Page 38 of The Best of Us

Anger curled into a tight fist inside my stomach, moving up into my chest. I had no choice but to block the pain and the rage so I could think straight and map out an execution plan.

Snap Guy One’s neck first. Once there was no longer a weapon pointed at my son, headshot for Guy Two.Then, I’d let my son go ahead and knock out Guy Three, the original asshole.

I started for Colin again, navigating the crowd without losing sight of him. One side of my brain warned:Don’t kill them. Colin doesn’t need to see that. Just take them down.But the louder voice demanded:No one puts a hand on my family and walks away without dying.

Before I could execute any plan, I realized the Sicilians wouldn’t handle things in public. They were carting Colin toward the stairs, which was where our HVT presently was, dammit.

Deciding the best plan would be to handle this out of sight from the crowd, I waited for Colin to reach the top of the stairs.

Once they were no longer visible, I pursued. “I have to help him.”

“Wait, what? Help who?” Izzy transmitted back. “Why?”

Once upstairs, I turned in the direction they’d taken my son, finding the first hall empty. “I have to save him,” was all I gave her as I rounded another corner, finding only another empty hall. “Do we still have eyes on our marks? Bodycam active?”

“Shit, no. It’s offline,” Izzy said what I didn’t want to hear. Now I had no eyes in the room I assumed my son was heading to. “Are you trying to save our targetsfromthe Sicilians? Or are theyalsonow our targets?” Izzy fired back as I turned down the last hall.

My breathing labored. My fear ratcheted higher. Worry that I’d be too late took over.

At the sight of two men by a closed door, relief took back over.

He has to be in there.

“This area is off-limits,” one of the guys said at the sight of me, flicking his wrist to deter me from going any farther.

“Savewho?” Izzy repeated as I drew my Glock before the man had a chance to break leather and return fire.

“My son,” I finally answered her as I shot him in the shoulder, then squeezed off another round to his leg. “I have to save my son.”

I dealt with the second problem in the same way, incapacitated but not dead, then muted my comm to prevent my sister from distracting me from what I had to do next.

I choked out the two men, putting them to sleep. They had no idea how lucky they were I was trying damn hard to be a different person and hadn’t put them to sleep permanently.

Once they were down, I didn’t waste time opening the door they’d been guarding.

I eased back, weapon drawn to check for threats and to do a quick headcount. Ten, including Daniel and Jamie. Eleven, including the reason I was there.

Colin was on his knees and in the process of getting punched. His face flew to the right, bone connecting with flesh, and our gazes clashed.

“Who the hell are you?” someone called out.

Distracted by making eye contact with Colin, I didn’t see the asshole at my right come for me.

Getting the drop on me, he knocked my Glock from my hand and pointed a knife in my face.

I blinked and recalibrated, remembering why I was there and who the fuck I was.

I couldn’t be a worried father, concerned about my son seeing blood and death. I had to become the man I once was for the United States government who could handle these men playing roadblocks to my son’s safety.

Muscle memory took over, allowing me to become a trained killer again. I shot both hands up in prayer position to trap the man’s wrist, then twisted the blade from his hold.

When two more targets came at me, I swung Asshole One around to use him as a shield. He caught the two rounds in the chest meant for me. I flung his body against the two as cover and took a knee to get my 9mm.

I missed a round nearly clipping me in the neck and had no choice but to shoot from the hip and take down the two men trying to kill me.

Standing tall again, I dropped the next guy who came at me with a wrist lock technique, twisting his arm before throwing him over my shoulder, my hat flying with him.

“At your nine o’clock, I got you,” Hudson told me as I dealt with another problem in the least gruesome way I could, knowing Colin was watching.

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