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We saw no sign of other vehicles or anyone having walked this way. Most likely, our enemies wouldn’t come straight up the driveway, but we couldn’t be sure. They could be overconfident bastards. When we reached the road, Fox turned to the right.
“Stop!” I held up a hand, and he hit the brakes. “There’s someone in that pasture. They’re behind the tree to our left.”
“Are you sure?”
“Sure enough not to take any chances.”
Fox was out of the truck before I could say anything.
I wanted to call after him, to tell him to stop, but if there was any chance the man who was out there wasn’t already aiming for him, yelling would surely draw his attention.
Maybe the man I’d seen would keep hiding, hoping we’d pass him by. If he’d been sent to do reconnaissance, he might not be authorized to take Fox down, but what was the chance of that?
I saw the movement, then the glint of a gun in the moonlight.
“Fox! Watch out.” The man’s weapon was aimed right at him. I sighted the shadowed figure as best I could and took the shot. I heard a cry. The man discharged his gun, then hit the ground with a thump.
“Fox?” I ran toward him. I thought the man’s shot had gone wild, but I needed to be sure.
“Are you okay?” The fear in his voice took my breath.
“I’m fine. I don’t think he is, though.” I pointed toward the figure on the ground.
“Good.”
We checked out the rest of our surroundings in case the man wasn’t out there alone. When we were as sure as we could be that the area was clear, we approached the downed man. I checked his pulse and shook my head. “He’s dead. We won’t get any answers out of him, but we have one less person to worry about.” I shined my flashlight on the corpse’s face.
“Do you recognize him?”
“No. Dammit. I wish I did.”
We called Grant and let him know we’d eliminated one man. Hopefully, it was the same one TJ had seen behind the barn.
“Bring the body back to the house,” Grant said. I didn’t argue with his orders.
Fox and I carried the corpse to the back of the truck. As we drove back to the house, we watched the area around us as carefully as we had on the way out.
TJ met us outside. “Go on in. I’ll take care of this asshole.” He pointed to the body.
“Thanks,” Fox said.
As soon as we entered, Blade walked out of the kitchen and pulled Fox into a hug. “It’s good to see you still in one piece. What happened out there?”
Jacob rushed up behind him. “Are you both okay? Really?”
I blew out of breath. “We are.”
“I almost wasn’t,” Fox said. “But it turns out Darren’s a pretty good shot.”
I huffed. “I told you I was capable of protecting you. It might’ve been easier if you hadn’t run toward the guy.”
“Goddammit, Fox.” Grant yelled. “You know they’re after you. What are you thinking?”
“I was thinking I was going to take the bastard out.”
The fear I’d felt when I’d seen the man aim at him came rushing back. “If I hadn’t been there… If I hadn’t been ready… You wouldn’t have made it back.”
“I didn’t want him to hurt you.” Fox turned to face me.
My heart skipped a beat. The look in his eyes, the depth of emotion there, nearly did me in. I’d thought I understood what was happening between us, but it went even deeper than I’d admitted to myself. “I didn’t want him to hurt you either.”
Blade laid a hand on Fox’s shoulder. “You can’t rush into things like that. We need a plan. This is more like one of our missions in the desert than bodyguard work.”
“What kind of fucking work do you think I’ve been doing for X?” Fox said.
Blade’s eyes widened, and Fox shook his head like he was trying to clear it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I just… I fucked up back before we left the marines. In so many ways.”
“This is personal, and it’s going to be a lot harder for you to follow orders.”
“I wasn’t going to let him hurt Darren.”
I was tired of him trying to protect me. “I don’t want anybody sacrificing themselves for me. I’m very capable of taking care of myself. Just because I’m not a fucking giant like some of the rest of you doesn’t mean I don’t have the skills I need.”
“That’s right,” Rogue said. “Nobody needs to be as massive as Fox or TJ to take their enemies out.”
Fox ran a hand through his hair. “I’m going to bed.” He headed up the stairs without saying anything else.
I closed my eyes and blew out a long breath.
“None of the rest of us know what to do with him either,” Rhys said.
