Page 117 of While You Were Spying
“Where is she?”
His henchman doesn’t say anything, so I assume he hasn’t found Gabrielle yet—and has no idea Granny has escaped.
“Don’t worry. You’ll have your happy little family reunion soon enough.” He waves us forward.
Jayden takes a step toward me.
“Don’t even think about it, Mr. Price.” Vadik redirects the gun at him. My heart, not having succeeded in escaping just yet, jams in my throat, making it difficult to breathe.
I try to swallow it back down.
A movement on top of a barrel near him catches my attention. But whatever it was disappears the moment my gaze darts to it.
There’s no time to dwell on it. A loud bang—like a gun firing—comes from the direction Landon, the henchman, and I were a few minutes ago.
I startled. I’m not the only one. Whatever was on the barrel didn’t appreciate the loud noise. It comes sailing through the air like a large flying squirrel with the shriek of a banshee.
And lands on Vadik’s head.
Vadik does his own shrieking, not expecting the creature’s assault.
That’s the only distraction we need. Jayden and Blake lurch forward, toward Vadik and Virginia.
I swivel around to confront the henchman, who’s no longer paying attention to either Landon or me. He’s turning toward the wooden barrel that has seen better days. Wine sprays from a newly formed hole in it, painting the floor in a sea of red.
My gun lies abandoned on the ground, no longer where I’d left it, the wine ocean spilling under it.
A pained moan breaks from the henchman’s lips, and he stumbles toward the barrel and the gun.
Landon dives for the weapon. I hurl myself at the man, wrapping my arm around his thick neck.
He’s taller and all-around bigger than me, but my unexpected attack throws him off enough that Landon gets to the gun before the henchman can even move a few feet.
I wrap my legs around him, pinning his arms to his side, including the one holding the gun.
He tries to shake me off. He doesn’t have much success.
Landon snatches up the gun and levels it at him. “I suggest you put the gun carefully down, and then I’ll get Isabelle to release you.”
For a second, I fear he’s going to ignore Landon and back up, slamming me into a nearby barrel to dislodge me.
Instead, he lets out a defeated sigh and awkwardly places the gun on the floor.
Landon kicks it away.
Behind me, there’s a crash of activity and voices. I peer over my shoulder to discover Liam and Adam, along with men in swat gear, streaming into the building.
On the floor near the door is a tabby cat, busy cleaning itself.
I release my hold on the henchman and drop the short distance to my feet. I quickly step away before he has a chance to grab me—if he’s stupid enough to try—and find myself engulfed in the familiar arms of Jayden.
Before I can say anything, he spins me around, and his mouth captures mine.
And…I melt into him. Maybe it’s partly because of the adrenaline coursing through me, but I can’t kiss him enough.
The sentiment seems to be echoed by him. Our kisses are hungry, tender, consuming, sweet. I’m vaguely aware that we have an audience, but for now, I don’t care.
And neither does Jayden.
