AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sebastian went perfectly still as he heard the door open and a deep voice speak. It chilled him though the room was perfectly warm.
“Hello, Tiffany. Miss me?”
Son of a bitch. He quickly moved to the back of the kitchen. From his vantage, he couldn’t see where Tiffany and her erstwhile, soon-to-be-dead stalker were, but that meant they couldn’t see him either. From here he could either charge straight into the living room or work his way around the hall and come from behind.
“Hey, Bobby. Wow, you dropped a ton of weight,” Tiffany was saying. “You look scary, but good.”
Why wasn’t she slamming the door in his face?
“Well, prison will do that to you, sweetheart,” Bobby was saying. The door slammed closed. Unfortunately, that asshole was on the wrong side of it. Sebastian could hear the heavy thud of boots against the hardwood floors.
That did not sound in any way like a man who was coming to ask for forgiveness. It did not in any way sound like a dude who was trying to check off some kind of penance list. If the man who was currently stepping into his living room was marking off a list, it was a revenge tally.
“This is Taggart.”
Sebastian looked down at the phone in his hand. Damn it. He moved into the hallway as quietly as he could. Luckily Tiffany didn’t believe in silence. There was music playing. It wasn’t loud but it would likely cover the sound of him moving to a place where he could get his message out.
“Seriously, do you think I don’t have caller ID? I know it’s the wine dude so if this is some kind of prank call, you’re twenty years and a load of technology too late. Also, you woke me up from a nap so I might send a missile your way. Don’t think I won’t do it.”
God, that guy was such an ass at times.
“So I’ll ask again, did you miss me, babe?” Tiffany’s stalker asked his question a little louder this time.
Sebastian could see them in the mirror over the small fireplace. Tiffany had her back to the hallway and Bobby was standing in the middle of the living room, his predatory form looming over Tiffany’s.
Please don’t let him have a gun. He couldn’t see the man’s left hand. It was right out of the frame of the mirror.
“How did you find me?” Tiffany asked. For the first time she sounded halfway scared. At least she had the tiniest bit of sense.
“I followed the brunette. You weren’t at home so I had to track you down, but then I think I told you I would.”
“I am hanging up now and sending the missile your way. Sorry about the wreckage, but a nap is a nap,” Tag was saying over the line.
There was nothing like a potential killer in one’s house to get the old adrenaline up. He put the phone to his ear and kept his voice low. “Ian, Tiffany’s ex-boyfriend is here and I’m fairly certain he’s about to murder her.”
“Shit. Charlie, baby, send the cops out to Sean’s place in Fort Worth.” Big Tag’s voice came strongly back on the line. “Did he bring friends?”
“No, but I’m in the chair.” Of all the fucking times to not have his damn legs. This. This was why he didn’t get involved. He couldn’t help her. He was a fucking coward hiding out in the hallway. She was likely scared out of her mind and he was skulking back here because he couldn’t walk in and save her.
“Awesome. Stealth. I like it. Is he a talker? You know the monologueing kind of mother fucker who puts his victim through a ridiculous lecture that makes them long for the sweet release of death?” Taggart asked.
What the fuck was he going to do? He couldn’t get to the revolver he kept in a locked case by his bed. He would have to wheel himself by the living room. “They’re talking. Well, he’s talking. I’m going in. At least I can give her a chance to run.”
“She won’t run,” Taggart replied. “She’s in love with you. Women are weird when they’re in love. They get all protective and shit. You need a plan, soldier. If he’s talking then he very likely wants to take his time with her, make it last. That means you have a few minutes. Take stock. What do you have on hand that you can use to kill the fucker? Or to distract him. Charlie says the police are three minutes away. She’s trying to get Javier on the line right now. He’s in the same building as you but apparently some chick answered and she didn’t sound sober. What are your assets?”
He had a fucking cell phone and no goddamn legs.
Soldier. Taggart had called him soldier. Sometimes he forgot. He forgot that he’d been a soldier. He’d gone into the service for financial reasons. For rational, logical reasons. And then he’d gotten there and discovered he was more than the dweeby kid who’d followed his father around and daydreamed his life away. He’d discovered discipline was more than a word to scare kids into behaving.
He’d learned he could do great things when he put his mind to it. When he stopped being afraid and did his job, he could work some miracles.
It hadn’t all been bad. Most of his time had been good. He’d loved the camaraderie. He’d loved waking up every morning with a purpose.
How had he forgotten how much he’d loved it? How had he allowed the end to tarnish all the things that came before? And all the good things that had come after.
If he hadn’t gone in the Army he wouldn’t have found the focus and discipline to follow his dream. He would have married Alicia and never met his adorable, sexy ball of chaos who was going to get her ass smacked if they both survived this.
No. When they survived this. When.
