Page 30 of Axel (Reed Hawthorne Security #6)

Savvy

After Hunter left, Moose stayed in the kitchen. I suspect he’s trying to give me space and not seem intrusive. I wander in and find him reading something on his phone.

The moment he sees me, he puts it into his pocket. “Everything okay?” he asks.

“Yes. Do you want coffee?”

“Never touch any I don’t make myself.”

I arch a brow.

“If you knew what goes on in the kitchenette at work, you’d understand.”

I grab the cup I was using and add hot coffee to it. I don’t normally take in this much caffeine, but I’m still exhausted, despite all the sleep.

The front door handle rattles and Moose moves fast to the living room. I follow, hoping Hunter is back.

No one comes in the door.

Moose checks the windows. “There’s no one there. ”

I step into the living room. I definitely heard the doorknob jiggle.

A sudden shatter cuts through the air. Shattered glass in the kitchen.

“He’s coming in the back door,” Moose says. “Let’s go.”

He grabs my hand and opens the front door.

“It could be a trap, so stay close,” he says.

We run down the street.

“I’m parked two blocks down,” he shouts.

I glance back and see Marco behind us.

“He’s chasing us!” I yell.

Moose moves me in front of him. “Cross the road here!”

I move between the cars and cross. Moose is close behind when a shot rings out. I glance back, and Moose drops. I turn back.

“Go! Run!” Moose yells as he tosses me something.

I catch it. It’s the fob for his car. I click it. Nothing. Must be too far.

I run down the sidewalk. Marco’s footsteps are getting closer. I run between two parked cars, but he grabs me around the waist from behind.

I try to jab my elbows into him with no luck. He tightens his grip around his waist and forces me to cross the street.

Car tires screech as a vehicle takes the turn fast and is coming at us. I stomp on his foot hard, and his grip loosens. I manage to break free and run to the other side of the road.

I glance back just in time to see the car hit Marco. It throws him a good fifty feet forward. The car then veers to the opposite side of the road and slams into a parked car.

The driver had to have seen us in the street. Was the target Marco, or was it me?

My eyes move to Marco. There is blood pooling around his head. A few people have come out of their homes and are staring at the scene before them.

“That car was speeding,” one woman says, pointing to the crashed car.

The door opens, and a man stumbles out.

Peter?

I must have said that out loud because he turns to me.

“This was an accident. I saw you leave the house. I turned around and raced back. I was staring at the sidewalk, looking for you. I didn’t see him until it was too late.”

A tear streams down his cheek. “I killed that man, didn’t I?”

“I think so. But that man was coming after me to kill me,” I say.

“He was?”

“Yes. He was a very bad guy. You saved me.”

Sirens blare as they get closer.

“Help is almost here,” I say. “I need to find someone.”

I run back and find Moose leaning up against a car, holding his side. Hunter runs to us as well.

“What happened?” he asks.

“Marco shot Moose. Then he grabbed me, but I was able to get free. Then a car hit Marco. I think he’s dead.”

“Are you all right?” Hunter asks me.

“Yes, but Moose… ”

Moose is holding his hand against his side. “I’m sure it’s a flesh wound,” he says, but the pain on his face says otherwise.

Sirens grow closer, and Hunter looks around. Two ambulances pull onto the road, and Hunter waves them over for Moose. Two EMTs immediately begin to treat Moose. Two other EMTs run past toward Marco.

“Hunter, Peter was driving.” I shake my head because I can barely believe it. “He ran into Marco.”

“The podcaster?”

I nod.

The EMTs get Moose onto a gurney and tell us what hospital they’re taking him to.

“We’ll meet you there,” Hunter says.

“No, call Reed and tell him what happened. You need to stay with her.”

Before Hunter can argue, they take Moose away.

A police car pulls up, and two officers get out. One officer spots the EMTs loading Moose into the ambulance and heads in their direction. The other officer motions for me to follow her to the sidewalk. Hunter stays by my side.

“Can you tell me what happened?” she asks.

“Yes, I was with Moose?—”

“Moose?”

I point in his direction. The ambulance is backing up to leave. “The man who was shot. That’s his name.”

The officer nods.

“And that man, Marco,” I point toward him.

He’s now covered with a white sheet. He really is dead.

“He broke into Hunter’s house. This is Hunter.

” I motion to him. “He was trying to kill me. And Moose and I ran out into the street. Marco chased us. He shot Moose and then grabbed me. I stomped on his foot and broke free. Marco was in the middle of the road when a car flew up the street and hit him.”

“Flew? Would you say he was speeding?”

