Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Dev grinned broadly at Mother. “I’m guessing there isn’t some school or training program for assassins.”
Mother snorted. “Most of them are former military looking to freelance as a merc or assassin. Every once in a while, you’ll get some from special forces with the right kind of training and a brain in their head.”
“But too often you get bored weekend warriors and local militia who think because they own a gun they can do this kind of work.”
“Do they last long in this line of work?”
“No.”
Dev frowned down at his half-empty mug of coffee. It was clear Kai didn’t need to explain that these people didn’t simply retire and look for a new job.
Silence fell over the room for a moment, broken only by the low hum of the fridge. Mother had given him a few things to think about and maybe a couple of avenues of inquiry to pursue, but nothing that felt like it would lead to the ultimate answer to their problem.
“What do we—” Dev started to ask, but his question was broken off at the sound of breaking glass. Mother jerked, and Kai caught sight of the fractured kitchen window with a brand-new bullet hole.
Kai grabbed Dev and tackled him to the ground, pulling both their chairs with him as they landed with a loud thud. Dev groaned and Kai cuddled him close in the shelter of his body.
“Are you okay?” Kai demanded.
“Yeah. Was that—”
“Yeah.” Kai lifted his head a little and shouted, “Mother?”
“I’m alive. Fucking bastard,” she called out, finishing with a grumble.
“Friends of yours?”
“I wasn’t expecting any company today. I think this is your friend.”
Kai had thought as much, but he could hope. He turned his attention to Dev, who was looking pale and worried in his arms. “I need you to stay here with Mother. Do as she says.” Thankfully, Dev nodded. At least he was smart enough to realize this was Kai’s specialty. “Mother?”
“I’ll keep him safe. I promise.”
“Thanks.”
“There’s a spare under the coffee table in the living room. I’d take the back door and stick to the brush.”
“Got it.” He could definitely use a gun. Right now, he had only a couple of knives on him and he didn’t want to get that close to the shooter. At least, not right away. He threw one last look at Dev.
The man’s answering smile was a little wobbly. “Be careful.”
“Always.” He wanted to lean down and kiss him. It would be so easy to do it with Dev cradled in his arms, but he didn’t want their first kiss to be remembered as a moment of terror for Dev. No, he was going to take care of this fucker, and then he was going to claim his victory kiss. Yes, that sounded much better.
A sweet victory kiss.
Chapter 7
Kai slipped out the back door of the house with the Sig Sauer in his right hand. God love Mother. The gun had a full magazine in the grip, and he’d found a spare magazine that was now tucked in his pocket. If he was lucky, he wouldn’t need it, but he preferred to be prepared.
He didn’t let himself think of Dev as he slipped off the deck and into the thick brush near the railing. Mother would keep him safe. He had to believe that. The woman might not bear any love for him, but she seemed to at least be amused with Dev. She had to know that he was an innocent man and didn’t deserve to be killed by this maniac.
Focus. He had to find this person.
Ducking low into the greenery, Kai slowly scanned his surroundings. There was no movement beyond the swaying of the tree branches overhead. Leaves fluttered in the breeze, but there was no movement on the ground, either. Maybe the person hadn’t left the front of the house yet.
He crept in a crouched position, gliding from tree to tree, bush to bush. Dirt buried itself under the fingernails of his left hand as he scrambled along. The birds had fallen silent and watched him as he inched forward, as if they were intent on the action movie playing out before them.
The tread on his running shoes helped to give him some grip, and he was grateful that he’d opted for jeans this morning. The denim material was protecting him from the little pricks of thorns.
By the time he reached the corner of the house, sweat was trickling down his temple and covering his back. The trees offered plenty of shade from the late-morning sun but were trapping the heat to create a thick, humid blanket. The wind wasn’t moving the air around nearly enough.
Pressing against the timber corner, he started to glance around the side of the house. He couldn’t see anything—
A dark shadow darted between some trees to his right. Kai’s gun snapped up and followed the movement. The shadow had been human shaped. Tall. Broad shouldered. Taller than Devlin and Mother.