Page 89 of Over the Top

Chas nodded, watching Gunner move swiftly upstairs. That was when the smell of blood abruptly overpowered his nose. His stomach threatened to revolt, but then Gunner was back, handing him shoes and wrapping him a thick blanket.

Gunner sat down and pulled him against his side. “When you called to say there was someone in the house, I swear it took twenty years off my life.”

“Really?” Chas replied. “I figured that would be normal everyday stuff to you.”

“Not when it’s you in danger.”

“Aww. Feeling a little warmer now.”

Gunner murmured, “They say sex is a great way to warm up.”

Chas laughed under his breath. “We don’t know everyone’s safe over at the Brentwood place yet. Speaking of which, should you head over there?”

“The FBI will have brought a small army with them. I would just be in the way.”

“I’m glad you’re here, Gunner.”

“Me too. You did good. How in the hell did you make it onto the porch roof?”

“I went out the bedroom window. It was a stretch, but my rock-climbing skills gave me an edge.”

“Nice piece of climbing. That took serious strength.”

“I figured if the bad guys found me, they might kill me. Turns out that’s a pretty good motivator to try hard.”

Gunner said sharply, “They would have killed you for sure—and me—if I hadn’t killed them first.”

They sat in silence for a moment. Then Chas said, “It seems disrespectful to sit here like this with two dead men in the house.”

“My sympathy for them is limited.”

“They were still human beings,” Chas responded mildly.

“Human beings who made very bad choices.”

Chas shrugged beneath his cocoon of blankets. “I’ll never approve of killing.”

“Can you accept that it’s necessary sometimes?” Gunner asked in obvious alarm.

Chas frowned. “In theory. But in practice, I have to ask myself if there was another way to handle all of this. I mean, you guys set them up. You laid an ambush and then killed them when they walked into it. Why couldn’t we have tried something else first?”

“Because that’s not how people like this operate.”

“You don’t know that for sure. You didn’t even try anything else.”

“I cannot believe we’re having this conversation,” Gunner muttered. “I just killed two men to saveyourlife. And Spencer and Drago are picking off hostiles in the woods across the street to save Poppy’s.”

“I don’t like it,” Chas replied stubbornly.

“So you’d have preferred to die rather than have me take out the guys who came in here to kill you?” Gunner asked in disbelief.

“I could’ve tried to run away. If you hadn’t come, that’s what I would have done. In that scenario, you wouldn’t have had to kill those guys. Which I suppose means their deaths are on my hands too.” He fell silent as the reality of that sunk in and appalled him.

“Stop, Chas,” Gunner said sharply. “They broke into this house intent on killing you. Their team had already figured out Poppy wasn’t here. They had no reason whatsoever to come in here except to kill you. It was revenge, straight up. Don’t start feeling sorry for a couple of violent killers who were bent on murdering you. They would have chased you down, and believe me, they’d have caught you. They were wearing the same kind of tactical gear I was.”

“I hear you. But—”

“No buts. Some people are simply in need of killing.”

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