Page 92 of Ruthless Salvation

“Was that Torin? What happened? Did anyone get hurt? Oh God. Is everyone okay?” My rapid-fire questions flew at him without pause.

Jolly raised his hand as if to interrupt. “It’s over. Went down exactly as planned, and he wants to meet you back at his place.”

My lungs seized. It wasn’t a sob or a gasp. More like the greedy intake of air after fear had strangled off my supply. I flung myself at Jolly, holding him in a death grip.

“Oh my God. I was so worried.” My eyes squeezed shut with relief.

Jolly patted my back somewhat awkwardly. “All right, then.” He huffed when I didn’t immediately release him. “We gonna go see your man or stand up here blubbering all day?”

I laughed as I pulled away, tears of happiness and relief burning the backs of my eyes. “Lead the way.” I waved him ahead, following him to the door. I was more than ready to see Torin alive and well for myself. It had been the worst kind of torture to branch off from the group and head up instead of down, knowing the danger they’d be in because of me.

The siren had stopped, though the emergency lights continued to flash. We descended five flights to the tenth floor, my heart soaring higher with each step down. I was elated to reunite with the man who had quickly become the center of my world.

When we stepped into the hallway, we saw a fireman walking toward the opposite stairwell. He turned around when the door closed behind us. I assumed he was about to tell us we had to evacuate, but when his soulless eyes met mine, fear overtook me.

I clamped my hand around Jolly’s arm in a vicious hold and froze. “It’shim—not a fireman.” My words were rushed and breathless, saturated with panic. “He’s the man who attacked me in my apartment.”

I wanted to vomit and scream and run, all at once.

But I didn’t do any of those things. There wasn’t time. The man across from us already had his gun in his hand and was raising it with his violent stare fixed on Jolly.

I knew what I had to do before I’d even formed the thought. Instinct took over.

I shouldered Jolly with all the momentum I could muster on short notice right as the shot rang out. Not a second later, pain ripped through my shoulder. My body recoiled as Jolly’s shots exploded, three in quick succession.

“JesusChrist, woman,” the older man shouted, turning to see me stumble to the ground.

My gaze was still trained thirty feet away at the far end of the hall where the other man had collapsed into a motionless heap. I wanted to think he was dead, but I was terrified he might not be. I kept myself propped up on the uninjured arm so I didn’t lose sight of him. The effort was a strain as my head began to spin.

“Torin’s gonna skin me alive. Why the hell’d you go and do a thing like that?” He crouched to look over the wound.

“You risked your life for me, but I can’t do the same?” I asked, my breaths shallow.

“Damn selfless … son of a … don’t listen to no one…” Jolly muttered curses as he took out his phone. “Tor, we got a little problem.”

Present

“What thefuckdo you mean she’s been shot?” I was going to crawl through the phone line and wring his fucking neck. Every bit of the soaring sense of victory I’d felt seconds earlier was now peppered with buckshot and crashing to the ground.

“It was her own damn fault,” he barked back at me, not helping his case. “She did it to protect me, but she’s gonna be okay. It’s only her shoulder.”

“She’s fucking pregnant, Jolly.” The words exploded past my lips, resounding off the marble in the apartment lobby. I’d already started on my way to the elevators.

“Shit,” he grumbled.

You got that goddamn right.

“I’ll call an ambulance on my way up.” I hung up. Anything else he said was only going to piss me off even more.

When I stepped off the elevator on the tenth floor, I was greeted by a dead fireman bleeding out on the carpet. What the fuck had happened here?

I kicked the gun away from his hand.

Okay, so not a fireman.

I placed a call to Keir. “We’ve got a dead soldier dressed as a fireman up here. Spread the word to be on the lookout for others.”

“Got it.”

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