The Men with the Golden Cuffs (Masters and Mercenaries #2)(59)

He wasn’t going to leave, so that was an easy promise.

They broke apart, Adam taking Serena’s hand. Jake opened the door to the club, and they all walked outside. The night air was slightly cool and the parking lot was darker than it usually was. When they had arrived, the whole thing had been lit up. Sanctum was a small club. It was also private. There was no neon sign pointing the way in. Ian had bought and renovated an old warehouse. From the street, it looked like an industrial space. The parking lot was blocked off to anyone who didn’t have the code, but it was on the street. It would be easy to walk into. Especially if it was dark.

“Is the light out?” Jake asked, looking up at the streetlights. It appeared the whole lot was dark.

Adam looked up and down the street. It was usually relatively quiet at this time of night, but it felt dead silent now. Every now and then a car would pass, but they were on a side street. Ian preferred it. It was less conspicuous. Adam caught sight of the SIG Jake always carried. He reached into his shoulder holster and pulled his own. Something was off.

“What’s going on?” Serena asked, her voice a mere whisper.

Even that was too much for Jake. He held his hand up in a single fist, silently telling Adam to go as quiet as possible. Jake pointed to himself and then made a circle with his fist. He was going to do a sweep, but he wanted Adam to remain here. Adam nodded then pulled Serena closer, his hand around her waist. He leaned over, putting his mouth to her ear.

“It’s probably nothing, but you stay close to me. Jake is going to check everything out.” Adam was well aware that his job was to protect Serena. If Jake caught sight of something funky, he would give Adam the signal to hustle her back inside while he investigated. Adam had learned long ago to trust Jake’s instincts. Those instincts had saved their whole platoon on more than one occasion.

Serena nodded, but stayed quiet. It seemed her instincts were good, too.

Jake did a perimeter sweep, moving cautiously and in complete silence. He checked behind every car in the small lot. He was meticulous, glancing inside every single one before stopping in front of Serena’s Audi. It had just come back from the shop that morning, and she’d been so happy. Adam had convinced Jake to take it out. He hadn’t been able to convince Jake to let Serena drive. Jake pulled the keys out of his pocket and opened the trunk. He shut it and then looked in the windows. Finally he gave the all clear.

“We’re good?” Serena asked. It sounded as though she’d been holding her breath.

Adam gave her a little squeeze. “We’re good. It’s all right. We’re just being a little paranoid.”

Her hand was shaky when he reached for it. He held his weapon to his side, hoping that if she couldn’t see it, she might forget that she needed an armed guard. He wouldn’t. His blood practically boiled. He had to find this * so he never had to stand in a f*cking parking lot worried about someone trying to kill his girl again. He checked his anger. Serena needed calm. She needed to know they were in control.

“Why don’t you get in the back with her?” Jake phrased it as a question, but Adam knew an order when he heard it. And he agreed. If anything happened, he could cover her with his body. “I’ll call Ian from the road and tell him to pay his maintenance company better. Those lights should be working.”

Jake pushed the button and unlocked the door. Adam opened the back and moved to allow Serena to get in. She was almost through the door when he heard it. A hard rattle came from the backseat, the sound menacing, deadly. Without a second thought, he pulled Serena back, jerking her by her elbow. She hit the ground behind him with a thud and a little shriek, but Adam couldn’t help her. He had to deal with the goddamn f*cking snake that was rearing up in the backseat.

“Is that what I think it is?” Jake asked.

Adam couldn’t answer. The snake reared, and Adam took his shot. The sound boomed through the night, but his shot had proven true. The snake’s head was gone, and Serena’s car would have to go right back to the shop.

And the stalker had just gotten more dangerous.





Chapter Thirteen


Serena shivered despite the warmth of the conference room.

“Here, sweetheart, drink this.” Adam put a cup of coffee in front of her. Since the minute he’d killed the snake, he’d been all over her. Adam had carried her back into the club, though she’d protested that he’d already killed the snake and there probably weren’t more in the parking lot. He’d sat with her, his arms around her shoulder, as Jake had called the police. Ian Taggart had shown up and started issuing orders to the staff, who had the lobby looking perfectly vanilla in under five minutes.

It was a good thing, too, since the police had shown up ten minutes later.

Someone had put a rattlesnake in her car. Someone had tried to kill her.

Edward Chitwood walked in, notepad in hand. He was dressed in a suit, but his partner looked like he’d been called away from home. He had his badge around his neck, but he was in sweatpants and a hoodie. He didn’t seem happy to be here.

“Sorry to have to see you again like this, Ms. Brooks.” Chitwood had been nothing if not ridiculously polite. He had an air of superiority, but he was always scrupulously courteous with her. And he kind of gave her the creeps. “It’s a bad situation.”

“Yes, it is,” Hernandez agreed. “And it seems to be getting worse. This is twice in one day. We barely got the call about the books someone sent you and then this. Someone seems to have it in for you.”