The Dom Who Loved Me (Masters and Mercenaries #1)(91)

“I’m going with you.” Alex was following him out.

Sean shook his head. He leaned in. “No. You have to stay and coordinate. I don’t trust him.” He gestured back toward the CIA agent.

Black turned to him. “I need Patrick Wright alive. He has information that this country needs. He has contacts. If you kill him, we lose everything.”

“I’ll try.” Sean looked to Alex.

Alex nodded, but his face was bunched with worry. “You just be safe. And…”

“I’ll watch out for Eve.” He was out the door before Alex could thank him.

Sean wasn’t an idiot. Alex and Eve could spit at each other all they liked. They might be divorced, but he knew neither one of them dated. He put thoughts of them out of his mind and concentrated on Grace. He bypassed the elevator and went straight for the stairs. The minute the door closed behind him, he heard the sound of shots being fired. He checked his first instinct—to scream Grace’s name and run into whatever was waiting for him. He called on every bit of training ever given to him and let his blood run cold. The gun in his hand became a mere extension of himself. He moved silently up the stairs and prayed the gunfire had been Adam taking out Parnell’s accomplice.

If it wasn’t, then he would spend the rest of his life hunting the man who killed his mate. It would be the only thing that kept Sean alive.

Sean stopped as he entered the stairwell and opened all of his senses. Every nerve he had was on high alert. When he heard Grace’s voice, a piece of his soul relaxed.

“What are you talking about?” Her shaky voice was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. It meant she was still alive, and he had a shot at saving her.

Parnell said something about a thumb drive. He must mean the package. Parnell knew that the deal was off, and he seemed to think he could use Grace as a ticket out. He heard Grace offer to go with him, and Adam tell her he was already a dead man. Shit. He might be pissed at Adam Miles, but he wasn’t about to let some * rogue agent kill him. When he heard the door close above him, Sean moved quickly. He took the stairs two at a time, adrenaline flooding his system. He stopped in his tracks when he reached the ballroom landing.

“Fuck.”

Adam lay on the cold concrete floor, his guts half torn out. There was another body slumped to the side, but only Adam mattered.

“You’re telling me, Sarge.” Adam looked up at him with weak eyes. “You go. He’s got Grace. He’s going to kill her. No question about it. You can’t just go after him. You have to find a way to sneak up on him. There are plenty of vents that access the roof. Alex has the plans.”

Sean pulled out his phone. It was set to contact Alex. “We have a man down. Adam’s down with a GS to the abdomen. He’s in the stairwell. Wright has Grace on the roof. I’m going in. I need you to guide me to one of the vents on the roof. I need to come in very quietly.”

He couldn’t stay. He cared about Adam, but he was responsible for Grace. In the short time he’d known her, Grace had become his whole world. He looked down at the man who had fought beside him for years, practically begging him for forgiveness.

“What the f*ck are you waiting for?” Adam tried to sit up but fell back to the floor.

Sean moved toward the roof and prayed they all came out of this alive.





Chapter Twenty


The night had a crispness to it that signaled autumn was close. All Grace felt was the chill. Parnell pushed her out onto the roof. Grace shivered slightly in her sleeveless cocktail dress, thinking about how Sean had zipped her up and laid a possessive kiss on her shoulder. She’d felt happy and loved.

“You look beautiful,” he had said. Grace had felt beautiful.

She was going to die here. She wouldn’t feel Sean’s arms around her again. There was no way Parnell would let her live.

“Move over there.” Parnell pointed toward the side of the building. At this height, she could feel the slight sway of the building. Maybe it was just her imagination. She could hear the chatter from the terrace below. The wind was blowing the sound toward her, which meant anything she said would probably go the wrong way. Maybe if she screamed really loud…

“Don’t think about it.” Parnell pointed the gun at her. “You’ll be dead before you can scream.”

Her hand tightened around the small thumb drive. He hadn’t forced her to give it up yet. He seemed to want something more, but she was afraid to think what. He herded her to the side of the building. The roof was dotted with vents and air-conditioning units. The wind whipped around this high up. Her stomach churned as she looked down.

“You cost me a lot, lady.”

“I didn’t mean to.” Her back hit the concrete wall that separated her from the twenty-five story fall to the ground below.

“I don’t care.” He grunted as he pointed the gun her way. “You f*cking the CIA agent they sent after me?”

She shook her head. “He’s a contractor.” She remembered the word Adam had used. “He works for a private security firm. His brother runs it.”

“Which firm is that?” His right eyebrow rose as though daring her to challenge him.

He was severely underestimating her will to keep him talking. Every minute he talked was another minute she lived. It was another minute for Sean to come find her. And he would. She knew it. He would move heaven and earth to get to her. She had to be ready when he made his move.