Page 73 of Sawyer
Hector glanced down at the syringe in his hand, and Sawyer used the opportunity to wink at Lele and take a small step closer to Hector.
Hector began to sweat, and his hand continued to shake.
Sawyer had to get Hector the fuck away from his Little girl.
“You know, I never had a chance in this life. No one ever gave me a shot. At least the General respects me.”
Sawyer forced a grin. This guy was an idiot. “The General doesn’t respect anyone but the General, Hector.”
“You don’t know!” Hector snapped. “The General has put me in charge of a lot of important things. I was the one who came up with the plans that took down Jaxon Ruick and my sister. I’ve beensmart, biding my time, gathering money little by little. I’ve got enough saved now to get away from this shithole.”
“I’ve seen your bank account records, Hector. I’d say you’ve got a lot of money gathered.” Sawyer looked at Hector like he was an idiot. “Let me know how that goes when the cartel wants their money back.”
The color leeched from Hector’s face. Sawyer thought they might be making progress. He glanced at Lele. Her gaze was still on him. The love in those eyes almost had him shooting her brother, just so he could reach for her and pull her in for a kiss. His girl was something else.
Hector followed Sawyer’s gaze and glanced at his sister. Sawyer took another small step closer.
Hector must have caught the love in Lele’s eyes, too. For some reason, it seemed to anger him. Or was that jealousy? Whatever his feelings were, his action was to push the needle further into Lele’s arm.
She cried out again, and Sawyer let the mask of civility slip away.
He was done with this shit. It was time to end this.
Sawyer snatched his bag from the floor and pretended to throw it at Hector. Not expecting the move, Hector stretched out his hands by reflex to stave off what he believed to be an incoming bag. In that moment, Hector allowed the syringe to lift away from Lele’s arm.
Lele saw the distraction and bucked her hips up, causing Hector to lose his balance.
“You bitch!” Hector snarled and stabbed Lele’s arm with the needle.
Gage and Sawyer both fired. Neither one missed their mark.
Screaming, Lele struggled to turn away, but when she twisted her body, Hector fell forward. His body landed on the syringe and pushed the plunger down, emptying fentanyl into her arm.
“No!” Sawyer yells. Forgetting everything else, he raced to her, grabbing what was left of Hector’s body and shoving it aside. Nothing mattered except getting to his Little girl. Not caring that he spoke to a dead man, he yelled, “Get off her, you sonofabitch. Get off!”
Sawyer dropped to his knees and gathered her into his arms. Something was very wrong. Her eyes were unfocused, and she seemed to be struggling for breath. Her pupils were mere pinpoints in her irises. “Daddy,” she gasped. “I…I don’t feel…” Before she completed her sentence, she passed out.
“Bones!” Sawyer screamed. His voice sounded hollow in the open barn.
Turning back to his half-pint, he brushed kisses on her clammy skin. Her lips were turning blue. He rocked her in his lap and chanted, “You’re okay, babygirl. You’re okay. You’re okay.” Where the fuck was Bones? Turning his head to the side, he screamed, “Bones! Bones! I need you here, now!”
As if materializing out of thin air, Bones was standing at his side. “I’m here, brother. I’m right here. I need you to lay her down flat on her back. Gage, call 911! Tell them Dr. Preston is on scene, and I said get here stat.”
Gage nodded and pulled out his phone.
Sawyer lay Lele on her back. Her eyes were closed, and she didn’t appear to be breathing. At all. Sawyer’s heart raced. He needed to do something. To fix this. But he had no idea how.
How could a heart race and break at the same time? “Lele!” He shook her. “Lele, listen to me. You need to wake up, little girl. Right now. You are not allowed to leave me. You will fight, babygirl. You damn well better hold on and fight.”
Then he felt something strange on his face. Something he hadn’t experienced since joining the CIA. Something he’d thought his soul was too broken to allow. Tears coursed from his eyes and down his cheeks.
“You will obey me, Half-Pint. You will open your damn eyes and be back to normal. You have no other options. None.”
Without looking away from the precious woman lying limp before him, he spoke to the only man who could do anything. “Bones, please. You can help her. Please, Bones, please. Help her.”
“I will, brother. Tilt her head back.”
Sawyer cupped the back of Lele’s neck, lifted, and watched as Bones gave her a dose of Narcan to counter the effects of the fentanyl.
