Page 76 of Guarded from Sabotage

With a sharp lift of my chin, I move.

From there, everything happens quickly.

I fling the flashbang into the living room and turn my head.

Before Tamara can get out, “What—” it goes off in an explosion of blinding light and deafening noise.

My own ears are ringing, but it doesn’t slow me down. I race into the living room and fling myself over Sarah just as Xavier and Niall come bursting through the front door.

Niall wrenches the gun out of Tamara’s hand and takes her to the ground, holding her down while Xavier restrains her with zip ties.

Rhiannon and Erik surround me, both of them with their Sigs at the ready.

And cradled carefully beneath me is Sarah, making these terrified little sounds that make me want to break things.

I know she’s disoriented, that she can’t see or hear, so I stroke her cheek and gently press my lips to her forehead. “It’sokay,” I murmur, even though she can’t hear me. Between kisses I repeat, “It’s okay, I’ve got you, it’s okay, you’re safe.”

“Tango neutralized,” Niall calls out. He sounds darkly satisfied as he adds, “She’s not going to hurt Sarah again.”

I move off Sarah and kneel in front of her, my gaze skimming across her body, searching for injuries.

Rhiannon says from behind me, “I’m grabbing the medi-kit. I’ll be right back.”

Sarah blinks at me as her pupils start to return to normal. Her voice wobbles. “Dante?”

My heart.

“Yes, beautiful. I’m here.” Tears threaten, but I swallow hard against them. “I’m here. It’s going to be okay.”

“I knew you’d come.” She looks up at me, her chin quivering. “I was trying to stall.”

“You did such a good job.” As I move my hands over Sarah’s body, my heart fractures at each cry of pain that escapes. “I’m so sorry. I know it hurts.”

My poor Sarah.

It’s horrible, seeing her hurt like this.

Guilt and rage war for dominance as I discover the huge, blossoming bruises all along her side, a sign of at least fractured ribs, if not broken ones.

When I touch her shoulder and Sarah instinctively jerks away from the pain, it’s like I’ve been punched in the gut.

Then I see the foot shaped bruise rising on her stomach, and my molars grind to dust as I try to keep from howling in fury.

“An ambulance is on the way,” Erik says, leaning down to speak by my ear. “And the police. Xavier and Niall took Tamara into the kitchen, so Sarah won’t have to see her.”

When I try to answer him, nothing comes out at first. My throat is too thick.

Sarah reaches out to me with her good arm—Erik got the zip ties undone first thing—and touches my cheek. “Can we go home, Dante? I just… want to go home.”

Oh.

Don’t cry. Not now.

“Of course.” Thumbing the tears from her cheeks, I kiss the damp streaks left behind. “We’ll get you checked out at the hospital, and then we’ll go home. I promise.”

Her gaze meets mine, filled with pain, but also so much love. “I thought about you. The whole time. How I needed to stay strong for you.”

Shit.

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