Fuck. Armand growled and circled his foe. Taking the time to rest was not an option. No matter if he bit the man’s face or side, it wouldn’t be enough to take him down for good. It was rip out his throat or die.
Statler charged. Armand’s military training kicked in and he blocked out the pain in his chest. Armand leapt in the air and Statler followed suit. They met head to head and then landed with a thud. Paws swiping and teeth gnashing, blood spurted everywhere. With a twist of his head, Armand managed to grab hold of the side of Statler’s neck.
Before his teeth dug in far enough to kill, Statler’s incisor’s grabbed a chunk of skin on Armand’s neck. This was it. He had seconds. Armand opened his mouth wide and clamped down hard.
Statler faltered and twisted to the side, but Armand wouldn’t let go. His foe’s nails dug into his wounded leg, and the pain almost blinded him, but his hatred ran too deep.
The more Statler fought, the weaker he became. When the man’s front legs gave out, Armand twisted his head hard, taking Statler’s throat with him. The man who’d plagued him for so long, collapsed. He was dead.
Armand let go of the chunk of meat in his mouth and dropped. Feet surrounded him and hands helped him.
“You did it, sir. You fucking did it.”
Armand closed his eyes. He was sure he had a smile on his face.
* * *
After a long shower last night, Jay and Riley had patched up her wrists and ankles and put her to bed where Sarah enjoyed being cocooned between them. Even though she’d wanted to make love with them to take away the horror of the day, the men insisted she needed to rest. As much as she liked a noble man, they sure picked a crappy time to be moral.
In the morning, she awoke to fresh coffee and some rolls. When she sat up, her purse was on the table next to her food. Connolly must have returned it to her men. She looked around and was disappointed that neither Jay nor Riley was there.
Hmm. She slipped out of bed and found the note they’d left for her on the table. It stated that the General had asked for a debriefing meeting at some safe house. They would have invited her, but not only did they not want to wake her, it was a business meeting, and she wasn’t a member of the Pack. With Statler and most of his men dead, they said she’d be safe, but to keep the door locked until they returned.
Well darn. It was after eleven and she was starving despite having munched the rolls and lukewarm coffee. At noon, her cell rang and she answered quickly, thinking it was Riley or Jay. “Hello?”
“Sarah, it’s Bill.” She hadn’t heard from her boss in weeks. They had both agreed that any kind of contact might jeopardize the case.
She sank back against the chair. “Hi. It’s good to hear your voice.” Not really, but he liked his ego stroked.
“I heard congratulations are in order. The General contacted me and told me Paul Statler was dead and all of the women were now safe.”
“I’m still not believing it’s over.”
“When will you be able to get back to Washington? We’ll need to debrief you.”
With the traumatic events of yesterday, returning home had been pushed to the back of her mind. “As soon as I can get to Toronto and catch a flight.”
“Great. Looking forward to seeing you.”
Sarah hung up and should have been excited about returning to the hustle and bustle of Washington, only she wasn’t. Not that she didn’t like visiting the wonderful museums and taking advantage of all the great restaurants, but it meant she’d be leaving Jay and Riley. Even if she wanted to see if the three of them had a chance of a life together, her job required her to be on assignment much of the time.
Once at the office, Bill Hampton would ask her a ton of questions then have her fill out an insane number of forms. After she spilled her guts about all that had gone down, he’d assign her another job where she might have to do things she wouldn’t be proud of.
I should just quit.
She’d been tempted to do so many times during this last job, but these women had needed her. With her help—along with a lot of other dedicated men—she’d provided valuable intel that resulted in their freedom. Could she give that up? Her father would be devastated if she did, but her heart might break if she didn’t.
She dropped back on the bed and closed her eyes. Dragging a hand over her face, she pictured asking the men if she could move to Gulfside, Florida where she’d…do what? Work as a waitress? Her degree in philosophy wouldn’t have employers knocking on her door, and while she had taken many courses in health care so that she could pull off this latest undercover job, she didn’t have a degree in nursing.