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Before I can get the first shot off, his head snaps back, a circular defect appearing just above his left eye. I blink, sure I’m seeing things, because I know I did not pull the trigger.
In my next breath, soft hands are pressing against my face, angling it down.
Audrey’s eyes are wide and watering as they search my face. “Are you okay? I saw him shoot you, and I know you said to stay in the car, but?—”
“We don’t have fucking time for this.” Owen grabs me and hooks one arm around Audrey, shoving my body and practically carrying hers in the direction of the car. Luca’s right behind him, collecting my sidearm from where Audrey dropped it on the ground.
Becca’s already loaded in the back seat, looking pale and in shock, when Owen shoves Audrey and me in beside her. I barely notice as the two men get in the front and we pull away, racing through the darkened streets of the neighborhood as Luca gets us the fuck out of here as fast as he can.
Audrey’s hands are back on me, moving over my body as she checks for the wounds she’s sure I have. Her voice is panicked and tears are streaming down her face as she pleads with me to tell her where I’m hit.
But the shots that hit me aren’t even registering at this point. Only the one that hit the man chasing me matters. “Are you the one who shot him?”
Audrey’s eyes come to my face, and her wandering hands still. “I know you told me not to get out of the car, but when I heard Owen and Luca talking about what was happening, I panicked. You were all alone, and no one was there to back you up, so I...”
“So you, what?” I need to hear her say it, because I have to be certain what just happened.
Audrey licks her lips, her eyes leaving my face to move back to my body. “I saw him shoot you. Where did he shoot you?”
I grab her hands as they continue moving over me, stalling their progress. “They hit me in the vest. I’m fine, I’ll just be bruised up tomorrow.” I squeeze her wrists, bringing her attention back to my face. “Did you shoot him?”
Audrey presses her lips together, mouth flattening as she gives me a small nod.
A small nod that turns my whole fucking world upside down.
And Audrey doesn’t seem to know it, because she keeps explaining, the words tumbling out of her mouth. “You told me I could shoot as many people as I needed to, so I didn’t think it would be a big deal. Honestly, I didn’t even really think I would hit him. I don’t know how it happened. Maybe it’s like when mothers can lift up cars to save their kids, because I just aimed and pulled the trigger.” Her brows pinch together. “He’s dead, right?”
I can’t tell how she feels about that possibility, so I hedge. “The shot went in right above his eye.”
Audrey nods, taking a deep breath and blowing it back out. “Good.”
My brows lift. “That’s good?”
Audrey’s gaze is steady on mine, her words slow and serious. “It was either him or you, and I’ll pick you every time.”
I don’t know what to say to that. What to think about it.
I love hard. I know that. I always figured I would have to settle for someone who wouldn’t feel the same fierceness for me—the same all-encompassing-ness—that I do for them.
But the sweet, soft, gentle woman beside me just put a bullet into a man’s brain for me. And all she has to say about it is, good.
Audrey sits taller, looking almost proud, which fucks my head up almost as much as her killing for me. Her lips lift in a hint of a smile as she leans close, her voice low. “Since I call you Murder Maddox, does this mean I can be Assassin Audrey?”
EIGHTEEN
AUDREY
NOW I THINK I know why Maddox likes killing people. Why he loves his job the way he does.
Because it’s kind of exhilarating to take out someone trying to hurt a person you care about.
I get that’s not normally his reason for killing, but I don’t plan to start shooting people professionally, so this is as close as I’m going to get to experiencing his profession.
I don’t hate it.
Luca keeps eyeballing me from where he sits behind the wheel, his gaze drifting to where I sit in the middle of the back seat. Like he’s expecting me to have a complete meltdown any second. I understand, and I’m a little surprised it’s not happening myself.
But I didn’t really have a choice. If I didn’t stop him, that man was going to hurt Maddox.