Eyes widened when he spotted her, and any hope that he wouldn't know who she was vanished.
“You're the princess,” he gasped.
“Don’t,” she pleaded when he took a step toward her. “Let me go, please. He bought me, I'm not here by choice. I just want to go home.”
“You're his,” the man sneered, and it was clear he didn't care that she’d been trafficked. Probably knew it all along and had been wishing he had been inside this evening so that he could make a visit to her. “You don’t get to leave.”
The man reached for something, not his weapon, but what looked like a walkie-talkie. Running was stupid, he’d chase her, catch her, and return her to King. If he did that before Mateorealized she’d run into trouble, then he might not be able to get to her again. At least not quickly.
So she did the opposite of running away.
She ran right toward the man instead.
That caught him off-guard, and he swung the weapon at her. Likely scared of injuring his boss’ property, he hesitated.
She didn't.
No idea what she was doing, other than she wanted to go home, and this man was trying to prevent it from happening, she grabbed the weapon pointed at her as soon as she was close enough.
They fought over it.
He was bigger, stronger, but she was fighting for her life, and that made all the difference. A moment later, the gun went off, the shot cracking through the night with a deafening bang.
August 20th
9:32 P.M.
His heart felt like it had stopped beating as the sound of a gunshot echoed through the night.
Mateo didn't care that the sound would alert everybody in the building that something was going on—well, he did, but it certainly didn't have every muscle in his body seizing in fear—it was the fact that it was likely Ally who had been shot.
He shouldn’t have sent her off on her own. At the time, it had seemed like the safest solution, getting her out of the way while he cleared a path and made sure there was no one around to tell Koa Rolland or one of his security people that she was leaving. Of course, it was only a matter of time until someone glanced atthe platform and realized she was gone, but he wanted to be on the motorcycle driving out of here by then.
On his way out, he’d dealt with about half a dozen people. He hadn't killed any of them, although he’d wanted to, one couple at least he’d seen with Ally on the platform while he was watching over her, but instead he’d just incapacitated them.
Now he flew over the veranda, aiming for the motorcycle. If Ally wasn't there, he’d call the guys in closer, and they’d search for her, but it would be harder now everyone was aware there was a problem. They’d have to kill most of the people here just to ensure they found Ally and all got out alive. That wouldn't be a hardship on his part, but his need to shed blood paled in comparison to his need to have his little mouse safe.
Spotting two figures lying on the ground, he ignored the shouts and screams from the mansion and ran for them. The soft ruffles of Ally’s tulle dress floated in the breeze, so there was no doubting that she was involved in the shooting, which was exactly what he’d expected, although he’d been clinging to the idea that maybe it had just been one of the Delta Force guys taking out security.
On top of her lay one of the guards.
Was the man trying to assault her as she lay bleeding out?
Rage coated his vision, and everything else faded away as he reached the man, grabbed his shirt, and literally threw him off Ally. The man went without a fight, and when the body hit the ground it bounced, but the man didn't move to get up.
Gaze darting between Ally and the man, he saw they were both smeared with blood. But whose blood?
Ally stared up at him, eyes open, glazed with shock, but not empty in death.
The guard, on the other hand, was still lying face down on the driveway. Mateo couldn’t see the man’s eyes, but if he hadn'tmoved, then maybe he was the one who was dead or dying, and his girl was merely covered in his blood.
Dropping to his knees beside Ally, Mateo pressed his fingers to her throat, relieved to find her pulse thumping wildly, and she blinked slowly before turning to look at him. He could see the second she registered his presence, because she blinked again, and then her eyes filled with tears.
“Mateo,” she whimpered, shoving up off the ground to wrap her arms around his neck and cling to him. “He saw me, pointed his gun at me, he was going to call someone to tell them I was here, I knew if I ran away he’d follow, catch me, so I ranathim instead. The gun went off. I didn't know if it was me or him who got shot, but there was no pain. I think … I think I killed him.”
“Yeah, baby, you did.” Grabbing her face between his hands, he held it firmly, squeezing just a little bit, because while his girl’s heart was still beating, his still felt stuck. “Don’t youeverrun toward danger instead of away from it again.”
His warning just made her smile, and when he saw movement behind them, he knew that as desperately as he wanted to take his time reassuring himself that Ally was whole, they had to move or she might not be the next time a bullet was fired. Just because Koa Rolland had spent a whole lot of money buying her and seemed proud to show her off to his friends didn't mean she was irreplaceable. The man would protect himself first before his investment, so while Ally had a better chance of surviving a shootout if they got stuck in the middle of one, there were no guarantees that Rolland’s people would do their best to keep her alive.