Under Fire (Love Over Duty #1)(32)

As bullets flew over his head, he caught sight of Louisa trapped behind a table. The two intruders had obviously been about to capture her between them, but the smart girl had armed herself and was going to make it difficult for them.

"What the … ?" one of the men cried out. "I thought you said she was alone."

Six dropped behind the kitchen island. He didn't want to shoot because they were too close to Louisa and he didn't have a clear shot, so he crawled to the other side in the hope that he could reassure her in some way to stay calm. Shots ricocheted off the cupboards behind him. "The police are on their way," Six shouted. "You've got maybe three minutes to get the fuck out of here."

One of the men moved in his direction and raised his gun. Six capitalized on the rookie error and fired low, catching the intruder closest to him in the calf. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Louisa drop and crawl under the table. Smart girl. Taking cover was the best thing she could do with bullets flying around. The other guy ran for the open door.

The wounded assailant screamed out in agony and shouted something in a language Six didn't understand but that sounded Eastern European. Like his partner, he ran for the door, leaving a bloody trail behind him.

"You okay, Lou?" he called out as he jumped to his feet.

"I'm fine," she shouted as he ran out of the door after them.

Protecting Louisa-getting the thugs away from her and keeping them away-was his first priority. He ran out onto the street where the van was already making its exit. The guy he'd shot was being dragged in through the open side door as the van turned the corner.



       
         
       
        

Six ran back into the house, locked the front door, hurried to what he now knew was the dining room, and closed the window. When he returned to the kitchen, he found Louisa on the phone speaking to emergency services. He pushed down his hood and walked over to her to place his hand on her back.

"No, I think they're gone," she said to the 911 operator, her voice wavering. "Right?" she asked, looking at him.

Six nodded. "In a black van," he said, and wrote the license plate down on a notepad on the counter.

Louisa relayed the information to the operator. "Yes, that's right." There was a pause. "Okay, thank you," she said, and hung up the phone. She let out a gasp and sagged against the island.

"Holy shit," she gasped. "Holy shit." Her breath came quickly and unevenly. "There were men in my house. My home."

"Louisa, look at me," he said, concerned about shock. Home intrusion was often doubly violating because being attacked in the place that was supposed to be the person's safest haven made them feel incredibly vulnerable. She raised her head. Her cheeks were a bit flushed and her skin a little paler than normal, but beneath it all was the spark of anger.

"Now do you believe me?" she asked.

* * *

"You think I didn't believe you that something was going on?" Six asked incredulously.

In truth, Louisa wasn't sure what to think. Her head was spinning, seemingly filled with both useful and useless information about what had happened. Kind of like all the extra material in genomes that accumulated over time even though it didn't serve any biological purpose. Two weeks ago, she'd stood in this very kitchen and had eaten breakfast while worrying over a missing sample and planning to tell the head of the lab about her concerns. Now two men had broken into her home, and Six had undoubtedly saved her life. Oh, and there was blood on her kitchen tiles, which she compulsively needed to clean up yet intelligently knew she needed to leave until the police had come and gone. She threaded her shaking hands into her hair and looked around the kitchen that she'd loved, knowing it would never feel the same to her again.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "It did seem like I was overreacting, I guess. But it all adds up to the same, thing," she said. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. The police are on their way, so you should go. I'll be fine. I'm very relieved you swung by when you did." Her voice cracked on the last words, and any attempt to appear brave disappeared faster than the lab sample had. Tears that rarely fell stung the corners of her eyes, and before she could utter the words to excuse herself momentarily so she could cry in the privacy of the washroom, Six had pulled her into his strong arms and wrapped them tightly around her. They felt safe, comforting even, and she pressed her cheek against his hoodie and closed her eyes. While she might know the biological reason why adrenaline was pumping through her veins right now, it didn't make it any more bearable. Her entire body shook with uncontrollable force.