On Her Master's Secret Service (Masters and Mercenaries #4)(93)

“This is so much worse than the first time. First time, he was here.” Kristen was talking nonsense as Alex moved her away from the glass door.

He heard a car screech away and knew, just f*cking knew, that Eve was moving away from him. He needed to get to her, but he couldn’t just run after them. It would give whoever had shot at him another chance and it would be Kristen’s death sentence if he pulled his hand away now. He had to stop. He had to think. He had to trust that she would stay alive. “He’s got Eve.”

He laid Kristen down, twisting his body to keep his hand over her wound. Whatever happened, he couldn’t dishonor his wife by allowing Kristen to die. Eve would have his f*cking head.

She was alive. He would have felt it if she was dead. She lived and he would move heaven and earth to find her.

“I think her right lung is collapsed.” Alex pressed down, but he knew it wouldn’t be enough. They needed to get that lung to inflate or she could die before the paramedics made it. And he had no idea how close the bullet was to her heart. One false move could nick something and she would bleed out on the floor, her unique flame doused.

Well, her loyalty had been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt.

“I’ll be right back.” Adam took off down the hall, leaving Alex alone with Kristen.

“Why did you do that?” Guilt was going to plague him. She’d taken a bullet meant for him.

Her skin paled past the normal ivory to something sallow and dull. “All for him. All for him.”

A cold chill went up Alex’s spine. The women in Evans’s cult had a saying. They did it all for their lord.

“He doesn’t want you dead. He wants you alive. He always wants you alive.” She mumbled something he couldn’t quite make out.

“Where is he?” He pressed down hard on her wound, and Kristen groaned. If she knew something about where his enemy was, he had to find it out.

“Love him. Love him.” Her strength was fading.

“Where is he?” Had he been played? Had he been living with the f*cking enemy?

Her hand came up, next to his, over her heart. “Here. Since the day I set eyes on him. He’s been here. Tell him I did good. Tell him I was good. I was good for him. I was good. He can have a thousand other women, but I was his only true wife.”

Oh, god, she was as insane as the rest of them. He should pull his hand back and let her bleed out.

But she might know who had Eve.

His brain churned, as wild as the ocean in a hurricane. If Evans had just tried to take him out, why would Kristen throw herself in front of him?

How many factions was he fighting? Or was she just that crazy?

No. A calm came over him. If Kristen had been truly insane, Eve would have seen it.

“Are you working with Evans?” He checked himself. His wife’s patient voice was working in his head, telling him to stay calm and sort through the problem. Nothing could be gained by killing Kristen.

Her eyes fluttered open. “What?”

“Evans. It’s okay. He has a way with women.”

A slightly drunken grin came over her. “Oh, he does. So beautiful. And he’s such an *. Why do I love such an *?”

Footsteps pounded down the marbled hallway. Adam was coming back. Thank god. He ran down the hall, a box of plastic wrap in his hand. “The bullet’s definitely in her lung. You can hear her trying to compensate. We need something that will form an airtight seal. Lift her shirt up. I need skin.”

“You’ll tell him I did good?” Her hands came up, but she was so weak.

Adam fell to his knees, pulling off a hefty piece of thin plastic. He caught Alex’s eye and nodded.

Alex brought his hand up, and Adam immediately moved in, closing the wound. He brought the heel of his hand right over the bullet hole in her chest, and a low moan came out of Kristen’s throat. Her eyes flared and then she passed out, going utterly limp in Alex’s arms.

But her breathing sounded better.

“Can you take her?” Alex asked, his voice tense. Eve was gone and he’d very likely been sleeping in the home of his enemy. He needed to get to Sean. He needed to talk to Chazz. A nice little chat that would end with Alex’s gun up Chazz’s anus and hopefully bring him some answers.

Adam moved into position. “What was she talking about?”

“I’m not sure, but she might be aligned with Evans.” Although it didn’t make sense. He tried to wrap his mind around it.

“No.” Adam held his hand tight to her chest. “She cares about us. I don’t know why, but she gives a damn.”

She’d thrown her body in front of his, but someone—the same someone who had taken a shot at him—had taken Eve. If Evans was the one who had taken Eve and Evans was the one who wanted him alive, why would he have taken that shot?

Something else was at play and it had to do with that missing file.

He heard the sirens in the background. He needed to clear out or he would end up spending hours at the police station. He glanced to Adam. “Can you handle this?”

Adam nodded. “Yes. Call Serena and Jake. The police will try to take me in as a witness, but I have a plan to stay out of it. Tell Serena to get her sweet little self down here, and have Jake watch your back. Once I’m back up at the condo with my pregnant wife, who is likely going to need to lie down after all the trauma, I can get you the information you need. I walked out and found her this way. I’ll handle the cops and I’ll be back at my station before you know it. You need to go because there’s blood on your shirt, and they will ask questions. Go and clean up. If Jake’s not here by the time you need to leave, just take my car and he’ll go to the club. Find Sean. I’ll get you the info on the car and anything else I can find. She won’t be gone long, Alex. You have a new team now.”