Page 116 of The Art of You

“There is evidence, just not at the DOD. My friends can prove it to you, though.” Falcon had the files, but I highly doubted this psychopath would hit pause on his plan and let me play the phone-a-friend game.

“You’re full of shit,” Keith barked out. “Green discovered your brothers took out Bianca’s real killer last year, and Rose joined the military to try and right our brother’s wrongs, the same as I did. It was all for nothing.”

“No, you joined the military because you wanted an excuseto kill people and you hid behind a uniform to do it. You’re sick. A disgrace to our country and to your sister’s memory.” My lack of filter rose from the dead. The drugs waned, and the words sailed hard, fast, and free.

Keith immediately crossed the room, shouldering past Green on his way to me. “Maybe you’re right.” His smile was bloody, only adding to the terrifying look. “Maybe I do enjoy killing. But I’m still going to make your family pay.” He turned toward Callie, raising his weapon, and Green doubled down on his feelings about the situation by jumping in front of her, spreading his arms wide.

Oh, God.“No,” I cried. “Please, don’t. She has nothing to do with this.”

“Rose would never be okay with you killing these women.” Green’s voice was shaking hard, and whatever his involvement in all of this, I was grateful he had a spine and clearly some morals. “I can’t let you do this.”

“Move, or I’ll shoot you.” Keith kept his arm straight, steadily aimed, only flinching when the lights flickered just before the power went out. A shot was fired, and Green screamed.

“Callie? Are you okay?” I rasped as gunfire exploded from outside the room.

“I’m okay. Not hit,” she let me know as Green moaned from somewhere in the pitch-black room.

“I’m going to strangle the life from you.” Keith’s breath scraped across my skin, and a moment later, I felt his hand around my throat.

I had to believe the current chaos was the cavalry coming; I needed to buy time until they could get to us.

Using all my weight, rocking the chair to the side, I fell over, and Keith lost his hold of me. Precious seconds were purchased with that maneuver before the bastard found me onthe floor fast. Two hands encircled my throat this time, and the cry for help died on my tongue, never escaping.

Dizziness started to take over. Oxygen wasn’t making it to my brain. But then the distinct sound of a round being fired nearby made its way to my ears, and Keith hissed and let go of me.

The lights came back on a second later as I gasped for air.

“Calliope. Izzy.” Alessandro’s voice sent a flood of hope and relief to my ears.

I slowly parted my lids, twisting around to try and locate my brother.

Keith was on the ground by my feet, bleeding—shot in the arm from the looks of it—and as he scrambled to reach for his gun on the floor, he took another round in the shoulder. His body jolted from the contact.

I finally spotted two masked men on approach. NVGs on top of their helmets. Skeleton masks on, only their eyes visible.

“Hudson,” I mouthed as our eyes connected.

He had his rifle in hand as he came over and kicked Keith’s weapon away as Alessandro closed in on Green.

Hudson crouched alongside the chair and helped me upright off the floor. “Give me one moment.” And although I couldn’t see his mouth, I saw theI love youin his eyes.

Tears fell as I nodded, and he brushed a gentle caress along the side of my head.

Alessandro peered at his wife, giving her a hard nod I read asI love you, then locked on to Green as he tried to army-crawl away from him. At the same time, Hudson shifted his rifle to his back and faced his target—Keith.

“I have a remote to a bomb. You touch me, and I take us all down,” Keith warned, rolling to his back while holding something in his hand for everyone to see.

“Go ahead,” Alessandro told him. “It’s already been deactivated.”My brother swapped his rifle for some type of long chain he’d produced from some-freaking-where.

I suddenly realized the rest of the building was eerily quiet, which meant our guys had control of the situation. Down to two targets.Thank God.

My gaze volleyed back and forth between Alessandro and Hudson and their quick movements.

Hudson bent over and grabbed Keith by the ankle, stopping him from trying to get away, then jerked him backward.

Alessandro knelt forward and wrapped the chain around Green’s neck and tugged it. “You fuck with my family, you fuck with me.” He pulled him up off the ground as Green bled from where he’d been shot by Keith.

“No, wait, stop,” Callie cried out, beating me to the words I was about to say, but Alessandro was too focused on his own revenge to hear her. His rage was consuming him the way Hudson’s currently was as he railed on Keith with his fists.

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