Gunn(Bayou Springs Alien Mail Order Brides #2)(20)

 

His eyes narrowed, then he gave me just the hint of a nod as his understanding and determination ignited inside me.

 

"Now!" I cried. I lunged forward, my fist connecting with Smith's face. But the jarring impact left me off balance, and we both went down in a tangle of arms and legs.

 

Gunn let out a roar and the heart-stopping sound of a gunshot made my insides quiver, but I was too busy wrestling with Smith to check on Gunn. I didn't need to, though. The lack of pain, combined with his adrenaline-fueled rage strumming through our connection told me he was holding his own.

 

"You bitch," Smith spit out, grabbing a fist full of my hair. Yanking my head back, he snarled, "Get the fuck off me."

 

Tears instantly filled my eyes as pain shot from my scalp, down my neck. Hell no, I wasn't letting the piece of shit bastard get the better of me by pulling my fucking hair. I rolled, bringing one knee up hard and caught him directly in the crotch.

 

 

 

        

          

        

         

 

"Oomph!" he grunted, letting go of me as he curled in on himself, reaching for his bruised balls.

 

"Stupid fucker," I muttered and pounced. Just because he was rolling around on the cement, didn't mean he was completely neutralized. And I wasn't leaving anything to chance. Straddling him, I wrapped my hands around his neck and squeezed. His eyes bulged and he made a strange gargled noise, unable to breathe. "That's for allowing your goon to shoot my fiancé."

 

He tried to suck in air and failed, his face going red from exertion and lack of oxygen.

 

I glanced at Gunn. He had Scar Face backed up against the wall as he pummeled the bastard with blow after blow to his face and kidney. Good. Neither of the goons were getting out of this unscathed.

 

A small grunt came from Smith as he smashed his fist into the side of my head, knocking me sideways. I lost my grip on his throat as my shoulder slammed into the cement, the impact jarring me to my very core. Son of a bitch, that hurt. Smith gasped in air, rolling away from me as he coughed, trying to recover from my attack.

 

"Oh, hell no." Already on my feet, I reached into the still-open SUV and grabbed a coil of rope sitting on the floorboard. "It's a good thing you boys came prepared," I taunted, then leaped on his back, flattening him to the ground. In one swift motion, I grabbed his right arm and twisted it behind his back, rendering him immobile.

 

"You're gonna pay for this, Frazer," he threatened.

 

I yanked his arm up higher and shoved his face against the ground. "I better make this count, then shouldn't I?"

 

He growled and bucked against me, but it made no difference. He'd lost this round. Grabbing the rope, I yanked his other arm behind his back and deftly tied his wrists together. I glanced at Gunn, noting he'd found a roll of Duct tape and was busy strapping Scar Face to one of the garage pillars. I snorted and moved to Smith's feet, making sure to secure his ankles. Then as the final touch, I grabbed a wad of napkins from the truck and shoved them in his mouth. There'd be no more bullshit from that son of a bitch. "This one isn't going anywhere," I said as I stood and turned to Gunn.

 

He took a step toward me and opened his mouth to speak, only no words came out. He froze, and in the next second, his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he crumpled to the ground.

 

"Gunn!" I cried as I ran over to him, but stopped dead in my tracks when familiar icy numbness brushed my skin.

 

That meant one thing-an Azurite was here and feeding off Gunn's energy.

 

I spun, already reaching in my pocket for the antidote that I no longer carried. Fuck me. When I'd left town a week ago, I'd locked up the last of my samples, knowing there was no way I'd make through the check point with them in my car. Curling my empty hand into a fist, I glared at Bolt Saxton. "If you suck Gunn's energy dry, I swear I'll rip your guts out."  

 

The handsome man in his late twenties flashed me his sexy half-smile and raised one dark eyebrow. "Well hello to you, too, Kennedy."

 

"Stop feeding off him. Now." Everything inside me vibrated with the desire to tear Bolt's head off. The Azurite was the son of an up and coming Gravity Bay Azurite politician. He'd participated in a number of our studies and at one time, I'd called him him a friend. That had ended when he'd become addicted to our synthetic energy serum and we'd cut him off. Not long after we'd started his detox treatment, he'd just stopped showing up.

 

Was it possible Bolt had been the one to have me added back onto the government employee list? It seemed unlikely, but if he was desperate enough to find me and the samples he knew I had, it was possible. Especially if he'd thought I was just out of town and was waiting for me to return.