Page 101 of Of Desire And Deception

When I looked in the last room on the opposite side of the hall, I realized we’d started on the wrong side of the level. Madden’s rooms must have been on the opposite wing. I turned to let Remi know. Only she wasn’t there.

The hairs on the back of my neck rose, and I left the room, closing the door quietly and moving down the hall as quickly and quietly as possible.

“I said get down!” Remi yelled from up ahead. I broke into a run, giving up on stealth in favor of getting to my wife sooner. My hand wrapped around my gun, and I pulled it free of the holster, preparing for the worst.

Genuine fear coursed through me when I heard gunshots and Remi's curse. I burst through the main bedroom door in time to see Madden disappearing through a door on another wall, a man with a weapon covering the room behind him. There was another gunshot, and I ducked, only realizing it had come from Remi when I saw the man by the passage fall to the floor. I lunged for my wife, finding her gripping her side.

“Go after them!” she panted, doubled over in pain.

“Where are you hit?” I asked, tugging at the hand pressed to her body. “Let me see.”

“I’m fine,” Remi insisted, trying to push me away. “You have to follow him. Madden is getting away.”

Her hand came away coated in blood. Unacceptable. Terrifying. I couldn’t lose her. I shoved the panic down until all that remained was cool logic. “You’ve been shot.”

“No shit,” she snapped, but her voice wavered. “Hurts like a bitch, too. But I can take care of it. We can’t lose Madden.”

“He’s already gone.” I ran to the attached bathroom and found a linen closet, grabbing a hand towel. I pressed it to Remi’s side and wrapped my hand around her back, helping her to her feet. She groaned but held steady. “We need to get you out of here. If he has security, more men will come.”

Remi’s words were halting as I practically pulled her down the stairs. “He… laughed… at me. Fucking laughed, Cosimo.”

“Don’t talk, baby,” I said. “Save that strength for later. You’re going to need it when we hunt Madden down.”

I led us toward the back door as the front door flew open. Fuck. I turned, firing at the men running after us, hitting them both. There was no way to know how many people Madden had working for him. I had to get Remi out of there.

“Can you hold your gun?” I asked her, a plan brewing in my head.

She nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Okay, good.”

She gripped her pistol in her free hand.

“Good girl. I’m sorry,” I apologized, knowing I was about to cause her the kind of pain I never wanted her to experience. “This is going to fucking hurt. I need you to stay conscious for me.”

Before she could question me, I hauled her over my shoulder, holding my hand to the towel on her side.

“Shit,” she hissed as I bolted for the door, then out the back.

Another man rounded the corner, and I stopped long enough to pick him off. The trees were maybe twenty-five feet in front of us. I just needed to make it across. Taking a deep breath, I ran because my wife’s life depended on it.

Remi shifted, firing and laying down cover until we disappeared behind the trees. I didn’t stop until we reached the fence, cursing not bringing bolt cutters. We were going to have to scale it.

“Hey, diavola,” I said as I set her down, taking in the pained expression on her face. “Do you think you can make it over?”

She nodded, jaw clenched. “I will.”

“That’s my girl.”

Remi handed me the blood-soaked towel, and I lifted her as high as possible to minimize her exertion. She whimpered at the top, and I got myself over the fence in time to catch her as she fell on the other side.

“I’ve got you.” I shoved the towel back against her side and risked cutting into the neighbor's driveway, hitting the button to open the gate, and walking right out and down the sidewalk. There wasn’t time to keep covert. I had to get her in the car ahead.

Remi slumped in the front passenger seat of the SUV, and I buckled her in, pulling my phone out as I rushed to the driver’s side and jumped in.

“Cos,” Dante answered sleepily.

“Put Olesya on,” I snapped.

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