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She closed her eyes and prayed. He wasn’t dead. If he was alive, he would find her. And if he wasn’t, she would stay here forever. Eyes closed and safe so she would never have to find out that the man she loved was gone.
“Liv, are you Ok?” Sean’s voice was so perfect. Please God, don’t let him be a figment of her imagination.
She risked opening her eyes and saw that several things had changed while she’d been lost inside her panic attack. The mattress had been lifted and tossed off the frame and through the wood slots, she saw a worried but completely healthy Sean. Unthinking, she rushed to her feet, knocking the thin boards away in her hurry to stand.
Sean’s smile told her everything was going to be all right, so she launched herself into his arms. Not even pausing, she climbed him like a tree and claimed his mouth with a kiss that said everything her brain couldn’t get out of her mouth. He kissed her back with a passion that warmed her right down to her toes. They might still have long discussions in their future, but this kiss said they would both work to make things right again.
A throat cleared behind her and she ignored it.
“The police will be coming in any minute. You might want to take this make-up session to a room that doesn’t have a dead body or bullet holes in it.”
Agent Hassick’s voice brought her mind back online, and she reluctantly pulled back and looked around the room. The peaceful oasis they’d shared for over a week was gone. Luis lay in a pool of his own blood by the windows, his sightless gaze telling her clearly that he would never be bothering her again. The wall with the safe room was riddled with bullet holes and the chair that’d been in the corner was broken on the floor next to the windows that were still intact if covered in spider web like splinters.
“How did you guys get here so fast? I thought you were going to the city.”
Sean cupped her cheek, his touch gentle even though she was still clinging to him. “We got half-way there, and I realized what an idiot I’d been leaving you. So I made them turn around and come back.”
“You did?”
“He did.” Hassick confirmed.
Sean carried her outside. The late afternoon light seemed surreal to her stressed out senses. How had so little time passed? Somehow her mind was telling her that it had to be night time because nothing bad could have happened in the daylight. Two men knelt on the front porch with zip ties, holding them in place. Others lay dead on the ground and she was ashamed for not knowing if any of them had been there protecting her.
She should probably tell Sean to put her down, but she enjoyed being so close to him. He finally stopped when they were away from the house, near a luxury SUV. This must have been the car they’d been driving because the doors were open and the inside looked like it belonged on a spaceship.
He set her down once they were behind the car. “Are you injured?”
“No.” She looked up into his worried eyes. “How did Luis find me?”
“I got some of his men talking. Apparently, he tracked your phone when you turned it on.” Dante came around the end of the SUV. He didn’t look like he’d been in a gunfight. He appeared more like he’d just finished a good workout and was ready for another round.
So it was her fault. She’d forgotten that one of the reasons she’d turned the stupid thing off was so that no one could track her through it.
Sean tilted her chin up. “Don’t take the sins of others on to yourself.”
“Did anyone on our side die?”
“Nigel and Terry were both shot, but Lisen has them stabilized. Ambulance should be here soon.” Dante’s tone was grim. “Luis brought ten men; only two survived.”
Sirens cut off anymore conversation and the three of them watched a strange procession of vehicles rush down the small dirt road. In total, there were five police cars, two of them from the state police and two ambulances. All of them were filled with people who were there to help. And they wanted answers.
The sun had long since set when they were finally allowed to leave. Even though Sean had provided the police with video of the attack, they’d wanted to question her endlessly about what she’d seen. Which was nothing. It wasn’t until Hassick finally got the authorization to take over that they’d left her alone and she could talk to Sean.
They sat on the porch of a second cabin, which had apparently been where the guards had been sleeping. Liv soaked in the warmth of Sean’s body and almost gave into the temptation to forget their earlier argument and pretend that everything was ok. Needing to understand where they went from here, she summoned up her courage and spoke.
“Why did you leave?”
“Marcus called while you were being interviewed.” He looked off into the distance as if pulling his thoughts together. “Luis had some men try to kidnap my mother. I didn’t take it well.”
Shit!
“I completely forgot that Luis said some of his men have my mother. We should tell the police.”
How awful of a person was she that for hours she didn’t even remember that her mother was in danger? Sean took her hands, his face somber.
“They don’t have your mom.”
“They don’t?” She supposed that was a good thing, but how did he know?
