Page 102 of Beyond Rosy Irish Twilight

He nodded and stepped aside. I rushed past him to the top of the stairs and stared down at my husband.

“We’re leaving.”

“But—”

The look on his face was downright lethal. Whatever was going on, we needed to get out of here fast. I didn’t waste another minute as I rushed back to the room. “We need to leave.”

Kate stood and faced me. “But I’ve barely begun my exam,” she argued.

“Asher said we need to leave. I trust him.”

Hunter stalked over to her and grabbed her medical bag, then her arm and started dragging her to the door. I wanted to rush back over and say a proper goodbye to my mother, but there was no time for that. I’d have to come over with Asher another time. I hurried out of the room and down the steps to where Asher stood at the bottom, waiting with the sharks that were my father’s guards.

He was a force to be reckoned with, not even flinching when they encroached on his space. He slid his hand around my waist and pulled me to him as he guided me to the door. Whatever was going on, I wasn’t allowed to ask right now. I recognized the look on his face, the one of urgency that said I wasn’t to question him right now.

And then he stopped and gripped my waist tight. Everything seemed to stop as we stood in the driveway for just those few seconds. And then his gaze snapped to the right, and all hell broke loose.

38

ASHER

The back of my neck prickled and my eyes darted around the guards. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hunter stiffen beside me and pull Kate to a halt. Time slowed as I took in our surroundings. A guard stopped beside me, staring at me curiously, completely oblivious to the present danger.

I reached for my gun, only to remember I didn’t have one on me. “Back inside!”

Patrick ran toward me and grabbed Jade’s arm and immediately started pulling her inside as she shouted for me. Chase darted out of the car and held up his hand, screaming as if in slow motion.

“Run!”

I turned and grabbed the gun out of the guard’s holster before he was even aware of what was happening. Just as I was turning back, I saw the black vehicles crashing through the gates in the distance. Where the fuck were all of Ambrose’s guards? I ran for the car just as Chase popped the trunk and pulled out weapons. He quickly slid the rocket launcher over to me, then slid in the rocket as I eyed the target.

“Clear!” I shouted, then pulled the trigger, sending the rocket spiraling through the air until it hit the first vehicle, taking it out in a fiery explosion. He slid a second rocket in and ducked down.

I pulled the trigger and turned to him for another, but he was already firing his weapon at the other vehicles that were storming through the gates.

“Another!”

“We’re out!” he shouted back.

The vehicles drove around the ones burning in the middle of the drive. I grabbed a rifle off the ground from where he tossed it and ran to the front end of the car for a better angle. I fired off round after round, but we were barely making a dent in the numbers that were swarming the property.

“Where the fuck are all Ambrose’s guards?” I shouted at Chase.

He shook his head. “We can’t hold them for long!”

I was about to tell him we needed to haul ass inside when I saw something fly through the air and moments later, the lead vehicle exploded. The SUV spun, blocking the path of the other vehicles right at a bottleneck in the drive. And that’s when I saw him move.

Like a blur, Knight shot out from a hiding spot and ran full steam at the vehicles stalled down the drive. I glanced over at Chase for only a moment, then held out my hand and caught the magazines he tossed my way.

“Cover from here!” I shouted. I needed his cover fire while I headed into the fight.

He gave a brief nod as I jumped over the hood of the car and ran flat out toward Knight. He moved swiftly, without hesitation as he took out anyone in his path. But he was getting overwhelmed at the sheer number of men attacking. I took a knee and steadied myself as I started picking off the men closest to him. One at a time, they fell. But then men continued to pour out of the vehicles to take out the single man blocking their path.

I wanted to get closer but knew if I stopped firing for even a moment, that would leave him vulnerable. I was the reason he was in this mess to begin with, and I wouldn’t help his wife become a widow. But as the numbers slimmed, I knew this was my opportunity to move. I slung my weapon over my shoulder and hauled ass toward the burning vehicle at the front. If it weren’t for this bottleneck in the driveway, the rest of the vehicles would have continued to pour in.

“What do we got?”

I startled at the sudden appearance of Hunter beside me. “Should you be out here?”

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