Page 33 of Nuclear Option (Owens Protective Services)

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Let’s just say I need her to stay silent. The governor has something in place that needs to go through, and if she blows the horn on that too soon, all my plans will be ruined.”

“You’re siding with a corrupt politician over me?” I seethed.

The knowing smirk on his face crawled under my skin like a bad rash. “Don’t ever fool yourself into thinking that our history will put us on the same side. I do what’s best for the job I need to get done. You’ve always known this about me.”

And this was why I never trusted the fucker. You would think after all these years there would be some level of trust between us, but nearly every time he screwed me over. Which was why I took extra precautions this time around. Now I just needed the perfect distraction to aid in my next plan.

I slammed my fist into his face twice, then switched things up, hitting him in the gut. As he doubled over, I grabbed his gun, pressed it to his head as I stepped behind him. I wrapped my arm around his neck and yanked him against my body just as the door swung open and three soldiers walked in.

Rafe never expected me to attack him. I never had in the past, but there was a first time for everything. And now that he underestimated me once, he would never make the same mistake again.

“Stand down,” I snapped.

“You need to put your gun down. I will fucking pull the trigger.”

Their eyes flicked to Rafe’s for direction and at his nod, they slowly lowered their weapons. He knew I wasn’t fucking around. Just like him, nothing would stand between me and my objective.

“Back out of the room,” I ordered, moving forward and pushing Rafe with me. The men backed out, glancing behind them as if they were hoping for backup, which I knew was coming. “Down the hall, now!”

They moved faster as I backed them through the hallways to where Rae and New Guy were being held. I nodded at the door for the soldier closest to open it. When the door swung open, Rae smirked at me.

“That took a good five minutes longer than I expected. You’re getting slow in your old age.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Old? I’m in the prime of my life.”

She stood, ignoring the guards around her as she took off her cuffs. The guard next to her looked on in shock as she dropped them in his hands with a smile. “I appreciate the effort, but you really need to pay more attention. I’ve been unlocked since two minutes after you put them on me, and that was mostly because I couldn’t find my bobby pin.”

“I—” He looked over at the man across from him, who looked equally sheepish.

“Great,” Rafe said tightly. “At least you got one of them.”

“Actually,” New Guy grinned. “I beat her time, but she has a flair for the dramatic, so I let her have her moment.”

“You only beat me because—”

“Because I’m so awesome? Because I have talents that supersede all of yours? It’s okay, they know it. You can say it,” he teased.

“I was going to say because you lifted the keys off him. That’s cheating.”

The soldier immediately reached for the keys, only to find them missing. New Guy whistled at him, dangling the keys from the tips of his fingers. Then he stood and walked over to him, placing them in his hand with a quick pat.

“Anywho,” he said, clapping his hands together. “What’s the plan now? Are we grabbing the girl and pulling a Houdini?”

I gave a quick shake of my head. “Negative. It’s time to go to Mexico.”

“Mexico?” New Guy asked. “Like Cabo? Why would we go there? Are there some baddies we need to take out?”

“Seriously, boss? Can’t we just take them out now?”

“One thing at a time,” I answered, shoving Rafe into the room with the others and pulling the door shut. I grabbed my knife and jammed the lock with it, then took off down the hall as the other two followed me. We ran straight for the entrance, right into the thick of things.

“This is not going to get us to Mexico,” New Guy snapped as men started running right at us.

“We really need a better plan,” Rae said as she tackled one guy around the waist, taking him to the ground.

As she was working on that guy, I flung another guy over my shoulder, tossing him into some crates. New Guy and I both rushed forward into the fray. I never grabbed a gun, though I had every opportunity. This was a pure knock-down, drag-out fistfight—one that would eventually get us caught, but not before we had a little fun.

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