Her Forgotten Betrayal(77)

It had nearly killed him to wait, to listen to her suffering. But this time, it had been her call whether or not she went through with the mission and when to end it. This time, she’d been in charge.

“You should be scared shitless,” he said. “My team will be arriving in under thirty minutes. And every word you’ve said has been wirelessly feeding to my computers as well as to them. It’s over, Sebastian. You’ve lost.”

“Have I? Maybe I care more about seeing my precious sister’s brains splattered all over my grandmother’s prissy bedroom,” Sebastian said, “than about saving my own ass.”

“Then you’d have killed her already,” Cole reasoned. “And yet, here we all are. Why is that?”

“So I could finish what I should have after the barn fire.” The other man turned, his hand still twisted in Shaw’s hair. He dragged her with him until she was sprawled on all fours between him and Cole.

“Ow!” she cried, allowing her first sign of weakness to slip out, her head down, her body shuddering.

“Let her go,” Cole bit out.

“And miss watching you see her die?”

“I can drop you right here.” Cole aimed his own weapon at the monster’s forehead, dead center.

“But will I get my shot off first?” Sebastian laughed. “Are you going to take that chance, Special Agent Marinos, for the sake of closing out your assignment? After all, I’m your suspect, the one you’re tasked to bring in. Who will care if you can’t save your bothersome witness from the danger she’s recklessly put herself in? You’ll still be a hero with your task force, as long as you’re willing to sacrifice the bitch you love for your career.”

Shaw laughed right back. “Shoot his ass, Cole.”

But Cole couldn’t, not until there was a fraction more space between her and her brother.

“Shut up!” Sebastian kicked her in the ribs and let her fall to the ground, keeping his weapon trained on her.

“Touch her again,” Cole warned, “and I’ll—”

“Kill me?” The other man’s grotesque features contorted into a parody of sympathy. “So you said. But evidently, loving and protecting a woman aren’t the only things you suck at.”

Shaw made an impatient sound. “He also sucks at letting me make my own choices. Which is why I’m getting better by the second at taking things into my own hands.”

With no warning, she pushed off the ground. Her elbow came up and jammed into her brother’s gonads. Cole swept his free arm out, deflecting the bastard’s gun to the side. Sebastian doubled over, screaming in pain. His pistol skittered across the floor.

For a split second, Cole watched Shaw scramble away. But it was all the time her brother needed to take the upper hand. Sebastian’s head plowed into Cole’s diaphragm with enough force to knock the wind out of him. He landed hard and lost sight of Shaw.

“Run,” he wheezed out, praying to his angels that she’d listen and follow their plan. As soon as she was clear, she was supposed to make it downstairs and outside, then find someplace to hide and wait for Dawson to show.

Sebastian landed on top of him, panting and still whining with pain. He began grappling for Cole’s Glock.

Where was Shaw?

Cole couldn’t catch his breath, the world was fading to white, a maniac was about to shoot him with his own gun, and he couldn’t find Shaw. Sonofabitch.

“Cole,” she yelled from somewhere behind her brother.

“Run!”

He had no idea whether she’d heard his choked-out command or not. Lodged between him and Sebastian, his gun fired. Shaw screamed.

Damn.

The bedroom faded to black.





Chapter Nineteen


Shaw heard the gun go off and saw Cole go limp beneath Sebastian.

“No!” she screamed as the man she loved gave his life to preserve hers, her heart breaking in two, her precarious hold on reality rocked to its very core.

Then, before her brother could stagger to his feet, she ran, the way she’d promised she would. She ran, even though she wanted to fall across Cole’s body and weep for everything they should have had.

She wanted to thank him for caring for her so much more than he’d ever let her know. He could have killed Bastian at any point, but he’d waited until they had the evidence they’d needed to clear her name, and even then he hadn’t fired. He’d put his life in danger walking up to Sebastian, refusing to shoot because he wouldn’t risk her safety.

So she ran to honor his sacrifice, knowing that even though she was alive, a part of her would forever be dead inside. She’d missed her chance, at his cabin, to make Cole believe they didn’t have to be perfect—that they could fight their way back from anything, as long as they were fighting together. That she wanted to take the risk, any risk, that would bring him back to her. She hadn’t needed more time. She hadn’t needed anything else but him. And he’d died without knowing how much she still loved him.