Book 5 - Page 120 (1/2)

Relief hit me so hard I felt dizzy. I pulled her up tight against me, cradling her close. “Thank G.o.d.”

Raúl barked orders into the mic at his wrist. The moment he shut up, I demanded, “What the f.u.c.k happened?”

He dropped his arm. “One of the photographers had a gun and opened fire. Clancy got him.”

“Was anyone hurt?”

“Monica Stanton went down.”

“What?” My slowing heartbeat lurched back into a pounding rhythm. I looked down at my wife as she slowly came to¸ her eyelids fluttering. “Jesus. How bad?”

He exhaled harshly. “I’m waiting for word. It didn’t look good. You grabbed Mrs. Cross and Mrs. Stanton moved into the way.”

Eva.

I held my wife tighter, running my hand over her hair as we sped through the city.

“What happened?”

Eva’s soft question as we turned the corner that led to the garage knotted my stomach. Raúl looked at me, his face grim. Only moments before he’d taken a call and met my gaze, confirming my worst fear with a shake of his head and a quietly voiced I’m sorry.

My wife’s mother was dead.

How was I supposed to tell Eva? And after I did, how could I keep her safe until we knew what the h.e.l.l was going on?

In my jacket pocket, my phone buzzed constantly. Calls. Messages. I needed to get to them all, but my wife came first.

We pulled into the garage, driving past the guard in the gla.s.s cubicle. My foot tapped restlessly on the floorboard. I wanted out of the car. I needed my wife locked down.

“Gideon?” She clutched at my jacket. “What happened? I heard gunshots—”

“False alarm,” I said gruffly, my grip on her too tight. “A car backfired.”

“What? Really?” She blinked up at me, wincing as I pulled her even closer. “Oww.”

“I’m sorry.” I’d taken her down hard, unable to break the fall for her without exposing her to danger. It had been instinctual, an abrupt response to the urgency in Raúl’s voice. “I overreacted.”

“For real?” She tried to sit up. “I thought I heard multiple shots.”