Page 89 of His to Protect

My gaze leapt to Declan and, as our eyes met, he quickly mouthed, “I’m sorry.”

I saw the pain in his eyes and relief strengthened my resolve. I realized what I should have known earlier.

He wasn’t willing to let me go, he just knew Tyson was coming.

A sob bubbled in my throat as I tried to stay in the present.

Kevin wasn’t going to hurt me. Not again.

I gasped and pressed my fingernails into Kevin’s arms.

“See, we have a problem here, Kevin Morgenson III,” Tyson said, and my gaze went back to his to see him smirking.

He looked like he was enjoying this, calm and collected with his gun still trained on Kevin. “Seems to me that you wouldn’t want to be charged with first-degree murder, which would surely be added on to the embezzlement charges that you’re currently being investigated for.”

What?

My eyes widened as I listened to Tyson.

“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”

“I do.” Tyson took a small step forward. Kevin must have been too focused on what he was hearing, too fearful, because the gun at my temple began to shake and his hold loosened around my throat. I inhaled a deep, much-needed breath and closed my eyes. If I pushed forward, I could shove him off me.

Could I do it before he shot me?

“See, it pays to have friends who owe you favors, and I have loads of them. And since we’ve come to know Trina, and knew you were looking for her, I’ve been trying to find you. In doing so, I’ve uncovered a slew of charges from your past that have been dismissed. Unfortunately, I don’t think stealing over five hundred thousand dollars from your current law firm is going to go over well.”

“Lawyers,” Declan muttered, shaking his head. “Always a bunch of assholes.”

Tyson snickered.

“You assholes don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know if you don’t take that gun off Trina in point five seconds, you’re going to end up with a bullet between your eyes,” Tyson said. I saw muscles tense on his arm as his hold tightened on the gun.

He wasn’t kidding.

“You aren’t taking me in,” Kevin snapped. The gun returned to its painful position at my temple.

I squeezed my eyes closed, knowing this could be it for me.

He adjusted his hold on me and I snapped my eyes open. He put me directly in front of Tyson and began tugging me backward, toward the street.

In the distance, I heard sirens, but they were all background noise.

Kevin continued jerking me backward, so roughly that I almost tripped over his feet, but I righted myself. Tyson followed us, but kept his distance.

“Mr. Morgenson,” he called, but Kevin didn’t stop. “This will end easier for you if you give up now.”

Kevin laughed. He sounded maniacal. When had he become so crazy? My mind was swirling with the accusation Tyson had thrown at him when Kevin laughed again and said, “You don’t know anything. You’ll never take me in. I won’t allow it.”

The sirens grew louder as we moved closer to the street.

Hope unfurled inside my chest. There was no way Kevin was getting out of this. I just had to survive it.

Forcing myself to go limp, I relaxed into his hold and whispered, “Kevin.”

My eyes darted to Declan, walking behind Tyson. Muscles were bunched in his shoulders and his hands were balled into fists. The intensity in his expression scared even me.

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