Page 55 of Guarding The Phoenix: Vol. 1

My eyes snapped open. Darkness filled my room. I wasn’t sure what had woken me. I shivered and noticed the window near my bed was open. The curtains billowed with the breeze.

That couldn’t be right. When I went to bed, it had been closed and locked. Had one of the guys come in and opened it? But why would they do that when the air conditioning was on?

My eyes adjusted to the dark as I rose. I scooched to the edge of the bed.

Huge male hands gripped me. They dug painfully into my shoulders. I gasped in pain and fear because they were like iron bands. I tried to jerk out of his grasp. And I stared in dawning horror into dead eyes that had no soul. He was a killer. Deadly. Dangerous. Malice rippled off his features hidden by the darkness of the room.

Fingers of dread slithered along my spine while I attempted shoving him off me. But my efforts were akin to a feather trying to move a truck.

He shoved me onto the bed. A scream ripped from my throat. I bounced on the mattress. Then scrambled backward across it, trying to escape. If I could just reach the doorway and call out, my guys would come running.

Surely, they would see the attack on the security feed. Help was on the way. I had to believe that.

The attacker snagged my ankle. I kicked out, trying to connect with his groin and take him down so he would release me. But the man was strong. He batted away my attempts.

As loud as I could, I screamed, “Axel, Gideon, help!”

He caught my other leg and yanked me closer. Panic fluttered in my chest. He batted away my feeble attempts to stop him. Then he was on top of me, using his weight to imprison and subdue me against the mattress.

With my fists pounding against his chest, I fought valiantly, but there was no way I could move him. He was too heavy. And it was clear I was outgunned. If I could only hold on, help would come.

But then his massive hands circled my neck. I clawed at his face as he squeezed, choking me, and cutting off my air supply. This couldn’t be it for me. I had so much to live for. I wanted to see where my relationship with Axel would proceed. I wanted more with all the guys, including Mateo.

But he was so strong. Too strong. And my strength waned at the lack of oxygen. Spots swam in front of my vision.

Luka Santos was exacting revenge. He hadn’t liked that I’d been with Chase. Instead of eliminating Chase, he was launching an assault to remove me from the board.

My struggles grew sluggish. The lack of oxygen slowed my responses.

I was losing. This was it.

Darkness swirled. I fought bravely. But I was no match for my assailant. And what was worse, he knew it. The fucker had the audacity to smirk like he enjoyed my pain and fear.

Tears slid down my cheeks.

The dark abyss of nothingness beckoned me into its waiting arms. From a far-off distance, the sound of wood splintering filled my ears.

But it was too late. My body struggled too hard to breathe. I ran out of air. The darkness descended, and I blacked out.

Chapter twenty-nine

Fear

Gideon

Thebackofmyneck tickled something fierce. Never a good sign.

It was as if I had a guardian angel on my shoulder, warning me of imminent danger. But it was how I survived Iraq and Afghanistan. I would get this itch on the back of my neck and knew to be on my guard.

Like now.

Finishing up my security detail, I couldn’t eliminate my concerns. Because Santos was a tricky bastard. He had slipped our efforts to nab him every time we got close. And since my team had tracked him, studying his every move, he had never been this brazen.

The mafia boss had a massive hard-on for Kylie.

I couldn’t allow him to get near her. She was a victim, first by her deceased husband, and now this. When I joined the Marines and then the CIA, I swore an oath to defend victims. They needed me to rain down justice upon those who took advantage of those less fortunate.

But there was something more insidious with Santos’s focus on Kylie. He wanted her for himself. I knew it within the depths of my soul. Chase reported the way he had studied her on the street this morning—like she belonged to him. He fixated on her. Like he would tie her to his bed and knock her up the moment he snatched her up. And if he couldn’t have her, would eliminate her instead.

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