Page 120 of Mistletoe and Malice
“Go, Wiley.”
“Nobody in the kitchen matching that description. Everybody checks.”
“Same at the bar,” John reported back.
“Okay, stay alert. Check every waiter you see. There could possibly be scars from scratch marks on his right hand.”
Adrenaline pumped through his system as he circled the room, his gaze pinning on every red-coated server he passed. He caught John’s concerned glance from several feet away. The music continued, the heavy bass line adding to the tension of the moment. The hundred-plus guests talked, laughed, and danced, unaware of any lurking danger. Caterer’s assistants kept food in plentiful supply, and waiters lined up at the bar, picking up trays of champagne to pass out for the New Year countdown.
He consulted his watch. Eleven minutes to midnight.
Several servers had already received their trays and were making their way around the room.
Riley stood behind a table flanked by Nowell and Trevor.
“Cooper, you and Paxton walk Riley out as unobtrusively as possible. I want her in the SUV and off the premises in the next two minutes.”
“Copy that.”
Nowell bent to speak in Riley’s ear, and her face fell. Colton winced. She’d been so looking forward to this evening, had put hours of work into preparing for it, and he was making her go home. She nodded, apparently accepting it was for the best, and the trio started around the perimeter.
Letting his gaze do another pass around the room, he spotted a waiter coming through the main doors, holding a tray against the front of his jacket. Odd that a member of the waitstaff wouldenter from the lobby and not the kitchen. Colton’s eyes narrowed on the man. Tall, lanky. Brown hair worn a bit shaggy. Right hand hidden behind the tray. Focus pinned on Riley as she made her way with her detail to a side exit.
Colton’s pulse beat in time with the thumping bass as he broke into a run from across the room. “I have visual.” He weaved around startled partygoers. “North side, brown hair, six-two, trailing the principal. All hands out here now.”
Nowell pulled Riley in front of him, shielding her with his body.
Trevor spun, weapon drawn, walking backward to stay with his principal while taking aim at the alleged threat. “Can’t take the shot. Too many innocents.”
Before Colton reached the mark, the man spotted him. Their eyes met.
Warren Everett. He’d know that soulless gaze anywhere.
Everett threw the tray, exposing the firearm he held in his other hand. Colton raised his arm as the tray hit.
Everett took aim at him, but Colton didn’t have any cleaner shot than Trevor. A woman screamed. Alarmed guests moved in every direction. Everett whirled and ran back the way he’d come.
Finally clear of the panicked crowd, Colton sprinted after Everett into the lobby. “Cooper, keep Riley inside until we secure the area. Behind the bar.”
Everett reached behind him and took aim. Colton flinched at thephfftof the bullet as it left the silencer. He took his own shot. With a loud grunt, Everett grabbed his right shoulder but didn’t drop his weapon. Instead of falling, he regained his balance and hurtled toward the sliding glass doors.
Colton picked up his pace. This was the guy, the monster, who had invaded Riley’s life for the past two months. He was putting a stop to it now. Tonight.
No matter what it might cost him.
Chapter Fifty
Riley recoiled at the sound of the gunshot. Heart hammering against her sternum, her head swiveled to the ballroom doors. Where was Colton? A shout from the lobby brought her to a stop, and she yanked her arm free from Nowell’s grasp.
Not again. This couldn’t be happening again.
John and three other men made a beeline toward the doors, weapons drawn. Others stayed with the crowd, instructing them to hunker in place.
Nowell grabbed her arm again and steered her toward the bar instead of continuing to the exit they’d designated as her emergency egress. Trevor kept pace on her other side.
“What’s happening?” Her voice quivered with a surge of adrenaline. “Is Colton okay?”
Nowell nodded. “He ordered us to keep you inside until Everett’s apprehended.”
