He chuckled, and it was weak and pathetic. “Do you think I care? I’m going to kill you both.”
The safety was off but I kept my eyes on him when he pressed the trigger and fired a shot.
I released my breath and looked down my body to find… nothing. There were no bullet holes and no pain.
Drake slumped and fell to the ground, my gun still in his hand. I looked at the side door of the dining room and found Elena, still aiming the nozzle at him as she slowly stepped towards him and kicked the gun he held away from his hand before looking at me.
“Are you hurt?” she asked, turning the safety on her gun off before holstering it.
I looked behind me and found Emma peering over my shoulder. “She is,” I said, pressing her closer.
“Thank you,” I said to Elena when her team covered the entire house.
She gave me a dark look before facing Emma, who was still shaking in my arms. “There’s an ambulance outside. She should get checked.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded. “Come on, Doll,” I whispered, holding her in my arms and letting her bury her face in my chest.
She didn’t want me to leave, but I needed to talk to Elena. As the nurse and the doctor treated her in the ambulance, and the other officers hustled around us, I stayed rooted in place with a clear view of Emma.
“I gave you one order,” Elena started, her arms crossed. “One order, Cillian. Stay back until the team arrives.”
“I heard her scream,” I lied. I had just arrived at the location when I heard it. “I couldn’t wait.”
“You broke—”
“If you had heard Zayed’s scream, you wouldn’t wait.”
Her jaw ticked. “Then explain to me why Drake Grant has a broken jaw, black eyes, three teeth on the floor in the puddle of his blood, several ribs broken and an open wound on his thigh.”
I stared hard at her then at Emma, who was talking to the nurse, her face devoid of emotion. I met Elena’s eyes and asked, “Just three?”
“Cillian,” she hissed and leaned closer. “I can’t protect you from this.”
“I don’t need protection. You should thank me that he’s not dead.”
“What the fuck am I supposed to say, that you hurt him in defense?”
“Yes.” My jaw clenched, and I looked down at my knuckles. “I need to be with Emma right now.”
She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Go ahead.”
I paused and looked at her. “How did you end up here? I thought you were in New York.”
“You should be lucky Zayed wanted to meet you both before we left for Azmia,” she said and nodded at the ambulance. “Oh, great.”
I marched towards the Sheikh of Azmia, who was grinning with Emma. My steps slowed when I saw the light in her eyes and a small smile on her face. Even though I didn’t like the man, he had a good heart.
“And we are—mostly I am—awarding you with a golden ticket,” Zayed grinned. “You can come visit me in Azmia anytime you want and you will get a royal treatment.”
“Like a princess?” Emma asked, raising a brow.
“Like a queen, kitten. You saved my life.”
Emma smiled at him and I was relieved to find that it reached her blue eyes. I tensed when they flickered to me.
“Ah, the man and the hero of the hour!” Zayed stood up and slapped me on the back. “Only three?” he whispered in my ear. He tsked. “Amateur.”
I hid my smirk when he walked towards his wife, leaving me alone with Emma.