Page 140 of Dash

“Her shoulder.” Kai slid out a quick clot bandage out his tactical vest, peeled off the back and tossed it to me. I fitted it under her dress and slapped it on as best I could.

I was almost done when I caught a glimpse of the sudden movement out of the corner of my eye, a shift, a grab, and the Beretta, flashing under the moon light. I shoved Thena behind me. My arm was up and my finger was pulling even as Arthur lined up his shot. Several other rounds joined mine, four killing shots that ended the life we’d tried to preserve for the purpose of unmasking Li and his NWO.

Shit. I swept my gaze over my crew.

“He had a clear shot at her.” Bozeman’s carbine was still aimed at Arthur’s corpse.

“He was gonna kill Goddess.” Guzman lowered his weapon.

Shouldering his rifle, King jumped down, took possession of Arthur’s weapon, and pressed his fingers to his throat. “Sorry, boss, but no one hurts Goddess under our watch.”

“Or you,” Guzman piped up.

“Good to know.” Now I had the right crew in place.

Thena cleared her throat. “Is he… dead?”

“No pulse,” King reported. “The moment he grabbed that gun, he signed his death warrant.”

Her gaze met mine. “Now, we’ll never know his secrets.”

Even shrugging hurt, and yet I smiled at my beautiful woman. “We’ll figure them out.”

A frown marred her face. “Did I… Did I kill him?”

“No,” I said firmly. “Didn’t you see me shoot?Ikilledhim.”

“Ikilled him as well,” Bozeman volunteered.

“Me, too,” Guzman put in.

“And me,” King echoed.

“And so, you see, it wasn’t an Astor that killed this traitor,” I said, to Thena and to the guys, hammering the point home. “It was Tracker Team, doing its job.”

Chapter Forty

Thena

One of the few advantages of being an Astor in these parts was that locals listen to you. So, after the paramedics finished patching me up, they didn’t object when I headed for Dash’s ambulance. Micah, Kai, and Guzman stuck to my heel, my very own guardian angels.

Micah offered me his hand and helped me climb on the back of the ambulance. Dash sat up on his stretcher. Like me, he looked bruised, bloody, and rumpled, but his smile reached his eyes when his gaze met mine. A female paramedic stood above him, checking his IV and monitoring his vitals.

“Is he stable?” I asked.

“He’s stable,” she reported, taking in my bandaged shoulder, my sling, and the blood glaring on my white dress, plus the crinkly emergency blanket wrapped around my shoulders. “He’s got a strong heart if he survived all that electricity.”

“The strongest heart of any man alive,” I agreed as I planted my backside on the jump seat. “I’m going to ride with him.”

She started to protest. “Ma’am, our protocol states—”

“You’re going to be right there.” As I clicked on my seatbelt, I gestured to the opening behind me and the bucket seat next to the driver. “I’ll holler if anything changes.”

“I take full responsibility,” Dash said. “I’ll sign a release if you want.”

“This is the Astor Castle.” She shrugged. “The town is called Astorville. The hospital has an Astor wing. And you’re Athena Astor. So, yeah, I’ll be up front if you need me.” She scurried forward and took the front seat.

“We’ll meet you at the hospital,” Micah said.

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