“I don’t think so.”
“You’ll be surrounded. There’s no way he can reach you.”
“You think I’m going to let you risk your life to keep me safe?”
Her brows drew together. “Of course you are. That’s what we’re here for. That’s why you employed us.” She stopped and stared at him, eyes narrowed. “Except you didn’t, did you? You knew there would never be any danger.”
He didn’t bother to answer; the question had been purely rhetorical anyway. “I’ll walk out of here so long as you are nowhere near. I’m not letting you take a bullet for me.”
“This is not negotiable,” she snapped.
“That’s where you’re wrong.” He folded his arms, leaned back against the table behind him. He wasn’t going anywhere until he was sure Jess was safe.
She stared at him for long minutes. Steve leaned in close. “We’re wasting time, Jess.” She gritted her teeth, but then shrugged, though her figure was tense. She pursed her lips, studied him, her gaze dropping to the tattoo on his arm. Then she gave a curt nod. “Okay. I’ll head out first. You follow once I’m away.”
“Good. I’ll see you at my place.”
She made to go past him, but hesitated, and wrapped her arms around his middle, laid her head against his chest. “Be careful and do what you’re told.” Then she was gone.
He kept his gaze fixed on her as she strode across the room, her hair a bright beacon in the dim light. As soon as she had disappeared through the far door, Steve nudged him in the side. “Okay, let’s go. Just walk casual as though there’s nothing wrong. The car’s parked out back in the alley. We’re going to head straight there.”
The skin down his spine prickled as he stepped out into the room. He searched the balconies around the edges, the pillars that created dark corners like the one he’d kissed Jess in. There were so many places a shooter could hide. But it didn’t make sense. They could never hope to shoot him in here and get away afterward. Maybe it was conceivable that Paul might be holding some grudge, but Declan couldn’t believe he was suicidal or that he’d risk spending years in prison.
Beside him, Steve was talking into his phone.
“Have they found him?” Declan asked as he finished the call.
“No. And they’ve searched the whole building. But this place is a warren. Too many places to hide.”
Maybe Paul believed he could shoot in the darkness and in the confusion no one would know where or who the bullet had come from. At least Jess was safe and away.
They were nearly out of the building now. Ahead of him, Steve pushed open the door and they were out into the relative quiet of the corridor.
“Let me go check everything is secure outside,” Steve said. The door slammed behind them and Declan jumped, then turned to see his father and Logan.
“What the hell’s happening?” His dad did not look happy. “They told me it was Paul.”
“We don’t know for sure yet.”
“I’ll fucking kill him.”
That was the dad he remembered. “They’re getting me out of here. I’ll call you later. Enjoy the rest of the party.”
Steve appeared in the doorway and beckoned for him to come forward. He followed him out into the alleyway. A black car was parked at the curb, the engine running, and next to the car stood Jess.
Why the hell wasn’t she halfway to his place by now?
His heart rate kicked up a notch. The air was tense, imbued with a heavy sense of anticipation he could almost feel. The night was still and sounds of intermittent traffic drifted down from the main street. He wanted to scream at her to run, but there was nothing to run from. He was being irrational.
Besides she wasn’t the one in danger. He was. She would be all right.
He forced his feet to head toward the car.
Something moved in the corner of his vision.
A figure stepped out from the shelter of a doorway, arm stretched out.
Steve was in front of him. The second bodyguard at his back. The man had a clear shot.
Everything seemed to shift in slow motion as though he moved through glue.
“Declan!”
Jess called out his name, but there was no time. He swung around, ready to dive, vaguely aware of Steve turning. A loud bang, then another and his body tensed, ready for the shots as something crashed into him, hurling him into the side of the car and then down to the concrete pavement.
More gunshots.
Then silence.
He blinked open his eyes. His view was blocked by a tall figure who stood over him, legs braced.
His second bodyguard.
A dead weight lay on top of him, and he felt the warm seep of blood against his chest.
“Jess!” He struggled to sit up, leaning his back against the car wheel, Jess cradled against his chest, her long blond hair spilling over his arm, and even in the dim light, he could see the spread of crimson across her white shirt.
Steve crouched down beside him, checked for a pulse and nodded. “Try not to move her,” he said. “There’s an ambulance on its way.”
Declan held himself perfectly still and stared down into her face, the lashes shadows across her pale cheeks. “Don’t you fucking dare die on me.”
…
In those few seconds, everything changed. The whole world took on a dazzling clarity.
She loved him.
And she wasn’t ready to lose him again.
He was hers. That was all that mattered.
She’d dived for him without conscious thought, felt the sharp jolt as the first bullet caught her in the side just as she crashed into him. Then a second had hit her in the arm, whirling her around. They’d crashed into the car, then the ground, her head smashing against something solid and for a few seconds everything went dark.
When she came to, she could hear a voice. Declan speaking urgently. She tried to make sense of his words, but her brain was fuzzy. Rain started to fall and the drops landed on her skin. In the distance she could hear a siren getting closer.
She forced up heavy eyelids. She had no intention of dying on him. But just in case. She squeezed his arm.
He must have seen that she was conscious. His hand stroked her cheek and he stared down into her eyes. “What is it?”
“I just wanted to tell you I love you.”
Chapter Fourteen
Oh God, she loved him.
She drifted in and out of consciousness on the way to the hospital, and she was aware that Declan never left her side. She didn’t know how badly she was hurt. She’d taken a couple of bullets. The one in her arm shouldn’t be a problem, but the first one…