Page 64 of Centurion

She rolled her eyes. “I threw it low. Not proud of that. He should be dead.”

“He should be. But from what we heard, you weren’t really breathing at the time. You’re forgiven,” Phoenix said as sheshoved her jacket into a trash bin. She took off her gloves, folded them, and placed them in her back pocket.

“All operators. Clear the line. We have an active op in progress.” Con’s voice cracked through the comm device. She winced and headed to her car. “Centurion, you’re clear. I have your exit route darkened.”

“Copy.” No cameras would catch her or her car on the way out of the area. She got behind the wheel and clenched it with shaking hands. She’d been a heartbeat or two from dying tonight. The reality of that was enormous. She’d never been that close to death, but she’d stared at death in the eyes tonight and won. She wouldn’t risk meeting him again. Not in that job.

CHAPTER 25

Con worked furiously as the Shadows called in, clearing the houses they were assigned. His eyes were glued to the screen that focused on Gabby’s house. The neighbor’s digital camera was grainy, but he could see enough.

“Nothing and no one here.” Phoenix was the second to last to call in. “Big house.”

“Copy,” Con said and turned all his attention to the screen in front of him. He turned off his mic and whispered, “Come on, babe.”

Gabriel stood beside him. “There.” He pointed to the front door of the house. Con threw the small picture up to the largest screen and stared as Abrasha Molchalin hauled ass out of the house. A black streak hit him in the back, and they tumbled to the ground. Con stood up, and ice formed through every vein in his body. He watched as Molchalin and Gabby wrestled. The bastard got on top of her and … Fuck! He clicked open her comms, so he and Gabriel could hear. They could clearly hear her struggling to breathe.

Gabriel didn’t move. He was a statue with his eyes glued to the screen, but he whispered, “Counter, damn it. Counter move, Gabby.”

They heard Molchalin’s fucking taunt as he choked her. The bastard. Suddenly, Molchalin arched. “She stabbed him,” Gabriel said. They watched as Molchalin raised his fist and … the son of a bitch.

Con growled and clenched his fists together. “Fucker.” Gabby got the man off her, but he couldn’t really see how she did it. An SUV came into view and screeched to a halt, blocking their view. Con clicked his microphone on, but Gabriel’s hand clamped him on the shoulder, and he shook his head. Con snapped his jaw together and ground his teeth. He didn’t fucking want to wait. He wanted to take action, to help the woman he just found and needed in his life. The SUV started to pull away. Gabriel took his hand off his shoulder. “Alert the perimeter.”

Con was on it. He worked like his life depended on it. When he heard the words, “He got away,” he damn near collapsed.

Con looked at Gabriel. “They have them stopped.”

Gabriel hit his earpiece and told Gabby, “No, he didn’t. Con alerted the perimeter and they had him stopped.”

That’s when the local connection went batshit. Con fought through the craziness. “He got through the barricade.” Con slammed his hand down on the desk, which caused his laptop to lift off the wood.

Gabriel swore bitterly. “Finish the mission.” He headed into his bubble. The shield went down, and Gabby’s dad was on the phone, and he wasn’t happy.

Con activated his comms and explained, “He got through the barricade. The UK police are in pursuit. Are you all right?”

“I will be. I stabbed him two or maybe three times. Back, shoulder, and I buried a dagger in his ass. There are two targets dead in the house.” Con automatically activated the support system that would handle the dead bodies at the safe house. He’d never met anyone on the cleanup teams, but damn, they were good. They’d call in the local police after the scene wasthoroughly scrubbed. As he worked, he heard the other assassins talking.

“Centurion, you get the only house that is occupied, and you shoved a dagger up the target’s ass? How is that fair? You get all the fun.”

Con growled to himself, “Fun? That bastard nearly killed her.”

Gabby shot the guy an answer, “I threw it low. I'm not proud of that. He should be dead.”

“He should be. But from what we heard, you weren’t really breathing at the time. You’re forgiven,” Phoenix said with a chuckle.

There was absolutely nothing to laugh about—Con’s anger and frustration spiked. He snapped, “All operators. Clear the line. We have an active op in progress. Centurion, you’re clear. I have your exit route darkened.”

Con worked like a possessed man to clear her path. His liaison with the local authorities came across the joint frequency and told him Molchalin had been stopped again and was in the process of being apprehended. Con sent the interoffice memo to Saint, Archangel, and all parties south of their position. He verified all Shadows were clear of the residential areas they’d infiltrated. With rote memory, he shut down the mission and listened as the teams aboveground in the two-block area cleared the urban expanse. The Swiss Army was the perimeter for the mission, and Jewell had Ethan and Brando to help her, so Con was staying out of it.

When the front door opened, he was out of his chair and racing to it. He pulled her into his arms and held her as tight as he could fucking grip her. “I thought …” Con cleared his throat. “I thought he had you there for a minute.”

She nodded against his chest. “I did, too.”

“I can’t watch you do that again. I died inside. I felt so … useless.” Con closed his eyes and held her for what seemed like an eternity because she was safe and in his arms. So many thoughts screamed through him, but none of them stuck. None of the cares, the fears, the helpless thoughts mattered right then. The only thing that did was the woman in his arms. When she made a move to pull away, he looked at her. She had the beginnings of a hell of a shiner, and … there were perfect finger impressions on her neck, reddish, turning purple. Fuck, that showed just how close he’d been to losing her. “Fuck, babe.” He shook his head.

She took his hands in hers and shook her head. “Not now. Where’s Dad? What’s the status of the mission?” She turned to look toward the library.

“In his node. The British have Molchalin in custody. None of the other houses were occupied, and the launch pads are obliterated.”

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