Page 55 of Safe Haven

I’ve only met Becca the one time, but she came across as pretty straightforward, so if her feet are coming out, I’m gonna guess she’s probably committed. “Yeah. She’s going to jump.”

“Fucking hell.” Luca starts moving first, staying low as he clears the distance between the back sliding door and the window Becca’s upper half is now exiting in the blink of an eye.

I rush behind him, tucking the weapon I had ready back into its holster just in case I have to catch her as she comes down. “Becca.” I whisper-yell her name, hoping to stop her before she hurts herself. I don’t want to be loud enough anyone else can hear me, but I need to get her attention so I can help her do this safely.

Relatively safely.

Her head swivels fast, eyes wide as they lock onto where we stand. I have less than a split second to react when something large and heavy comes sailing directly at my head. I manage to catch it, but just barely.

“Becca. It’s me, Maddox. We’re here to get you.” I set the jug of laundry detergent down so my hands will be free in case she’s already dropped her next assault weapon.

“Maddox?” Becca’s eyes finally land directly on me. “Oh, thank God.” She goes back to her task of getting as much of her body out of the window as possible. “Get out of the way. I’m coming down.”

I start to move in, but Luca body checks me, knocking me back a step as he positions himself directly under where Becca is sliding down the brick, her hands gripping the windowsill.

“Come on. I’ve got you.” Luca’s taller than me, so it makes sense that he should be the one catching her, but I wanted to be able to tell Audrey I did everything I could to help her friend.

Since Luca has taken over, I pull my weapon out. All our whispering—no matter how quiet we tried to be—was likely overheard. “We need to get moving.”

Luca grunts a little as Becca lets go and her small body connects with his. She’s tiny, but gravity is a bitch, and even a small person hitting you from a decent height feels like dead weight.

Thankfully he’s done this plenty of times and recovers quickly. Instead of putting Becca down, he hefts her over one shoulder—ignoring her soft gasp of surprise—knowing we’ll move faster if she’s not trying to keep up with us.

We reach the back fence and I hoist Owen over first. Luca then carefully passes Becca over before sending me right up behind her so I can help her down.

This time it’s Owen who catches her, and Owen putting her over his shoulder.

Reaching down, I grab Luca’s arm, offering the leverage he needs to fully scale the fence. Once both of us hit the ground, we start moving again, this time with Luca and I providing coverage as Owen stays positioned between us. We’ve probably already been discovered, so we have to move faster than before, and that results in accidentally setting off a motion activated light.

“Shit.” I turn as I hear voices yelling behind us. “Keep going. I’ll make sure they don’t get to you.”

I hang back as they continue on, tucking myself into the shadows as I watch, waiting for anyone who might be in pursuit.

It shouldn’t take Luca and Owen long to reach the car, so I count, waiting a full minute before I begin to move, quickly making my way toward where Audrey better still be safe and sound.

I’m not sure how the men at Becca’s didn’t find us, but thank God they didn’t. I’m not sure how I would’ve handled?—

Something whistles beside me. The sound is familiar. Means we didn’t get away as well as I thought.

And that I’m directing those pricks right at Audrey.

I turn as I pick up the pace, arm steady as I fire off a couple of silenced rounds in the direction the bullet aimed for me originated.

Pressing the mic on the earpiece we always wear during ops, I say, “I’m coming in and I have company. Shots fired.”

“Copy that. We’re almost at the car and we’ll be ready to move the second you’re in.”

I want to tell them to leave me, but I’m so fucking close and I don’t want to do that to Audrey. I promised I would be back, so I’m fucking coming back.

Three more shots sail past me, but this time they’re closer. They come in succession, so there’s likely only one shooter. If I can manage to take him out?—

The next shot doesn’t miss. It catches me directly in the center back of my vest, sending me stumbling forward. Getting hit hurts, whether there’s a vest to save you or not, and pain radiates down my spine.

I turn, knowing I’ve got to take him out and I’ve got to do it now.

But the fucker is too close, and another bullet hits me square in the center of my chest, sending me stumbling back, fighting to stay upright because if I go down, I’m as good as dead.

Getting hit in both the back and front so close together has me struggling to breathe, and my vision starts to blur as I straighten my arm, taking aim. I’ve got a split second to hit him before he realizes it’ll take a headshot to kill me.

---