Page 28 of The Hitman
“I’m fine.” He clenches his teeth, checks the thick gash streaked across his bicep, and then turns back to me. “You okay?”
He just got shot, and he’s askingmeif I’m good?
I nod, even though I’m not. Not even close.
His breath shudders, but he quickly masks it. A switch flips in his gaze as if he’s been holding back this entire time, and now, he’s had enough.
After checking the clip in the gun I found, he gets ready to stand. “I want you to close your eyes and plug your ears, okay?”
“W-what? No?—”
He places a tender kiss on the back of my hand when I reach for him. “Do as I ask, Callie. Please.”
Tears pour down my cheeks, soaking my neck and chest, but I squeeze my eyes shut. I press my fingers to my ears and humthe song my granny used to sing to me. I hum over the sound of more glass shattering and the meaty thuds that follow. I rock myself back and forth, switching to Isa’s favoriteBee Geessong, until the world fades and eventually, a warm hand touches my arm.
I startle, blinking my eyes open to find Jaxon, crouched before me with soft eyes and his face speckled with blood.
“It’s over,” he rasps, swiping a thumb across my wet cheek.
I don’t have time to be horrified as he helps me to my feet and then moves for the pantry door. He nearly rips it off the hinges when he cranks it open, and Leo launches into his arms with sobs wracking his little chest.
Jaxon crumples to his knees, holding his nephew to him while murmuring soft comforts into his hair. I step beside them, heart fragmenting when Jaxon reaches for me, too.
I sag to the floor, and we huddle together in the decimated kitchen, holding each other tight.
“I’ve got you,” Jaxon whispers, clutching us to his chest. “Both of you.”
And for as terrified as I am, I believe him.
Chapter Eight
Callie
The car is silent as Jackson drives us away from the city.
Leo dozed off in the backseat halfway through, his cheek pressed to the window, arms curled around his stuffed dragon Jaxon had grabbed from the wreckage.
We’re heading west—away from the city and the glittering skyline. Away from the smoldering heap of what was supposed to be my temporary home.
Jaxon’s palm is warm when he places it over my bouncing knee. The blood of the man who wanted him dead is dried in the creases of his knuckles, but even if he’d washed it away, it wouldn’t change what happened.
It certainly doesn’t change the fact that he lied to me.
I pull away from him and curl my knees into my chest for the rest of the drive. I have no idea where we’re headed, but when we finally stop, the only light in the area comes from the car’s headlights bouncing off a massive slab of stone.
Jaxon reaches above our heads to punch a code into an unmarked panel, and the ground rumbles beneath us. Part of the bluff yawns open, and my jaw drops.
A bunker. Anactualunderground bunker.
I’m not sure how I could be surprised after what we just survived, but somehow, I am.
“Where are we?” I rasp.
“Somewhere no one will find us.”
“Right,” I retort, unusually snappy. “Makes sense, given you’re a spy and all.”
The cave entrance shutters closed behind us, and Jaxon sighs before cutting the engine. Leo’s snoring softly in the backseat, but he lowers his voice, anyway. “I’m not a spy.”
