He's the Man (The Alexanders 3)

Kay jumped up and ran for the bathroom, the other girls close on her heels. The door closed behind them. Matt, Eli, and Tank spread out in the room. If the guy crashed in, there was no way he’d be able to hit all of them. A second later, the door exploded inward.

“Drop your weapon,” Eli warned.

“Or we will shoot,” Matt added.

Matt watched as the guy swung toward him. His eyes were crazed as he realized he was outnumbered. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

“What do you want from her? Why are you stalking her?” Eli asked. The guy swung back toward him. He was panicking, Matt observed. Having them talk at him from two sides was confusing him, dividing his attention.

“Nothing. He said this would be an easy job. He didn’t say anything about bodyguards.”

“Who? Who said it would be an easy job?” Eli’s face was twisted into a mask of rage. He’d been working for months trying to uncover the identity of Kaylee’s stalker. So far it had just been threatening letters, but it seemed the guy had graduated his efforts. He was no longer trying to get close to her. He was trying to kill her. He wanted it badly enough to hire out.

“Who said it would be an easy job?” Eli demanded.

Matt edged closer, using the guy’s distraction to put himself between the line of fire and the bathroom where the girls were hidden. The guy whipped his head toward Matt and fear flashed across his face when he saw how close he was.

“I know what you’re trying to do. You tricked me!” He raised his gun and a sudden pain stabbed into Matt’s side.

There was an explosion of gunfire as Matt, Eli, and Tank all discharged their weapons at the same time. When he lowered his weapon, the suspect lay on the ground, blood already pooling beneath him.

A throbbing pain in his side brought Matt’s attention back to himself. He looked down at the hole in his shirt. “The bastard shot me.”

That was going to hurt in a minute, he thought dimly.

* * * * *

PENNY HADN’T THOUGHT there was anything worse than being on the outskirts of Matt’s friends and family as they’d prayed. But being included in their circle, hearing the stories of how loyal he was and what a great friend and brother he was just reminded her of all the experiences they hadn’t had yet.

It also made her think about him actively. The purpose of a prayer session was to remember him and focus their energy on him, but Penny couldn’t do that. She couldn’t think about him without wondering where he was right then. Was he in danger? In pain?

Alive?

There were so many questions and too few answers. The only thing that gave her comfort was closing her eyes and pretending she was somewhere else. It hurt too much to consider the possible scenarios.

“They’re okay. Oh, thank god.” Julia held her cell phone aloft. “Eli just sent me a message. They’re all right. The standoff is over. Matt is fine. They’re all fine. They’ll be home soon.”

There was a collective sigh of relief. Mara let out a squeal and hugged Trent. Jackson and Ridley got pulled into the hug somehow. Penny didn’t know them well enough to get in the middle of the love-fest, but Julia came over and hugged her anyway.

Now that they knew everyone was okay, the tension in the room lifted. Someone found a deck of cards and Mark dealt a game. Penny was so tired her eyes kept closing against her will and then popping open whenever someone spoke to her. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed before Mara squealed again.

“Matt! Oh my god!”

Penny’s head shot up from where she’d been resting on the couch. Matt and Elliott stood in the doorway, looking at them. Elliott had a bandage on his arm and Matt’s right cheek sported a bruise that was already swelling.

Mara got up from where she was sitting on the floor and flew across the room. She stopped right before she ran into Matt and then hugged him gingerly.

“Hey, there. It’s okay.” Matt patted his sister’s shoulder awkwardly. His eyes searched the room until they met Penny’s. Everything she’d been holding inside the past few hours twisted around inside her in a jumble. Matt and Elliott made the rounds, getting hugs from everyone in the room. Julia fussed over them, then excused herself to the kitchen to get them something to drink. As she passed, Penny saw her wipe tears from her eyes.

Matt sat next to her on the couch. Penny leaned against his side and he sucked in a sharp breath.

“Oh no, you’re hurt.” She reached for his shirt. He covered her hands with his.

“Bruised ribs. They’re not broken. I’m okay.”

He put his arm around her and she leaned over, careful not to put any pressure on his side.

“I’m so not okay. I was really worried about you,” Penny admitted.