“Good morning, sunshine,” he whispered then kissed her.
Richie chuckled.
“Get a move on it. You’re in charge of the food situation,” Richie teased.
Reluctantly, Carl released her then rolled off the bed and offered his hand to help her up. As she rose toward him, he pulled her against his chest and covered her ass with his hands.
“You’re one sexy hot woman, Juliet. This ass is precious.” He squeezed it, and she hugged him to her. She felt so feminine in his arms. His hands were big, his body so much larger, and she felt safe. She kissed his chest as she held him tight.
* * * *
They finished making sandwiches and waited for the others to arrive. There were three men outside, guarding the house. She recognized them as Warriors, but she didn’t know their names. Carl was standing by the back door, looking off the porch, and waved to one of the men.
“They’ll be here
in about five minutes. BJ just called.”
Juliet came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
A moment later his body jolted back.
“Get down!” she heard someone yell. Strong arms pulled them both back, and suddenly she fell backward to the kitchen floor while Carl lay in the doorway. Richie looked wild. His eyes were open wide and his face firm with anger. More yelling was happening outside, and then she heard gunshots.
As she looked in astonishment toward Carl, she saw him holding his shoulder, and blood covered his hands. The reality that he had been shot sank in.
“Oh God, Carl!” she screamed then crawled to him.
“Don’t worry, baby. It’s okay. I’m okay,” he stated through clenched teeth, and he let his head fall back to the floor. He was in pain. He was fucking shot.
“Take this. Apply pressure to the wound.” Richie handed her a towel.
A man appeared in the doorway dressed in camo.
“Is he okay? Holy fuck, Richie, that was a fucking sniper shot. Who the hell are these assholes?” the man asked, and then two more came into view. Dressed in camouflage pants and armed with guns, they looked like soldiers.
Richie was shaking his head as he spoke into the phone. She heard him mention Carl being shot, needing an ambulance, and security at the women’s homes, and she was immediately scared.
Robert did this. Robert was going to kill Carl and Richie. He would kill her friends, too, if she didn’t cooperate.
Tears rolled down her cheeks as the sound of sirens echoed in the distance.
I won’t let Richie and Carl die.
* * * *
Richie looked at his brother. He was bandaged up, and lucky for him, the bullet went straight through the tip of his shoulder bone and skin, doing little damage. Carl was pissed off and so was he. That bullet could have killed him or Juliet. Carl insisted that as Juliet hugged him and he turned, it caused the shot to miss his head and instead hit his shoulder, shredding straight through his muscle and hitting the kitchen wall.
The search team found the sniper’s location in the distance behind the estate as well as ATV tire marks. These fuckers were resourceful, just as Michael had informed him earlier.
Juliet was being awfully quiet now. The sure expression of fear and panic on her face as she realized that Carl had been shot was enough to take some years off of Richie’s life. Right now she stood over Carl, caressing his hair and fussing over him. Carl’s hand remained plastered over Juliet’s jean-covered ass cheek in a possessive manner.
She was bent over, laying her head across his belly, her long red hair cascading over the pristine white hospital sheets. A bit of her skin could be seen where the waist of her snug-fitting hip-hugger jeans barely met the green sweater she wore. Carl looked over her shoulders at Richie and held his gaze.
“Any idea where this sniper was holding out?” Carl asked, and Juliet raised her head and stood straight up.
“Yeah, the guys found it as well as tire marks from an ATV.”
“Shit! We need to up our security.”