Protecting Her

“Ohhhhh.” The assistant’s face brightens. “You’re the bodyguard.” She turns to Cat. “He’s hot!”

Cat blushes. “Yeah, I know. Anyway, come inside and look at these results. You’re not going to believe what I found.”

The assistant grabs a lab coat and hurries into the inner sanctum. “Another breakthrough? You must be really close.”

“We are. I think we really are.” Cat’s excitement makes me smile. At least something’s going well. There’s a tingle in my gut, though, telling me to be extra careful. I turn back to the laptop to doublecheck the entrance. I like being out here as the first line of defense. I’m bigger and a more accurate shot. Plus I can take a beating. The entrance is empty.

I chamber a bullet anyway. There’s a scraping sound and then a crash followed by a hard thud. I spin around to face the noise. It’s coming from the interior lab. I rush the door and fling it open.

Carrie has Cat by the neck. Specifically, she has a scalpel held to my woman’s carotid. “Put the gun down or she’s joining your friend.”

I don’t waver. “You need Cat to finish the serum.”

Carrie laughs. “Not anymore. I can read the formula as well as anyone. Cat’s research is mostly done. We don’t need anyone anymore.”

“We?”

I feel a prickle run along my neck. The security beeps, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Nathan step inside. “We,” he confirms. His gun comes up. I don’t hesitate or ask questions. I fire one shot between Carrie’s eyes and spin around, ignoring Cat’s scream of surprise. Nathan’s bullet hits me in the shoulder, but I had already anticipated it. I shoot him twice in quick succession, advancing with every shot. His body jerks back once, twice. I empty three more bullets into his chest, neck, and head. He drops to the floor. I shoot him once more in the heart before racing back to Cat, who is kneeling over Laura. Blood drips down the side of her face. I grab the lab coat that Carrie never put on and wipe away the blood. “You hurt, baby?”

She shakes her head. “No, but Carrie cut Laura’s throat.”

I push Cat aside and apply pressure to the wound. Laura’s losing a shit ton of blood. I press harder. “Call the ambulance.”

“Is she going to be okay?”

“Yeah.” I hope so.

Laura makes it. The other two are carried out in body bags, leaving Cat and me behind. Cat goes through Nathan’s phone to find out the truth.

“Nathan was going to claim that the serum was ineffective and then sell it to a terrorist organization, pocketing all the money personally instead of having the company benefit,” she explains after reviewing a bunch of emails on Nathan’s device.

“Shit, wouldn’t he have made a bundle if the company developed the serum?”

“He’s just the CEO. He has a salary and some stock, so he would’ve only got a portion. This way he gets the whole pie.”

“Which he was going to share with his lover, Carrie?”

“Yeah.” Cat drops the phone onto the desk in disgust. “I never suspected her,” she cries.

“Neither did I.” I feel like a piece of shit. I should’ve known. I almost lost Cat because I didn’t figure it out sooner. I heave a heavy sigh of regret. You’re not supposed to get involved with your clients. It clouds your judgment and places them in greater danger. I knew this but disregarded it and almost paid for my neglect with Cat’s life. I want her, but I don’t deserve her. Not one bit.

Chapter 15

Catriona

“Thank you for taking me to see Laura.”

Gabe gives me a firm nod, not saying anything. He’s been unusually quiet since everything went down at the lab. I was so happy to see Laura was okay.

The cut hadn’t been deep. It had missed her carotid artery, which was a blessing. She seemed more worried about me than herself when I showed up at the hospital. She was apologizing to me and asking if I was okay, which is crazy since she was the one that got hurt.

I glance back to Gabe, who is stoic once again. I swallow the lump in my throat. I thought we had already passed this. But since we left the lab something had changed. There were no more small touches or sweet words from him. He was drifting away from me, and it hurt to know that he could turn it on and off whenever he wanted to.

“So it’s safe to go home?” Of course it is. Why else would he be taking me there? A small part of me hoped he’d be his pushy self and demand I go home with him. I want to see where he lived.

“Key.” He holds his hand out, not answering my question. It was a stupid one that I already knew the answer to.