Page 39 of Being Bold (Tactical Operations & Protection (TOP) Security #1)

Selene

Dao’s voice broke into her thoughts. “If you didn’t trust me to hold up my end of the deal, why did you risk coming?” She glanced at him and squirmed. He squinted as if he were trying to see inside her head. “What are you after, Miss Coleman?”

Getting rid of you.

Worried he’d somehow find the reason she couldn’t voice, she started to fidget, twisting her hands together and rubbing them against her coat. Why was she sweaty all of a sudden?

When it was clear she wouldn’t give him an answer, Mr. Dao scowled. “Take her,” he barked the command at Bo with a wave toward the terrace door.

She turned in Bo’s grip as he started walking her away. They’d almost reached the door when Mr. Dao yelled, “Stop! Guards!”

Shit! He must’ve noticed Bo wasn’t one of his men for hire.

Selene froze, then stumbled because Bo tried to keep moving, leading her to the terrace.

At the sound of a gun cocking, he muttered under his breath, “Damn it.”

“Bo,” she whispered, clinging to his arm, terrified and wondering what they would do now.

He glanced at her, the grim expression on his face adding to the fear choking her. “Stay behind me.”

Her eyes filled with tears, but she nodded. Then he turned, shielding her as he raised a gun and faced Mr. Dao. She peeked around Bo’s arm. Three men had joined the CEO after his shout. All in dark suits and all with weapons trained on Bo. She gulped. Where the hell was TOP?

“Ah, the janitor, wasn’t it?” Mr. Dao asked with a creepy smile. “Who are you?”

Romeo’s voice filled her ear. “Dao’s snakes are crawling all over this fucking building. I’m pinned down. Can someone get to Bo and Selene?”

Everyone on the team responded in the negative, all dealing with the same problem. Her stomach churned, knowing help was not on its way. Mr. Dao had more muscle than they’d anticipated.

This is not going well.

She knew Bo heard TOP, too, because his body became even more tense. His shoulders were a taught line, blocking her vision.

When Bo said nothing, Mr. Dao’s tone went from conversational to dictatorial. “Move away from her, now.”

“Not happening, asshole,” Bo growled in response.

“So he does speak.” She peeked again and saw Mr. Dao wearing the smile that made her whole body clench with fear. “If you refuse, these men will make you.”

“You can shoot me,” Bo sneered, “but I’m taking you down with me.”

Mr. Dao didn’t like that comment because anger twisted his features. “I’ve had enough of this.” He stepped behind one of the men as if he planned to use him as protection from Bo’s bullets. “Shoot him,” he demanded.

Every cell in her body rebelled at the thought of Bo being shot. No way would she stand there and let that happen. “Wait!” Acting on instinct, she stepped out of Bo’s reach.

He glowered at her, but she didn’t take her focus off Mr. Dao. Edging toward the terrace door, she said, “This is what you wanted, right? Show me the terrace but leave him alone.”

When no one moved, panic stole over her, squeezing the air from her lungs. Desperate, she squeaked out, “Don’t hurt him! I’ll do whatever you want, just let him go!”

She understood leverage and that she and Bo had none, especially as she’d just given away her feelings for him. But she’d had to do something. If nothing else, her plan was to stall because the rest of TOP would show up eventually. She had to believe that.

Mr. Dao’s face held that sinister smile again.

“Well, isn’t that interesting . . .” His gaze shot to Bo, his demeanor shifting to anger.

“Hand over your gun or they’ll shoot Selene.

” To punctuate his threat, one of the suits aimed his pistol at her.

The guy’s face was stony, his eyes dead.

She had no doubt he would shoot her if Mr. Dao told him to.

When Bo relinquished his weapon, she could feel him vibrating with tension.

He didn’t take his eyes off the man whose gun was trained on her, but she knew he was angry at her.

He’d have to deal with it because she refused to let him die for her.

Bo deserved to live. To have a life not haunted by his past. Even if that life wasn’t with her.

Sadness crept through the fear, trying to smother what was left of her hope.

Two of the suits grabbed Bo’s arms, then Mr. Dao turned his attention to her. “Let’s finish our tour, Miss Coleman.” He glanced at the men restraining Bo and ordered, “Bring him.”

As soon as they stepped onto the terrace, the wind stole her breath.

It was even stronger up here than on the street.

Mr. Dao gripped her arm, and she stiffened, eyes scanning for a way out.

The terrace was impressive yet terrifying.

