Page 95 of Keep Me Safe
I had been wrong about who would reach me first.
Five feet into the city square I ran right into a hard wall, covered with fabric, and it closed around my body. Arms.
Shawn’sarms.
He must have cut through a side street rather than follow Jason.
“Kara! Are you all right?” His eyes were filled with worry, but it made him no less handsome. And it was worry for me. I stared up at him, overwhelmed, my heart aching for him.
“You’re here,” I replied, echoing the first thing he’d said to me the night the bombs had gone off and I’d set this terrible chain of events in motion. I put a hand on his face and wanted to say more. I wanted to kiss him and tell him how good it felt to be in his arms. To tell him that I?—
There was a blur of movement just outside the focus of my vision, filling me with dread. Juric had caught up. The gun he pointed toward us caused chaos, clearing a wide circle of panicked people from the market. Shawn didn’t move; only his pupils dilated with alarm.
“Get over here,” Juric snapped.
“No,” Shawn said, tightening his hold so I couldn’t follow Juric’s order even if I’d wanted to.
Jason materialized from the crowd, Ethan right behind him, along with the man who’d been sitting in the passenger seat in the Range Rover.
“Put your gun down,” Jason commanded, his own steady as he aimed at the man who’d done so much damage.
All Juric did was laugh. Then he sneered, revealing the monster who lurked within him. “Come herenow, Kara.”
“Wait.” Shawn’s voice was urgent but controlled. “I have money.”
“So do I.” He flung his free hand out and glared at me, demanding I take it.
“I have connections,” Shawn added. “I’m a powerful man, and I can get you anything you want.”
Juric hesitated. He considered it for a moment—then the decision was made. The monster wasn’t interested in bargaining. “The only thing you have that I want,” he snarled,“is what’s in your arms.”
A shiver ran down my spine. My heart beat a thousand miles an hour, slamming in my chest, and it felt like everything was slipping away. If I didn’t go to Juric, he’d kill Shawn.
I wasn’t about to let that happen. When I began to struggle for release, he tightened his grip.
“Stop, Kara. Please.” Although his plea was hushed, it was as if everyone in the world could hear us. Not a soul moved in the square. No one dared breathe.
“Put. Your. Gun. Down.” Jason’s tone was far more threatening this time.
Juric’s gaze didn’t waver from mine. “She’s coming with me.”
“No,” Shawn said. “No.”
The cold, blue eyes clouded with anger and rage, but whether it was the word he hated or Jason’s steady advance, I couldn’t tell.
“Are you prepared to watch your brother die, marshal? Because if you take one more step toward me, that’s going to happen.”
Jason hesitated. “Surrender... and let me take you in.”
My mouth had gone dry, but I swallowed anyway, my mind racing. It was all too apparent that surrender wasn’t an option for Juric, and he didn’t believe it was for Jason either.
If Shawn wouldn’t let me go, Juric would shoot him. I struggled harder to break free, to try to keep him safe, but my body was so weak?—
The muscle running along Juric’s jaw flexed, and he gave me a final, cruel look that was tinted with resignation. “If I can’t have her,” his focus drifted to Shawn, “neither can you.”
I gasped, horrified. “No?—”
But Shawn spun, his body wrapped around me, blocking me from the monster. Blocking me from the damage his gun promised.
