Page 98 of When He Defends
“After your breakup, you found a rebound guy, am I right? Someone who went along with your deadly new agenda?”
“Screw you, bitch,” Hannah spat. “I’m shooting you in the kneecap and when you’re bleeding on the ground, I’ll drive the needle in your throat.”
“You’re not going to shoot me.” Emerson spoke with utter certainty even as fear froze her heart.Gray is okay. Gray isgoing to be fine.“If you were going to shoot, you would have done it already. But me having bullet holes in my body isn’t on the to-do list. You set this scene up with the horses because you thought it would look like an accident. You probably thought both Gray and I would get trampled. At the most, we’d both be dead. And if not dead, then injured enough that you could sneak up on us and drive your tranq into our veins. Either way, we’d be dead by the time help arrived, and it would look like some tragic accident.”
Hannah had a smug smile on her face.
“But Gray saved me.” He’d sacrificed himself, for her. Gotten taken down beneath the pounding hooves, for her. “If you shoot me now, that wholeaccidentnarrative vanishes. So you can’t shoot me. All you can do is come at me with that needle, and if you do come at me, you’d better hope to hell that you can take me down, because as soon as I get my hands on you…you are done,” Emerson swore.
That smug smile of Hannah’s slipped.
“Something you should know,” Emerson added. “I’m not nearly asdelicateas I might look.”
Gray needs help. He needs help now. There is no time to waste.
An animalistic growl tore from Emerson as she lunged for Hannah.
Hannah’s eyes widened in horror. She gaped at Emerson.
“Emerson,down!”Gray roared.
He’d always told her that she couldn’t follow orders for shit but…
Emerson dropped. Right there. She fell. Sank like a stone to the ground. Gunfire erupted. A hard blast. One bullet slammed into Hannah. It hit her high in the right shoulder. She dropped the gun and syringe and screamed as blood spattered. Then, when Hannah collapsed on the ground?—
Justin.
The bellhop was there. He’d been rushing up behind Hannah. His wild eyes took in the scene. He lunged for Emerson with his hands outstretched. One of his hands clutched a wickedly sharp blade. A blade that he was slashing toward her.
“Stop!”Gray bellowed.
Justin didn’t stop.
Gray fired again. The bullet slammed into Justin’s chest. Justin’s eyes flared wide with surprise, and then he swayed. His knees hit the ground first. Then he fell forward, smashing into the ground with a thudding impact even as the knife clattered from his hand.
Emerson scrambled up. She grabbed the discarded gun. Stomped the syringe into pieces. She kept her gaze on a writhing, cursing Hannah. “Gray?” Emerson called. “Tell me you’re all right!”
“I’m all right.”
Footsteps rushed toward them. Emerson tensed, but Trinity burst up the path.
“Emerson!” Trinity yelled. She had her own gun out. “Agnes and Rylan are having to control freakingwildhorses!” She raced to the scene. Stopped. Gaped.
Gray had rolled onto his back. He still had his weapon gripped in his right hand.
“What happened?” Trinity demanded.
“Those wild horses…” Gray groaned. “Trampled over my ass.”
“Jeez.” Trinity dropped to her knees beside him. “I don’t think you should be moving.”
“Tell me about it,” he muttered. “Emerson?”
Her breath shuddered in and out. Blood covered Justin’s chest. She knew that shot might be killing him.Too much blood. Acute bleeding. Could be myocardial damage, rupture, could bevalve damage, could be—She snapped to attention. “Trinity! I need you to guard Hannah!” Hannah was down, but her injury didn’t appear life threatening. Emerson was pretty sure the bullet had gone in and straight out of Hannah’s shoulder. There was blood loss, but nothing that would indicate substantial damage.
Trinity immediately appeared at Emerson’s side. Emerson turned, and she went straight to Gray.Hewas her priority.
Her hands fluttered over him. “Don’t move. Not anymore, you understand me? You could have spinal injuries. I need to get your head and neck stabilized. I need?—”
