Page 80 of Twisted Revelations

37

Luke

Beverly. She was all I could think about as the pilot announced our descent into the small private airport near Houston. When she’d rested her head against my shoulder, it was the most pleasing connection I’d ever shared with anyone. She wasn’t like any woman I’d met before.

Beverly knew how to make me open up and talk. She knew how to make me comfortable enough to share pieces of my personal life with her. Surprisingly, she was easy to talk to and had a kind spirit that spread warmth through my body. When she’d asked me if I were attracted to her, I’d stopped breathing, unsure if she’d make me regret the truth.

She was the first woman I’d purposely set myself up to run into. I doubted she knew that our “accidental” bump into each other in Ansel’s hallway had been planned just so I could touch her. I needed to know if she was as magical as she appeared. It was a need I’d never experienced before.

From the moment Megan introduced us across Ansel’s table, my eyes refused to stray too far away from her. Her inviting energy had lured me into her world, and I’d applied great effort to stifle my stares across the table. This connection was a first, one I wanted to explore even if it meant me returning home to Georgia brokenhearted.

When the plane landed with a hard thump, my arm instinctively shot out in front of her, already protective over her. We unstrapped ourselves as we coasted closer to the disembarking area.

The brightness of the sun was eclipsed by dark clouds as a warm, humid breeze kissed our skin. The clouds may have rolled in and hidden the sun, but I was walking next to a woman who had the power to cast permanent rays of light above me.

Beverly. Her name kept whispering through my mind and kissing my senses as we traveled toward the area our SUV was parked in.

She was walking beside me until Laura sprang up and swiped her away, slowing her steps as I proceeded forward. The ladies trailed Dax and me as we led them toward the vehicle.

Once we stepped past the tall, wide doorway into the hanger, a wicked tingle crawled up my spine, slowing my steps. A glance at Dax revealed his face was as perplexed as mine. A wave of danger chased my chill, and Dax’s expression tightened as his steps slowed to match mine.

My right hand landed on my pistol. Beverly approached, and I lifted my left arm to keep her behind me. Dax was next to Laura using his body to keep her in place. I hadn’t drawn my gun, but I scanned the area.

“What’s wrong?” Beverly whispered her question while staying in place behind me.

“It could be nothing, but I sense that something’s off,” I answered while scanning and steadily backing us closer to the metal wall behind us, same as Dax was doing with Laura.

“What in the hell is going on?” Laura questioned. Where had she drawn a gun from? It was attached to her small hand as mine and Dax’s were.

“Stay here.” I ordered using my body as a shield to keep Beverly protected. I’d tucked her into the nook of the thick metal support beam. Dax did the same for Laura although I sensed she’d have kept moving if he hadn’t pinned her body behind his and against the other beam.

Being exposed to multiple combat zones had sharpened my instincts. Trouble lurked, but I didn’t know what kind, why, or how many until a pair of black boots emerged a second before a bullet whizzed past my skull.

Who in the hell could have been waiting for us at a private airport? I made out at least two, one at our left, toward the back of the tall open building and one further inside. Three vehicles and a thick wooden podium stood between the shooters and us. One of the vehicles was our waiting SUV.

Our steps echoed a choppy beat as we positioned the ladies behind the back of the nearest vehicle. Thankfully, it was a large utility van that would provide cover.

Dax twirled a finger in the air before a few hand gestures indicated his attempt to flank our attackers as I kept them busy. He took off for the doorway we’d entered, his silent steps unheard and not matching his fast-moving body as Laura and I covered him.

The first bullets pinged off the trucks metal exterior. Its large body protected us and prevented them from having a clear shot. Unfortunately, it also meant neither Laura or I had a clear shot on them. The moment one of the shooters turned his focus from us and started firing behind him, it indicated Dax’s arrival at the man’s back.

“Stay low.” I glanced back at Beverly. “Keep firing,” I told Laura although she didn’t need my words. I ran ahead when the bullets paused. At a clear view, I ran once more and positioned myself behind the front passenger’s side of the hood of our ride, a black Lexus SUV.

The bullets started to come at me with more frequent urgency, but I’d accomplished my goal of keeping the danger away from Beverly and Laura.

When one of Laura’s shots caused the man to duck, I had an opportunity to take up a good aim. When he rose to fire at us once more, my clean shot slammed into his skull. The shot must have distracted the friend because he went down a few seconds later, Dax on the back end, wreaking havoc.

Dax came into view, aimed at the fallen man, but didn’t shoot. We needed to confirm who they were and how they knew where and when to find us. When I rose from the protection of the vehicle to approach Dax’s area a shot punched me in the chest, the sound reaching out after the impact.

My body was slung back by the powerful force, but I refused to fall. “Luke!” The sound of Beverly yelling my name registered before I aimed and fired. Laura was behind me, firing as well.

The sight of the hidden third man’s body falling into the open doorway ahead of me to my right was a pleasant one. He wasn’t dead, so I aimed and shot him again, pissed that he’d shot me. Another shot sounded and drew my attention from the dead man at the door.

Dax had shot the man he was questioning after he realized I’d been shot. He approached me grudgingly, his eyes on the area I’d been shot. Beverly attempted to move in my direction, but Laura dragged her back.

“There was only those three,” Dax confirmed as he glared at my chest, his eyes wide and searching. The worry on his face caused me to crack a smile although my situation wasn’t funny. When you were used to being spit on all your life and found a group of people who gave a damn, it was hard not to revel in the moments when you could plainly see their care.

Thankfully, the bullet hadn’t gotten through the bulletproof shirt I wore under my dress shirt. The six members of our small R & D department were getting a huge raise. I’d expected to take on incoming fire during Operation Take Six in California, and it was by chance that I’d chosen to wear the protective shirt to Texas.

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