His eyes fill with tears, his lip quivers.
“Billy Sergi.”
“Not his father?”
“I take my orders from Billy.”
I nod thoughtfully. “Is anyone else on their way?”
“He hired us to handle it. We’re military-trained. How you two killed us all, I’ll never know.”
“Whoever trained you should be ashamed.” I push my face close to his. “I’m going to be the one to end you. And Billy. And anyone else who tries to kill her.”
And with that, I press the barrel of my sidearm against his temple and pull the trigger.
Chapter 15
~Ivie~
“What is taking them so long?” I pull at my hair and pace the dark bunker. I’ve never been more relieved in my life as I was when Shane came on camera. And then, when he and Curt systematically killed every single one of those men, all I could do was watch with my jaw dropped.
I have so many questions for the man I’ve completely fallen in love with.
But first, I need him to come get me. I promised that I wouldn’t leave this bunker until someone came to get me.
So, where the fuck are they?
I hurry back to look at the monitors and almost squeal in delight when I see Shane walking toward the bunker door.
I run to the stairs, and when he opens the door, I launch myself into his arms and hold on tight.
“Oh, God. Oh, God. You’re okay.”
“I’m okay.” His arms tighten around me. “You stayed put.”
“I’m not stupid.” I cup his face in my hands and kiss him hard. “Shit, that was scary. Is Curt okay?”
“He’s fine.”
I glance over Shane’s shoulder at the sound of Curt’s voice.
“I have so many questions,” I reply.
“No time,” Shane says and sets me on the floor. “We all need to pack a bag and be ready to leave in ten minutes. Rocco’s on the way with the chopper.”
I’m relieved. I want to get the hell out of here.
“I should stay.” Curt hooks his thumbs in his jeans and shakes his head. “Someone needs to be here to make sure everything’s okay.”
“It’s not safe,” Shane says, his voice leaving no room for argument. “You’re coming with us.”
“Shane—”
“I mean it. I need you with us, not here like a sitting duck. We’re headed to Seattle. When everything is over, we’ll come back.”
“Let’s just hope there’s something to come back to,” Curt mutters but hurries away without more argument.
“Come on. Let’s grab what you need and get out of here.”
“You’ll get no complaint from me,” I reply and have to hurry to keep up with Shane’s long strides. I’m short, and I don’t run—unless something’s chasing me.
And right now, something is definitely chasing me.
“Shane, I want to talk.”
“We’ll have plenty of time in Seattle,” he assures me and seems to move faster as we approach the house. “There are bodies inside, baby. I’m sorry. I don’t have time to clean them up.”
“I’ll be okay.” I take a deep breath. “Are you just going to leave them here?”
“A cleanup crew will come in later today and get rid of them.”
I stop and stare at him. “A cleanup crew?”
“That’s right. Now, hurry up and grab what you need. I’m headed down to close up the basement.”
“Want me to grab some stuff for you, too?”
“That would be great.”
He pats my ass, and then he’s stomping down the stairs, and I’m running to the bedroom.
I find my mama’s suitcase, and it only takes a few seconds to throw my clothes inside. Then I make a quick run through the bathroom to gather my things and Shane’s, too.
By the time he rushes into the bedroom, I have our bags packed.
“You’re fast,” he says.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve had to do this.”
I can hear the helicopter as Shane tips up my chin. “I know. I’m sorry, honey.”
“Let’s get out of here.”
I refuse to look at the men dead on the floor as we run out of the house and join Curt at the helicopter.
Rafe doesn’t bother jumping out. We all climb in, put headsets on, and buckle up.
“Ready?” Rafe’s voice says in my ear. Shane and Curt give him a thumbs up, and I follow suit, and then we’re rising above the Earth, and my stomach does a flip.
I hate rides. I usually get sick. But all I can think about is getting out of here.
I see bodies scattered on the earth. And then I just see trees as Rocco picks up speed, and we’re suddenly flying over the mountains.
“The plane is ready in Denver,” Rafe says. “We’ll leave as soon as we get there and set out for Seattle.”
“Can I see Annika?” I ask, speaking for the first time. “She’ll worry, and I’m not allowed to call her.”
“Don’t worry,” Shane says, taking my hand. “We’ll figure out a way for you to speak with her.”
I nod, bite my lip, and look out the window, doing my best not to cry. Now that the adrenaline is wearing off, I just want to sob.