Everything had snow dusting it from the slate gray tiles on the ground to the pale patio furniture surrounding a concrete, bowl-shaped outdoor fireplace.

She had but a moment to take that in before her gaze locked on the four-foot-tall glass safety wall surrounding it all.

You could see right through it. The tops of the other buildings seemed so far away.

When Mr. Dao tugged her to the edge, she had a severe bout of vertigo. She reached out, gripping the top of the glass as the world spun.

“It’s a long way down, isn’t it, Miss Coleman?” He didn’t hide his snicker at her reaction. “A fall from here . . . you’d have plenty of time to think about how much it’s going to hurt when you hit the ground.”

Oh, God. She clenched her eyes shut, but it didn’t stem the nausea rising up her throat. She managed to swallow it down, but dizziness assailed her. That was his plan? To throw her over the ledge.

If she made it off this high rise, she’d gladly never step foot in one again.

Her ears rang, but when she heard Mr. Dao mention Bo’s name her eyes flew open, and she struggled to focus on what he was saying, “Until you tell me where the microchip is, I can’t toss you over, but him”—he waved at Bo—“he seems like the perfect incentive.”

“No, please!” Her breath shallowed out in panic. She didn’t have a microchip to give to Mr. Dao. She had nothing to save Bo or herself. Nothing.

“Do it,” her boss said to the men already dragging Bo to the ledge.

She tried to run to him to help, but the other henchman grabbed her from behind. His hold was unbreakable. Still, she didn’t stop struggling as she watched Bo fighting the other suits.

She gasped when, for a moment, it seemed he would get the upper hand, but then Mr. Dao took the gun from the man imprisoning her. To shoot Bo.

She screamed and fought harder against the man holding her as adrenaline surged in her system. His cursing barely registered, nor did the pain, as he squeezed her hard enough to crack ribs.

The first gunshot seemed to cause time to slow. In horror, she watched Mr. Dao shoot wildly. He managed to hit the glass behind Bo more than anything. One of the suits fell, a bullet leeching the life from his eyes.

Bo still struggled with the other one, and their bodies slammed into the damaged glass. Her heart leapt in her throat as it spiderwebbed, a powerful cracking sound piercing the howling of the wind.

Mr. Dao’s laughter echoed all around her as the glass gave way. Bo and the other man tumbled through it.

“BO!” The name tore from her lips in a frantic shout as his body disappeared over the edge of the terrace.

Noooooo!

Tears flooded her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. The remaining suit released her, and she fell to her knees. A powerful, body-shaking sob ripped from her throat. Her heart flopped around in her chest like a fish out of water struggling to breathe because the man who kept it beating was dead.

Bo was dead.

◆◆◆

Bo

The mirror-like finish on the glass building meant Bo could watch himself plummeting to his death. As he fell, the wind roared in his ears, tore at his clothes, and bit at his face. Even if his comms had been working, there was no way the team could’ve heard him over the powerful rushing noise.

He’d first noticed the damned thing wasn’t transmitting, only receiving, after screaming at Selene not to get in the elevator with those two men, and no one responded.

He’d nearly ruined the op before it really began by breaking his cover until Herc intervened and squeezed in with her.

As if not being next to Selene hadn’t been hard enough, the added comms issue had nearly sent him over the edge.

Things went downhill after that—literally, if you counted his current predicament. A laugh burst from his lips only to choke him as air rushed in.

Focus, Bo.

He wrestled against the wind, tugging off the suit jacket he’d borrowed when he’d taken out the mercenary who’d rough-handled Selene. As a SEAL, he’d learned to be prepared for anything. That was why he worked to free the parachute container strapped to his back.

While he struggled, his thoughts raced to how he could’ve done things differently.

The outcomes burned in his gut. He’d followed Dao into the penthouse without a clear plan, waiting for an opportunity to get rid of the bastard.

He hadn’t wanted to chance taking out Dao in the living room and having the rest of the men in the apartment coming after him and Selene.

Not before he could get her out of there and the rest of his team arrived.

He couldn’t risk it with her in the crossfire, but he’d screwed up not taking the chance when he’d had it. He’d been ready to lock her on the terrace while he took care of business, but then the whole thing became a goatfuck.

Because now, she was up there alone with that sociopath, and he had no way to tell TOP. Someone better get their ass in there and fast. He trusted his team, but worrying they wouldn’t make it to her in time almost made him lose focus.

Dao won’t kill her.

Bo soothed himself by repeating it. As long as Dao thought she had a file with information on Sentient Shadow hidden somewhere, he’d keep her alive to find it.