Page 73 of Saved By the Marines (Soldiers Of Misfortune)

He didn’t ask anything else, just stood up and pulled a gun out from the back of his jeans. He stalked toward the front door as my mouth dropped open.

I knew he was former military. Wolfe had told me that was why he’d gone into the Marines to begin with, but my dad had also been a Marine and he had never run toward anything with a gun drawn. He let Secret Service handle that. It was such a stark contrast with these men and it left my dad looking like the weak one in comparison.

Standing, I made my way closer to the wall that split the kitchen and the living room. My guys had been teaching me things over the months we’d been together. I shoved a picture hanging there aside and grabbed the pistol that was tucked back into an alcove in the wall.

My hand was shaking, but I wasn’t about to get caught in just my pajamas this time. I’d go down fighting if I had to. My heart was racing, blood pounding in my ears as Ray turned and motioned for me to get down. He wanted me to hide.

Nibbling my lower lip, I tucked myself into the corner of the room, but remained standing. I wasn’t going to let him get hurt if there really was a threat out there.

The door splintered inward, sending Ray flying backward. The force of the blast froze the scream in my throat and all I could do was gasp. My ears rang wildly as men in black outfits spilled through the door.

My mind started working overtime. There were no distinguishing marks on their clothes. These weren’t cops. Not that I could imagine cops using some kind of bomb to bust open a door. My eyes flashed over to Ray, who wasn’t moving beneath a pile of debris.Oh God. What if he’s dead?

Anger washed over me at that thought and I clicked the safety off the gun in my hands. These assholes didn’t get to come in here, hurt my father-in-law—unofficially—and get away with it.

Wolfe had been showing me how to shoot, though the lessons had stopped once we found out I was pregnant, but it all flooded back to me. I aimed the weapon and let off one round. My entire focus was on the front sights of the gun. I waited for the kick to bring my rear sights back into alignment with the front then fired again.

Bodies dove in every direction, except the one I’d shot. He crumpled to the ground.I shot a man.I swallowed back bile at the realization. They’d broken into my home. Hurt my family. Who knew what their plan for me was. I was going to shoot way more than one.

I ducked low and ran over to the couch. Thankfully, I wasn’t too heavily pregnant yet or this squatting business would have been impossible. Peeking over the top of the couch, I saw movement. I waited long enough to determine whoever it was had on black, then fired again.

The kick of the weapon, the deafening sound of the gun, the slamming of my heart against my ribcage. It all mixed together and formed a giant ball of numbness in my belly. It was almost as though I was watching this happen. I didn’t have the training my guys did, only a few afternoons spent at the gun range, so I knew I couldn’t hold these men off for very long. Not to mention my pistol wasn’t going to have as many bullets as those rifles they had.

I was buying time, hoping that one of Ray’s other sons would hear the commotion and come running. I let my finger squeeze the trigger again. My worry wasn’t so much about hitting anyone at this point, but stalling. I wanted to keep them stuck in their hiding places. Somewhere in the back of my head I realized they were here to take me, not kill me. I didn’t have the same restrictions, I could, and would, kill them if given the opportunity.

With my left hand, I let go of the gun and dug in my pocket for my cell.

“Bailey. Are you-”

One of the guys across the way started to move so I shot one handed toward him. A lamp a few feet from his head exploded and he quickly scrambled back into his hole.

“Wolfe. There’s men here. They broke in. Your dad’s hurt.”

“Breathe, Baby. Did they say who they were?”

“No. I didn’t give them a chance.”

“That a girl,” Kip said in the background. “Kill them all, Beauty.”

My lower lip trembled. “I can’t.”

“We know, Baby,” Wolfe soothed. “Do your best. We’re trying to get to you.”

Someone snatched the phone from my hand and with a cry I spun, gun pointing toward him. Strong hands gripped the weapon and yanked it from my hands. They’d circled around behind me while I was distracted.

Another man yanked me to my feet by my hair. I bit my lip, refusing to cry out again. They weren’t going to see me sweat. My eyes widened as one of the men pointed a gun at Ray. He was still unconscious on the ground.

“No!”

Head’s turned toward me. I glared at the man with the gun. “If you kill him I’ll fight you every step of the way. You don’t even know how loudly I can scream, asshole,” I threatened. “Leave him here. Alive. And I’ll go with you. I won’t fight. I’ll do whatever you want.”

The man’s eyes flicked to the one who’d taken my gun. He must be the boss. I couldn’t turn my head to look at him because the jerk behind me was still gripping my hair. I’d yank every strand from my scalp if that was what it took.

“Let’s get out of here. We don’t want to be here when they get back.”

“And him?” The man motioned to Ray.

“Leave him. Let’s go princess,” the man said with a feral grin.

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