Page 48 of Rogue Survivor
After a beat, he crushes his mouth to mine. The kiss takes me by surprise, and he pins me with his bulk. The bold strokes of his tongue make me his in every way until he pulls back, his eyes shining. “I don’t deserve you, darlin’.”
“You deserve love, Connor. And I’ll have words with anyone—including you—who tries to convince me otherwise.”
I lose myself in his gaze, time standing still until I step off the edge of the precipice and let myself fall. I should be scared. I loved once, and when Tony died, I built a wall around my heart so tall and so strong, I didn’t think it would ever crumble. But Connor broke through, and when I cup his cheek, he covers my hand with his.
“If we were somewhere I knew was safe…somewhere we could be alone for a good long time, I’d show you just how hard I’ve fallen—and I’d say the words that have been knockin’ around in my head since this mornin’. But I want you all to myself when I do. So grab what you need and let’s get out of here.”
I shove my laptop and power supply into the briefcase I left under my desk, slide the thick file folder with copies of all the grant paperwork in next to it, and retrieve my keycard from my purse. “Ready—”
Connor plucks the card from my hand and stares at it. “This…is your building access card?”
“Yes… Why? You’re scaring me, Connor.”
“Fuck.Fuck!We need to get the hell out of here, Isabel. Right now. Take the card and stay behind me.” He pulls his gun from the holster on his belt, ratchets the slide, and then presses his ear to the door.
“This is ridiculous. No one’s here today. The parking garage was practically empty.”
Spinning around, he cups the back of my neck with his free hand and holds me still. “I found part of a card just like this where Boswell had Mitzi and Veronica. Someone from Second Chances is a part of this.”
“Oh, God. That’s…that’s how Reggie figured out who to target.” Panic swirls in my belly, and my heart hammers against my chest. “The sober living home… The director was certain more than two thirds of the men and women we’d sent to her over the past six months had relapsed, but our records said otherwise. Because they were tampered with. We have to find out who it is.”
“What we have to do isleave. Get back to the safehouse and call for reinforcements. Everything else can wait.” Connor flips the lock, cracks the door, and glances down the hall. “Clear. Stay close.”
We rush toward the elevator, my laptop bag banging against my hip. I swipe the access card against the security sensor, and the car chimes seconds later.
“As soon as I unlock the truck, you climb in from the driver’s side and get down. All the way to the floorboards, Isabel. And you don’t get up until I say it’s safe.”
I don’t believe anyone would come after me here. Or…at all.Ican’t identify Reggie Boswell. Or that other cop, Archer. But Connor is convinced we’re in danger, and though I hope he’s overreacting, I trust him enough to do what he says.
The doors slide open, and Connor sweeps his gaze from one side of the garage to the other. “Get ready,” he hisses, and I clutch the laptop bag and my purse to my chest.
We’re halfway to the truck when a loud crack makes my ears ring. My left shoulder burns, and my purse hits the ground, wallet, keys, lipstick, and tissues tumbling free.
“Isabel!” Connor jumps in front of me, aiming to my left and firing twice in rapid succession.
“Danny’s down!” a male voice shouts from behind us. “Kill the big one, but keep the woman alive!”
Warmth trickles down my arm, and between the burning pain and the coppery scent of blood, it hits me. I’ve beenshot! Before panic can steal what’s left of my faculties, Connor grabs my hand and tugs me behind a pillar. “I counted four of them. Plus ‘Danny,’ who’s no longer a threat. When I tell you to run, you head for the truck as fast as you can. Leave the laptop.”
“But—”
“Leave it, darlin’. It ain’t worth your life.”
My life. And Connor’s.Kill the big one.
I nod, and Connor presses the truck keys into my hand. “If I’m notrightbehind you, drive like a prairie fire with a tail wind. Get yourself somewhere with a fuckton of people, and call AJ’s office.”
“Without you? No. I can’t!”
A whisper—too quiet to make out the words—comes from somewhere to our right, and Connor spins around, the gun held tight in both hands. “Go!”
I don’t think. Just run.
It’s so loud. So many shots. Connor’s gun. At least two others. Concrete shards explode from just in front of me, and I stumble, catching myself when a familiar voice calls my name.
“Stop right there, babe.” Luke steps out from behind Connor’s truck with a gun pointed at my shoulder. “I don’twantto hurt you, but I will. Tell me where Veronica is.”
“You’ll have to kill me!” My daughter’s life is worth ten of mine, and I can see it in Luke’s eyes. He knows I’ll never give her up. Adjusting his grip on the gun, he smiles, and Connor screams my name a split second before Luke squeezes the trigger.
