Ignite (Unbreakable Bonds 7)

“Incoming!” Cole practically shouted in his ear.

Noah winced and he nearly tripped as he came around the landing to head down the last flight of stairs.

“Gidget spotted two vehicles speeding toward the building. Not cops.”

“Fuck! Seriously?” Rowe snarled.

“Apparently someone lives close to work, or they were watching for us to hit the building,” JB said. “I’m heading for the front door now.”

As Noah reached the door on the ground floor, he paused and looked over his shoulder to see Rowe rounding the last landing to hit the final set of stairs. Noah gave his lover a grim look. There was one major flaw in their plan that not one of them had been brave enough to voice. They didn’t have nearly enough ammo or guns on them to hold off a sustained attack by multiple assailants. The attack on the building was only going to work if they could sneak in and out without being seen. They could not get pinned down inside the building, or this whole thing was for nothing.

“We got this,” Rowe said firmly. If it was possible for a man to will the world to work exactly how he wanted, then Rowe would find a way. The odds might be stacked against them, but Noah trusted his life and JB’s in Rowe’s hands without question.

“Right there with you, babe,” Noah said, not caring that both JB and Cole could hear him.

As Rowe reached the ground floor, Noah jerked open the door and ran down the hall with Rowe following behind him. JB was positioned next to the door, his back against the wall, cloaked in some of the shadows. His gun was raised and ready. Fuck. Next time he left town with Rowe, he was bringing a much bigger arsenal.

“No sign of the cars yet,” JB said as they drew closer. “How much time do we have left?”

Noah glanced at his watch. “Just over three minutes. Do we want to wait until the last minute? Hold them off from coming inside?”

“Or let them walk into the building while we head to the car?” JB said.

Before Rowe could answer, headlights flared, lighting up the street before turning into the parking lot from a distant entrance. Tires squealed on the asphalt and two engines roared.

“Wait…” Rowe whispered.

Noah tensed and JB shifted his weight, one hand tightening on the handle of the front door.

When the outline of the two cars became clearer in the parking lot lamps, Rowe said, “Run for the Jeep!”

The race was on!

JB surged out the door but stopped just past the entrance, holding the door open with his left while pointing his gun at the approaching cars with his right. Noah didn’t question it. He just led the way across the front of the building and toward the steel mill. They’d cut a hole in the chain link fence close to the Clayborne building and another hole at the back of the fence near where they’d parked the Jeep. It might take a few seconds longer to get to the Jeep by cutting through the steel mill yard, but it increased their chances of losing the people on their heels.

He’d barely cleared the building when gunfire broke out around him. There was more squealing of tires and the smell of burned rubber as the cars came to a halt closer to the buildings. While keeping his body pointed toward the steel mill, Noah reached back with his right hand and lined up his shot toward the men throwing open car doors and pointing at Rowe and JB. A quick glance revealed three potential shooters.

As they opened fire, Noah stopped worrying about them going into the building before it blew up. He knew Rowe had them wait in the building until he was sure they would be seen. He wanted the men to follow them, get their attackers away from the building, but as the threat of someone putting a bullet into Rowe increased, Noah found himself caring a whole lot less about his attackers’ safety. Fuck them.

Squeezing the trigger, he quickly fired off three shots. His aim was off because he was on the run, but it was enough to get the other men to duck behind their cars for cover. Noah paused in his shooting long enough to slip through the opening in the fence. He held one end of the metal fence, pulling the opening wider as Rowe got closer.

JB shouted and went down. Noah’s heart stopped in his chest as he watched in what felt like slow motion as JB’s left leg collapsed beneath him and he hit the ground hard. Noah shifted his weight, starting to come back through the fence, but Rowe stopped him. He tossed Noah his gun a second before pivoting on his planted foot. Noah caught the gun and stepped through the opening, laying down cover for Rowe as he went for JB.