On Her Master's Secret Service (Masters and Mercenaries #4)(91)

His mouth turned down. “I’m not capable of what you need. I’m…I’m just not good enough. But I am good enough to know that you deserve better and I can’t just leave you to your fate, so I’m doing what I have to. I don’t have to stop at the toll on the bridge on this side of the island, and there’s no one out this early in the day. If I hear you making too much noise, I’ll just gag you. That won’t be pleasant for you, will it?”

She didn’t bother to mention that she’d been gagged many times before. He was right. She didn’t particularly like it. It really was a punishment.

He gunned the engine and put it in reverse.

“What are you going to do with the rifle back here?” Was there any way she could get it? He’d been smart to tie her hands behind her back. She couldn’t even move her feet.

“I’m going to do what I need to do.” His hands tightened on the wheel as he took a hard left and the car angled as they went up a hill and kept curving. She’d been here for a week and she knew this curve. It led to a circle at the top of the hill that overlooked the condo building.

There was a gorgeous bank of oleanders at the top of the hill, thick and tall. It would be the perfect cover for an assassin.

She could see it play out. Alex wouldn’t wait long before he looked for her. She gave him five minutes tops before he realized she was taking far too long. He would come down the elevator and retrace her steps and then he would look outside. He would stand right outside the door, and he would be the perfect target. He would be so worried about her that he wouldn’t take any defense. He would be vulnerable.

“Please don’t shoot him.” It was the off-season for tourists. One of the things she’d noticed was how few people were actually in the building. During her walk to the common area, she’d seen no one. The building had been quiet and empty.

She bet the roads were the same at this time of day. There would be no crowds of people to scare Jesse away from what he obviously wanted to do.

He sat in the front seat of the car. She couldn’t see his face, but his fist kept clenching and unclenching. “You don’t understand because you’re a civilian. You don’t understand that sometimes things get dirty, but this is the right thing to do. This is the right thing to do.”

He sounded like he was trying to convince himself. “It’s not. It’s murder.”

“A soldier’s job isn’t black and white, and sometimes hard choices have to be made. I don’t make decisions. I just follow orders.” He took a long breath and reached into the back, grabbing the rifle. “No one’s on the roads this early, and I doubt they would hear you if you screamed anyway. You can thrash about all you like because these windows have a nice tint on them, but you should save your strength. It’s all going to be over in a few minutes and then we’ll talk about how to set up your new life.”

“Someone’s going to see you.” It was very unlikely, but she had to give him any reason to not do this. Her heart pounded, threatening to burst against her ribs. Alex. She couldn’t lose him. She couldn’t live in a world that didn’t have Alex McKay in it. The very thought of his big body silenced forever played at her sanity.

He looked back in the SUV as he pulled up the hood on his black jacket. “People see what they want to see. They always do.”

He slammed the door. She had a single look at him as he turned away. All anyone would see was a flash of a face. In this light, they wouldn’t even be able to tell what his skin color was. He was wearing gloves. All a witness would be able to give was a vague height and weight and the fact that he drove away in the victim’s SUV.

The victim. Oh, god. Alex was going to be the victim.

She couldn’t lie here. No. Fuck no. She wasn’t going to be submissive here. No f*cking way. She couldn’t reach anything with her hands, but she had her feet. She scooted down the leather seat and kicked off her shoes. Lying on her back, she found the door and the driver’s side backseat console. He’d locked the doors. She felt for the buttons blindly. The way her feet were tied, she couldn’t use her toes and her heels weren’t exactly sensitive.

Nothing. Panic threatened.

She moved her foot down and tried again. Nothing. Damn it.

And then the ball of her foot hit metal. The door handle. Yes. A little to her right and there was the manual release. She pressed, her foot slipping a little, but she heard a beautiful click. She was running out of time. She needed to distract Jesse, needed to scream out to Alex.

She found the handle and managed to grasp it with her right toes. She pulled back hard and the door opened just the tiniest of bits.

She kicked out, adrenaline pumping through her system. Scooting along the seat, she felt her feet hit the ground.

And heard the one sound she didn’t want to hear.

Gunfire cracked through the air.

“Alex!” She screamed with everything she had as she fell out onto the concrete. There was no way to balance, no way to stop herself from falling. She hit her head on the door as she fell and rolled, her shoulder striking the unforgiving road. Pain exploded along her skin, but she had only the briefest moment to process it before she was hauled up.

“Damn it, I didn’t want to do it this way,” Jesse said with a frown just before he brought the rifle down on her head.

The world went black even as she tried to call out for her husband one last time.