Alpha One (Shadow Agents 1)

Get. Help.

She was almost to her room when she heard the creak of the stairs. Juliana tensed. It could be Logan, but if it were him, then wouldn’t he have called out to her?

Her fingers reached for the doorknob. Then she heard another creak. Another. The soft pad of footsteps heading toward her father’s room.

Gunner.

Juliana spun around. She had taken Gunner’s gun, and the weapon felt slippery in her palms. “Stay away from him!” She rushed forward.

And nearly ran into the man who haunted her nightmares.

Juliana skidded to a halt. She’d expected to face his flunkies. The hired killers. Not...

John.

He smiled at her. The same tired, slightly crooked smile he’d given her when they were trapped in that hell. “Hello, Juliana.”

Ice chilled her. Logan would never have let the arms dealer get inside the house. The only way this man could have gotten past him...

No, Logan’s not dead.

John’s stare—no, Guerrero’s stare—dropped to the gun. “Give that to me.”

No way. “I’ll give you a bullet to the heart!”

His smile stretched. “I don’t think so.”

“You need to think again.” She wasn’t backing down. This man had destroyed her world. She wasn’t about to just stand there and be a lamb for his slaughter. She had the gun. She had the perfect chance to shoot.

Then Guerrero lifted his hand, and within his grip, a bloody knife blade glinted. “This is your lover’s blood.”

No. “Is he dead?” Her heart already felt as if it was freezing.

“My men will make sure that he is if you don’t come with me now.” Guerrero dropped the knife on the floor and opened his hand to her. “I’ll let him keep breathing, but you give me the gun and we leave.”

“He’s already dead.” The man thought she was a fool. “And so are you.” Logan. The scream was in her head, desperate to break out, but she saw herself calmly aiming the gun right at his chest. One shot would be all that it took. Of course, she couldn’t aim with her trembling fingers, so maybe she’d just empty the gun into his chest.

That would work.

His smile vanished. “You’re killing him. Every moment you waste, every second. My men are so eager to pull the trigger...”

Only, there wasn’t any thunder from gunfire outside. Just silence.

“Jasper...he’s there.” Jasper would still be fighting. And there were other guards. Other cops.

“The one at the gatehouse? The sniper? It took some doing, but we took him out, too.” His hands were up in front of him. “There’s no one out there to help. Backup might be coming, but they’ll get here too late.” No Spanish accent coated his words. “By the time they arrive, Logan will be dead.”

“He’s already dead.” And Guerrero was just jerking her around.

“Come with me,” he said, his voice low, emotionless. “I’ll prove that he’s alive.”

She wanted to believe him.

“Or stay here,” Guerrero said as his dark eyes glittered, “and you will be responsible for killing him.”

“Move,” Juliana ordered. “Head down those stairs and keep your hands up!”

He laughed, but he moved, taking slow, measured steps as he headed down the stairs. She expected him to try for the gun, to attack her, but he didn’t.