Page 233 of Protective Heroes

Reece spoke up first. “We need to go. Dyson. We’ll call you when it’s safe.”

“Go to the marina. I have a buddy with a boat there. I’ll give him a call and?—”

Glass shattered, cutting Dyson off.

The men’s shouts had her swiveling her head to see Reece diving for her like a linebacker standing on the thirty-yard line. Her eyes widened and she braced herself for impact.

The gauzy white fluff of the curtain blew across her vision, followed by a gust of wind from outside scented with the salty brine of the ocean. The curtain whipped back and forth in the strong wind then returned to lie against the window. Something red caught her attention, and she tried to lift her hand to finger the strange bright red substance, but her arm wouldn’t budge.

Heat blossomed out from her right shoulder and it dropped her to one knee. Air lodged in her lungs and her heart beat erratically.

Oh God.

Her vision blurred from a shroud of cold that settled over her. Like every ounce of her blood had drained, leaving nothing but a wash of cold tingles behind.

It all happened so quickly, her mind unable to make sense of anything. Male voices called to her, but she couldn’t reach them. Someone was moving her, pulling her deeper into the living room. She worked her legs, but she couldn’t get solid footing beneath her. Her body nothing more than a paralyzed dead weight.

Pain swiftly replaced the burst of initial cold.

More bullets pelted the walls and other windows, sending the glass crashing into the unforgiving Spanish tiled flooring.

In a sudden rush, every nerve ending between her brain and shoulder came alive with bolts of electricity that raked across her chest and arm in waves of blinding pain. Warm liquid wet her T-shirt and the only thought that came to mind was it wasn’t her T-shirt. She had borrowed it.

Reece pulled her behind the couch and leaned her against the baseboard. “Let me see how bad.” He shoved his sidearm into the waistband of his jeans, then gently peeled back the collar of her shirt.

She cringed. “Fuck!”

“Don’t move, darling. I’ve got you.”

His voice anchored her and helped clear the fog in her mind had slipped behind to avoid the pain from the bullet that pierced her flesh. The full force of it rooted in her brain and she fought against the black veil lulling her closer.

She shook her head. Her heart raced and she knew if she closed her eyes if only for a second that she would pass out. She’d be damned if she would be some damsel in distress.

“Did it go through? Graze her? What?” Caden kneeled beside her, holding both sides of her face. “She’s looking really damn pale, man.”

Three more rounds pinged against the cement column dividing the windows from the sliding back door just off to their left. Too close for comfort, but the men didn’t even flinch. “Look at me, sweetheart. This is going to hurt like a mother, but he has to do it.”

“Okay, okay,” she gritted out a string of expletives at Reece. He slipped her arm out of the sleeve of her shirt and lifted the now bloody rag over her head and discarded it on the floor. Black dots danced in her vision. She didn’t want to pass out.

“She’s bleeding, but it’s a clean hit that split an inch-deep gash along her shoulder. It might have nicked the bone, but I can’t see.”

It felt like something hit bone.

She bit into the flesh of her lip and tried to calm her breathing.

“We need some backup and fast, man. The fuckers have us outgunned with Ak-47s. Shots sound like they’re still coming from open water. Could be the waves messing with the sound, but?—”

“You’re right. I saw them. Not them, but a boat earlier when I was standing by the window. It just didn’t click at the time.”

Reece and Caden looked at each other over the top of her head.

“Oh, darling, we are going to have a fucking serious talk about you not giving us all intel when it happens, woman. Wait here.”

“Not. Moving.” She rattled out the two words to Reece between breaths, then went back to trying not to pass out. Another shot whizzed over the tops of their heads to bury in the back wall by the front entrance. She stiffened and shifted her eyes to watch Caden to her left. The bullets didn’t seem to bother him, but he kept glancing back at her, his fingers working the metal handle of his sidearm. He angled himself between the back patio and the front entrance, keeping both in his view.

Caden eyed her suspiciously. He leaned his back against the bottom of the turned couch and called out to Reece. “Really fucking close. Hurry the fuck up, Reece.”

Reece crawled back to where they took cover with some kind of cloth in his hand and a clean shirt.

---