Page 33 of Cruel Ice

Rage twisted Declan’s expression.

The light flashed off.

“Haul ass!” An order from one of the guards.

But Declan was already moving. He’d grabbed Marley. He took her right arm and hauled her up and she had to bite back the cry of pain that sprang to her lips. He rushed quickly toward a dumpster, and they took cover behind it.

She heard footsteps thudding and knew that the guards were giving chase after the shooter.

She tried to step forward.

Declan shoved her back. “Fuck, no.”

Marley blinked. “I need to check on Keith!”

“Keith just took a shot to the heart and to the head. Checking on him isn’t gonna help.”

A shudder rolled over her body.

“How’d you know?” Declan demanded. “How the fuck did you know when two guards trained in special ops didn’t see the shooter?”

“I saw a light on the roof,” she whispered. Her arm throbbed horribly, but this did not seem to be the moment to mention that pain.

“Don’teverput yourself on top of me when bullets are flying.” Low. Lethal. Chilling as the grave.

She wet her lips. They felt incredibly dry. As did her entire mouth. “You have such a terrible way of saying thank you. You did this before, when I saved you at the cabin. And you’re doing it now. A thank you would not kill you?—”

He kissed her. His lips crushed to hers in a hard, demanding, consuming kiss that she had not been expecting. He kissed her with rage and desire, and it was the strangest combination of her life, but she couldfeelboth in the hard press of his mouth. Like they were battling each other.

His mouth tore from hers.

“That still wasn’t a thank you,” she whispered. “But I guess it was close.”

He kissed her again. Harder. Rougher. Need shuddered through her body and confused the hell out of her.How can I want him…now?They were in a dark alley. Hiding behind a dumpster. With…

A dead body? A dead body just a few feet away?

But what if the bartender wasn’t dead yet? What if Declan was wrong?

She tore her mouth from his and pushed against Declan. “Ihaveto check on Keith!”

“You can’t help the dead.” Savage. “Don’t you dare move until this scene is secure. The last thing that I want happening is for you to get hurt.”

Her arm throbbed again. “Um, yeah, about that…” Dizziness swirled through her. Dizziness because of the crazy kiss or because…wait, was her arm soaking wet? Wet from blood?

Declan was going to be difficult about this.

But she didn’t want him moving from cover until the area was secure, so mentioning the arm injury didn’t seem like a good plan. She’d wait until the guards said it was safe. And maybe it wasn’t as bad as she feared. Maybe it wasn’t even her blood.Maybe it’s Keith’s.That was a horrifyingly gross thought. Did she want to be covered in someone else’s blood?Better than my own?“This shooting isn’t random,” she murmured. Declan had to understand this just as she did. “Someone stopped Keith from talking to you.”

“The shooter is tied to the fuckers who took me.”

Right. Yes. So he understood. Of course. She blinked quickly and tried to hold her head perfectly still to stop the dizziness that kept rolling through her. “We have to call the cops,” Marley said. “Get an ambulance for Keith.”

“Again…dead,Marley. He was dead on impact. I was looking at him when you tackled my ass. I saw it happen.”

But maybe he was wrong. “The cops,” she insisted as shivers shook her body.

“Why the hell are you cold?” Declan shouldered out of his suit coat and put it around her body. When he touched her right arm…

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