Page 63 of Judgment Day

He shook his head. "Just stabbed a little bit."

Then she saw the blood on his shirt sleeve. "Youhavebeen shot," she said again.

"Just grazed. I'm fine."

“Guys,” Liam chimed in over both comm lines. “The judge is being forced down the back stairwell by the last guard. But more are coming. Arson said there are Timeless agents on the way now. Get to the back stairwell. Exa, handle your torturing in the basement. It’ll be safer there. The other guards shouldn’t know the code. If they do...”

“I’ll be there to protect her if they do,” Scar spoke up.

Exa nodded. “Let’s finish this.” Scar helped her from the terrace.

Over the comm line, Skye asked, “Exa, are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes. Back a little sore. That’s nothing a good soaking won’t fix once I make it back to the cottage.”

She looked over at Scar. The worried expression on his face broke her heart. She stood a little straighter, not wanting him to worry.

“I’m okay,” she said, pulling her arm from him. “I can walk.”

“You don’t have to be strong with me,” he told her, seeming upset.

“I’m fine, really.”

He looked forward but didn’t release her arm.

“You two need to move faster,” Arson said.

Exa tried to pull her arm away from Scar again. “Savage, we need to hurry.”

Scar moved to stand in front of her. “Wait here. I’ll bring the judge to you.”

Exa smiled. “You heard them say more guards were on the way. It’s safer for me to do my thing in the basement. There we’ll be locked inside, and you can guard the door. But we must hurry, or we’ll fuck up the plan. I’ve been waiting too long for this to fuck it up, hon. Trust me, I’m fine. Let’s get to the basement.”

Scar stared at her for a long while before finally saying, “Follow me. Guard my back.”

“Always,” Exa told him.

They moved forward, with Scar taking the lead. On the way out of the room, Scar retrieved her duffle bag for her. The coast was clear. All the guards were either out cold for now or dead forever. There used to be servants who lived inside the house. Debbie had told Exa that the judge had stopped allowing the servants to live inside.

He’d made that change after a cook and a maid tried to help one of the hostages he kept in the basement. That change worked in her favor. It meant fewer complications and fewer people to kill. She and Scar headed to the back stairwell. They were almost to the back stairs when she heard footsteps and a guard talking.

“Hurry,” the guard said. “I don’t know how many there are.”

“Your job is to protect me. Just do your fucking job.”

The sound of that second voice was like ice water raining over Exa’s head. Everything in her turned cold. It was a chill that penetrated her flesh and reached her bones. She only continued forward because Scar realized she’d slowed down and reached back and grabbed her hand. The warmth of his touch kicked her into gear.

They made it to the top of the stairs in time to see the judge and a tall guard nearing the bottom step. Scar pulled his gun and fired. The back of the guard’s head splattered onto the walls. The man fell forward, falling onto the judge. The judge tried to get out of the way but ended up tumbling down the last few steps, with the dead guard landing on top of him.

Exa and Scar raced down the stairs. The judge managed to shove the guard off him and stand up. He didn’t look their way. He rushed to the basement door and began punching the code in. Exa raised her weapon. The judge looked her way. Their eyes connected. Exa froze, unable to pull the trigger, unable to move at all.

Judge Bailey’s eyes widened once he realized who was after him. The fear left his expression. The corner of the judge’s mouth lifted in a smirk as he punched in the last number and pushed the door open. Scar jumped down the last steps. But the door had closed when he reached it.

“Fuck!” Scar yelled, facing her.

Her hands trembled as she stared at the far wall.

“Exa.”

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