It’s important. I didn’t tell you the truth about something.”
“Then say it.” Oh, dear God. If she altered the formula, the price on her head likely doubled.
“I contacted Dane.”
What the fuck? I took a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds. “What? How? How in the fuck did you do that and more important, why? Why would you consider going against my command?” I had to rein in my anger. I could tell I was terrifying her. She wasn’t a soldier, prepared for following a rigid set of rules. She was a young woman who’d fallen into a dangerous game.
“I’m sorry, but I had to do something. I used Jeremy’s computer. And yes, I know my way around security systems. I wasn’t stupid. I made certain there was no way to track the message I sent. I’m certain Dane is going to help.”
“Does that mean you didn’t talk with him?”
“I had to send an email and I didn’t get a chance to see if he answered.” She closed her eyes briefly, her lower lip quivering.
Goddamn it. If I had to guess, I’d say Dane was the fucking asshole behind this. At minimum, he’d been used, getting close to her.
Exhaling, I pushed her into the tunnel. “We’ll talk about this later. Listen to me. The tunnel is a mile long. If I don’t come and get you within a half hour, then make your way to the other side. Stay hidden if possible until morning then make your way to the town. I know you can do it.”
I was furious with her, but she had no way of knowing that the contact had likely been traced, no matter how secure the damn system. There was such trepidation in her eyes, but I also noticed resolve. She kissed me on the cheek, backing into the tunnel.
“Don’t forget about me, Jagger. Please.”
Her words were like a jagged knife slammed into my heart. “Don’t worry, princess. I always protect what belongs to me.” I closed the door, waiting until I heard the click before rushing up the stairs.
I was enraged to the point of tasting blood in my mouth, but at this point it didn’t do a damn bit of good. She’d followed her instincts like I’d followed mine. Whatever the shitstorm, now wasn’t the time to second guess a damn thing.
When I moved into the darkened kitchen, I listened for any sounds before advancing, the weapon as well as my flashlight in both hands. I’d kept the beam off, but it could add to the element of surprise, allowing me to get off a shot before the enemy was able.
I moved stealthily through the house. The second I heard another sound, I prepared to fire.
“Whoa,” Jeremy hissed. “Just me. Where the hell did you go? I can’t believe the fuckers breached the security. How? It’s not possible.”
“I told you before, you don’t know the capabilities of the Russians. And I was protecting what belongs to me.”
“Shit. I have no idea how it was breached. The power outage shouldn’t have triggered a damn thing. At least I managed to snag two of them just after they’d entered the house. Definitely hired assassins from the weapons they’re carrying. From what I can tell, they’re rolling up from near the cliffs. How the fuckers were able to do it, I have no clue. They must have scaled the rocks.”
“Outside, standard formation.”
“Got it,” he said, which meant he was going around one side of the house and I would the other.
Every fucking sound was amplified given the storm but as I crept around the side of the house, I was reminded of so many missions I’d been on, huddling near abandon buildings. The moment I turned the corner, movement caught my eye. I dropped and rolled, firing off several shots.
Two perpetrators dropped, another one lunging in my direction, coming within four feet before I shot him three times in rapid succession. Then I jumped into action again, racing around the corner, catching two more who’d made the mistake of approaching.
When I had gone another ten feet, I encountered one far too closely, the assassin pitching me against the building. Hissing, I threw a hard punch, but the fucker didn’t move. I slammed my weapon against the side of his head. Then he jerked me to the ground, fighting to place the barrel of his weapon against my temple.
I issued a rough growl, struggling with the fucker for far too long before I was able to press my weapon against his head. The single shot was explosive, echoing in my ears.
Fuck. This was getting out of hand. The wet terrain made the ground slippery, but I trudged around to the back, popping off two additional rounds then yanking a fresh magazine into my hand, discarding the other. I heard several other gunshots then quiet. That’s when I raced forward. As lightning flashed across the sky, I caught sight of Jeremy taking out at least one of them.
