Way of the Warrior (Troubleshooters #17.5)(45)
Joe stopped dead, shaking his head. “I didn’t knock over the trash can.” Dread sucker-punched him in the gut, making his stomach heave. He bolted toward the house, yelling over his shoulder, “Call the police!”
? ? ?
“What the hell are you doing in my house?” Sadie demanded, moving a little closer to where Jasper sat at her side, panting merrily at seeing their visitor. Of course, maybe he’d have been a little more unsettled if he hadn’t known her intruder.
“Well,” Sean drawled, strolling toward her, his broad shoulders slightly hunched over, “my present to you earlier this week didn’t seem to get my message across, so I figured it was time to deliver one in person. Little easier, this time around, though. Didn’t have to hide my car down the block like I had to do at your little boyfriend’s house—just parked in the neighbors’ driveway. I remembered you telling me once that they’re never home. Thanks for that info, babe.”
Her eyes went wide. She remembered that conversation! It’d taken place months before they’d even started dating. She’d been lamenting her lack of neighbors at a staff cookout, wishing they could have neighborhood get-togethers like some of her colleagues described. He’d obviously tucked that info away for future reference. The arrogant * had been plotting even back then!
“Get out of my house, you son of a bitch,” she hissed. She edged down the hall as she spoke, trying to put more distance between them as he continued to advance and wondering if she could make it to the bathroom and lock herself in, maybe crawl out the window, before the bastard could get to her. “We were through months ago. You weren’t even upset!”
Sean smirked, continuing forward. “’Cause I knew you’d come around. It was just going to take some persuasion. But then that f*cking gimp came home, and he was all you cared about. Well, don’t worry, babe.” He held up his hand, flashing the gun he held. “Soon, it’ll just be the two of us again.”
Holy shit.
Sadie swallowed past the growing panic, her mind racing. “So help me God, Sean, if you hurt Joe—”
“You’ll what? Kick my ass?” Sean laughed derisively and flexed, growling, then cackled again, enjoying his own joke. “Yeah, I’d like to see that one. But you go ahead and fight me right up until I go balls deep. Make it more fun for me.”
Sadie’s gaze flicked toward the open bathroom door, debating her odds. Deciding to take a chance, she pivoted and lunged, grabbing the door and trying to slam it shut, but Sean was already there. He shoved, sending her stumbling backward, her head striking the edge of the bathtub. She was laying on her back, fighting against the darkness that momentarily threatened to descend, when Sean’s face came into view, his cruel smirk chilling her to the bone.
? ? ?
Joe’s instinct was to barrel in when he reached the back door, take out the motherf*cker, but his training quickly overrode his instinct. It wasn’t going to do Sadie a damned bit of good if he got them both killed. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, quietly turning the knob and throwing open the door. He sidestepped in a swift arc just outside the doorway, his Glock at the ready, clearing the kitchen in a glance.
He’d just cleared the dining room, assuring the * wasn’t in there when he heard Jasper barking up a storm overhead.
Gotcha.
Joe moved quickly but quietly, his steps nearly silent as he crept along the wall. The initial panic he’d felt outside when he realized Sadie’s stalker was inside the house had settled to a deadly calm. The bastard was going down. It was up to that * if he left the house in handcuffs or a body bag.
? ? ?
Darkness threatened again as Sadie tried to push out of Sean’s chokehold, struggling for air and trying her damnedest to stay conscious. Jasper was snarling at Sean, barking furiously, the sound echoing strangely in her head. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear the blur from her vision to no avail. She just had to hang on a few more minutes. Joe would be there soon. But as soon as she thought it, her fear reared its ugly head, taunting, And would walk right into his death…
She shoved the thought away. No. No way. Not Joe. He was her hero. Had been since they were children.
“Shut the f*ck up, you stupid mutt,” Sean spat. He swung his leg, catching Jasper in the head, then kicked him again. This time Jasper lunged forward, sinking his teeth into Sean’s leg and shaking his head, growling furiously. Sean yowled with pain. But the sound quickly morphed to rage. And too late Sadie saw him raise the gun and point it at her dog. She brought her fist down hard, nailing him in the nuts, her heart lifting a little when he cried out in pain, but her triumph was short-lived as the gun went off at the same instant. The sound of Jasper’s yelp brought tears to her eyes, but in the dim light she could see her dog as he scurried away into the shadows.
He was wounded, but still alive, thank God! At least, he was for now.
She renewed her struggle, tucking her chin into the chokehold to try to lessen Sean’s compression on her windpipe and would’ve cursed the * a blue streak for hurting her dog if she could’ve gotten any air in her lungs.
Enraged, Sean shoved her away from him, slamming her into the wall. “You stupid bitch!” he growled. “I’ll f*cking kill you!” He grabbed her by the hair, jerking her back to him and shoving the barrel of the gun up under her chin. “Is this what you want? Huh? You want me to blow your f*cking head off?”