Page 43 of Guarded from Treachery

Abruptly, the man shoves me away from him, and I fall to my knees again.

Fear tinges his voice. “Don’t kill?—”

There’s a soft thud.

His voice cuts off.

As I scramble to my feet, I spin around.

Did Matt kill him? But the gun didn’t go off.

“Isla!”

Panic all over his face, Matt rushes to me and pulls me into his arms. “Shit, honey. Oh, shit.” His voice is shaking. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Ah, shit.”

I cling to him, pressing my face against his chest. My body won’t stop shaking.

“It’s okay,” Matt croons, “You’re okay. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Wait. Is he okay?

Lifting my head from his shirt, I peer up at Matt. There’s a rising bruise on his jaw, but aside from that, he looks alright. “Are you hurt?” I ask. “Did he hurt you?”

Pain darkens his gaze. “No. I’m fine. Just some bruises. But Isles. I heard you cry out. Youfell. Shit.”

“Matt!” Erik’s voice carries down the hall, followed by a rush of footsteps. “Sitrep!”

Matt hugs me to him again, and only now do I realize he’s shaking, too. “Both down,” he calls back. “Unconscious. Isla might be hurt.”

“I’m okay,” I whisper as I crane my head to look at the men who attacked us. And like Matt said, they’re both sprawled on the floor, unmoving.

Erik and Rhiannon come racing down the hallway, guns drawn and intensity in their gazes. Erik kneels beside one of the attackers while Rhiannon approaches the other. Matt is still holding me tightly, his heart pounding so hard I can feel it.

“I’m okay,” I tell him again. Even though my shoulder and knees are throbbing, that’s minor compared to what could have happened.

Matt looks down at me, guilt in his eyes. “You were supposed to be safe.”

Oh.

“I am.” Resting my head on his chest again, I close my eyes and breathe in his comforting scent. “Iamsafe. Because of you.”

10

MATT

What if something’s wrong with Isla?

She said she’s okay, but is she really?

While we were waiting for the police to arrive, Rhiannon gave Isla a quick once-over and only found bruised knees and scraped hands, but there was no way to know if there’s more damage we can’t see.

Like a complication with the pregnancy.

The way that man grabbed Isla, pinning her against his body, and then roughly throwing her to the floor…

What if it hurt the baby?

What if it hurtIsla?

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