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“Enough?”
That was the question. “It will be enough.”
“You must promise me that you won’t hurt my sister through all of this. She’s too special, too bright. Sophia doesn’t deserve this life. I wanted her to come live with me in New York, but good old Daddy refused.” She shook her head over and over again, challenging me with her body language and her eyes.
“I have no intentions of hurting anyone who had nothing to do with the tragedy or the powerplay we’re both involved in. I’ll have her taken to a safehouse.”
“There’s nowhere safe, D’Artagnan. You and I both know it.”
“Cynicism doesn’t suit you.”
“And being a killer doesn’t suit you, but we don’t get to choose. Do we?”
Another heavy exhale left my system. I returned my attention to the road outside the small house, scanning for the vehicle I’d previously seen. The single streetlight was in a perfect location to allow a generous view of the area. When the SUV rumbled by again, slower this time, I reached over and turned off the single light in the room, pitching us into darkness.
“What’s wrong?”
“Now’s your chance to show me your weaponry skills,leonessa. I think we’ve been made.”
When she tried to move toward the window, I pushed her away. “That’s not going to happen. Retrieve the bag of weapons and move to the hallway. Find one you can handle and load it. We’re leaving out the back door.”
“How could they find us?” Her voice was shaking, which at this point was good in my mind. She needed to understand the level of danger we were both in.
“I don’t know.” Which was the truth. I’d told no one of this acquisition and there should be no way of determining the location given I’d purchased it in cash. I’d swept for tracking systems, including on my phone. However, I’d been in a hurry when learning of her disappearance. I hadn’t swept the underside of the vehicle. There was no other explanation. The system would need to be rectified immediately. “Go. Now. I don’t think we have much time.”
When she finally headed for the kitchen, I backed away from the window, still able to see out as I made my way down the hall.
“I need a light.”
“There’s a flashlight inside the bag. Do not turn on an overhead light. We need the darkness for cover.” My fingers were itchy, my anger already rising to the surface. I would enjoy destroying the people responsible for putting us in this dangerous position.
The sense of urgency kicked into high gear with every passing second.
Lucia cursed under her breath, a warm glow appearing low to the floor seconds later.
When I heard a slight pop, my attention was once again drawn to the front window. The fuckers had blown out the streetlight.
“Fuck. We need to get out of here now.” I grabbed her by the arm, pulling her to a standing position then yanking and hoisting the duffle. “Stay quiet with the weapon in your hands. This will be dicey.”
She was quivering by my side, and I pushed her behind me as I opened the door. Noise from the street as well as loud music coming from one of the closest houses would mask our movements. The garage was ten yards away. I moved to the corner of the building, creeping along the wall, peering around the edge of the house. There was no sign of movement, which wasn’t in our best interest. At this point, there was no other choice but to stay low and take the walk.
I pulled her close, moving us as quietly toward the door as possible. While she held the weapon in both hands as I’d requested, she was shaking like a leaf. The realization we’d been discovered weighed heavily on my mind. Even worse was the fact neither one of us could be certain who was attempting to cage us in like animals.
When she tripped over something, I immediately pressed my hand across her mouth. Then it seemed all hell broke loose, a booming sound followed by shattering glass indicating they’d broken inside. While the alarm inside the house was going off from the breach, it meant nothing in a neighborhood of this caliber other than a possible annoyance.
I kicked in the door of the garage, pushing her toward the vehicle. “Get in the car and stay down.”
“That’s crazy.”
“Do it.”
Thank God, she didn’t fight me, sliding in and crouching down to the floor. I started the engine, not bothering with opening the door. As soon as I shifted into reverse, I floored it, busting through the plywood. Immediately, I glanced into the rearview mirror, my jaw clenching. The fuckers had anticipated my actions, blocking the driveway.
“Hold on, baby. This is going to be rough.” I picked up additional speed, careening into the side of their SUV at a high rate of speed. The hard slam skidded both vehicles across the street, Lucia screaming from the direct hit. The force was enough to toss the SUV into the air as if it was a Matchbox car. It came down in a hard thud, but I was already moving forward, pressing down on the gas pedal.
The car rocked back and forth, the rear end crunched from the collision. However, I’d purposely selected a vehicle that I knew would take abuse.
“Oh, God,” she moaned.