I frown. “I actually don’t know. It all happened so fast.”

“Did any of you perform CPR or try to assist Marco?”

I shake my head. “No, I wanted to get away from him.”

“I’ll need to get your name and contact information.”

I give her my full name and phone number. She asks for my address and then asks for the same information from Hunter.

“Wait here,” she says. She goes to her car and gets in.

“She’s likely comparing stories with the other officer who questioned Moose.”

“How do you know?” I ask.

“Not my first time in this kind of situation.”

I glance up at him as his eyes watch the officer. Of course he’s been in this situation. Probably a dozen times. He works with the FBI, so of course, he’d likely work with other law enforcement agencies. Although, this isn’t working with them; this is being questioned.

The officer returns.

“All right, you said this Marco tried to break in?”

“No, he did break in. That’s why we were running from him,” I say.

“Can you show me which house and how he got inside?” the officer asks.

Hunter and I lead the officers back to the house. The door is still wide open. Fortunately, there was so much commotion on the street that it doesn’t look like anyone else went inside.

We step into the kitchen. There is broken glass all over the floor.

“Do you have any cameras back here?” the female officer asks.

“I do. I’ll get that footage to you,” Hunter says.

“How do you suppose he got back here? It looks like those are sticker bushes in the back,” the officer says.

“He likely got into the neighbor’s backyard and then hopped the fence,” Hunter says.

She hands him a card. “Here is my contact information. You can send the videos to my email.” She walks past us and continues out the front door.

“Wait. Don’t you want to take photos of this?” I ask.

She turns around. “No, no photos. We are familiar with Marco. The deceased. And we need to focus on how he died. I feel for the driver. This probably won’t end well for him.”

“What do you mean?” I ask. “It was an accident.”

The officer glances at Hunter. “I’ll let you explain.” She turns and walks out the front door.

“Peter killed a member of the cartel,” Hunter says. “They’ll target him because they’ll assume it was some kind of orchestrated hit.”

“But that’s not right. Can we warn him?”

“Warn Peter? Do we want to?” Hunter asks. He’s serious.

“Of course we do,” I say .

Hunter takes a deep breath and stares at the glass on the floor. “I don’t mean to sound heartless, but I’m not exactly a big fan of Peter. He’s trying to profit off of something that hurt my boss, my coworkers, and me.”

“Okay, so he’s not a great guy, but he doesn’t deserve to be murdered,” I say.

“You’re right. And we can warn him. But unless he hires protection, it likely won’t end well for him,” Hunter says.

I can’t be hearing this right. “So, what? Just let him die since he can’t prevent it? That’s cold.”

“After I clean up, we’ll call him and let him know the danger he’s in and see if he has a place to go,” Hunter says.

“Thank you,” I say.

He sweeps up the glass as I stare out the front window. A police officer is questioning the neighbors.

Just weeks ago, I was closing listings and arguing about HVAC systems. Now I’m dodging hitmen.

Marco is dead. Will someone else take his place and come after me?

How do you get out of something like this?

And am I putting Hunter and his friends in danger, too?

Maybe the cartel won’t stop at me. They might go after anyone they have seen me with.

Would they go after Maggie? She did work for Bob.

What if she knows something? I should warn her.

My head is spinning.

“Hey, you okay?” Hunter asks.

I shake my head. He moves quickly to stand next to me and has his arms around me.

“A lot has happened. But we’ll get through it. I promise.”

I nod and bury my head in his chest. When I’m with Hunter, I do feel like we can get through this. But at what cost to him and everyone around us?

“It feels like it will never end,” I say.

“It’s almost over.”

I pull away from him. “How can you know that? Someone else will come after me next. And if not someone from the cartel, someone from the press following up on that damn story.”

“I’m so sorry you are going through all of this. I really don’t think anyone else is coming for you. As for the press, they’ll move on soon. We need to lie low a little longer.”

I wish I could be as optimistic as he is. Even if the story does go away tomorrow, anyone searching my name will always be able to find it. That’s not good for business. Neither is not showing up for work for days on end. I have to hope Susan is understanding.

“I should call Susan. I just vanished on her,” I say as I grab my phone.

Hunter puts his hands on mine. “She knows you were kidnapped. She’s not expecting to hear from you for another few days. It’s okay.”

I’m not used to a man taking care of me like this. I hug him.

“Thank you.”

I love this man and everything he has done for me. Yes, love. I lean back and stare into his eyes.

“What are you thinking about?” he asks.

“You. You’ve done so much for me.”

He smiles. “I’d do anything for you.”

I hope that it won’t cost him everything.