Page 9 of Twisted Contract

She presses her hand to her lips in embarrassment. “Oh. Do you know his favorite flavor?”

“I haven’t found one he doesn’t like. He’s a cake king.”

She leads me to the first group of slices and they scream professionally decorated and cut, but I’m not looking forward to this. I hate cake. I’ll do this for Nora and Jack, and for some reason I want to see the smile on Claudia’s face as well.

I’m about to take the first forkful when I catch a glimpse of movement from the corner of my eye and see the glint of metal shining through the sunlight. The fork falls from my hand, and I leap over the counter while shots ring out and the bullets bust through the glass. I have her on the ground in seconds. She screams as the bullets whiz in the air, landing all around us and hitting the glass cases. “Stay down,” I tell her.

Immediately I pull out my gun, taking aim at the vehicle outside, and get a few rounds off while I keep her down. I can feel her body shaking as she clings to me, but my mind is in fight mode. Fuck. This can’t be happening right now. They’re all going to die and pay for what they’ve done.

Who the fuck knew I was going to be here? I can’t imagine my sister-in-law would have done this. My brother wouldn’t even consider something like this, and once he learns of it, all hell is about to break loose. A break in the firing gives me my chance and I take it, running outside only to see them getting back in their vehicle, so I fire away the car speeds off. There’s nothing I can do but tuck my gun back inside my specialized holster in my waistband.

Claudia is still ducked under the front counter, which thankfully is made of a sturdier frame. “It’s over,” I tell her now paled face.

I drag her to the back room just as I notice that she’s bleeding. “Fuck, let me see.” I hope it’s just a cut from the glass, but from the bleeding, I know she’s been shot.

“No. Leave me alone. Just please leave,” she sobs. The sirens blare behind us as the police approach. I’m allowed to carry my firearm so I’m not worried about it, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t going to start some shit. I’m going to have to deal with the police—not that I don’t have them on my payroll, but where I’m at might cause a problem. None of that matters, though, because she needs a fucking doctor right now. I grab a towel nearby and press it to her arm where blood seeps down.

I walk away from her and pace, watching the front door. I pull out my phone and call my brother immediately. “It was a motherfucking setup,” I snarl like a damn caged tiger ready to attack. My past few days have been one shit show after another and now this had happened.

“I’m on my way,” Jack grunted. “Other than Nora and myself, the only one that knew we were coming was her. Do you think she was in on it?”

“She’s been hit, though,” I inform him. That information makes all the difference. It isn’t like she dipped off to the back and was able to hide before the shots went off. No, she was completely in the line of sight.

“What? Is she okay?” I don’t like his immediate concern for her. It irritates me, and I’m irritated by that irritation. There’s no way I’m jealous.

“She was hit in the arm. It would have been worse if I hadn’t taken her to the ground. Still, she wants me to get the fuck out of here. I can’t do that. The police are on their way.”

“If I were you, I would just go. Let her be taken care of by them. We don’t need that drama right now, and then we can find out who came after you without the police interference.” Even if he has a point, the thought of leaving her before she’d been cared for was out of the fucking question.

“Do I look like I run from bullshit?” I end bullshit one way or another, and there’s no way I won’t take care of this matter personally.

“No, but do you really want them pressing you?” No. My eyes scan for trouble while looking around for Claudia.

“I want to know more. I need to see if there are cameras. Someone waited for the perfect moment to strike,” I tell him. They struck at me when I was vulnerable and when they believed my guard was down.

“I’m on my way either way, so let’s get this taken care of.” I had no doubt my brother would back me up. Hell, he’d barge right in if I asked.

“Hold back until the police leave, unless I need the backup.”

“I’ll keep an eye on the bakery.”

“Thanks.”

I walk back over to my wounded little bird and see that she’s glaring at me. “This is all your fault.”

“Sorry, beautiful, but there shouldn’t have been anyone aware that we had an appointment today, so if it’s anyone’s fault, it would be yours. Who do you work for?”

“Myself?” She goes to point to the front window, but the glass is now shattered and tears come from her eyes. “It did have my name on it.”

If she’s truly innocent, that means someone followed me or happened to just have a lucky day and spot me out on my own and decide to take their chances. I was outside lurking for way too long, leaving myself exposed without paying attention to anything but the sexy little baker. It was a momentary slip-up because I’m on alert all the time—now more than ever. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, I suppose.” As she says that, two police cars arrive along with an ambulance and a firetruck—standard procedure.

“Chicago Police Department. We’re responding to a shooting,” an officer says, arriving with his gun out, pointing toward us. A second officer has his six as they approach us.

“No shit. She needs a doctor. She’s been shot, and the shooters already fled.” I move to lead her to them, but they pull a gun out on me. “Stay back, sir.”

I realize they can see my weapon. “Calm down,” I say. “We were attacked. I need her examined, and then I can give you my report so I can leave.”

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