Page 35 of Biggest Regrets (Breaking Free #1)

L evi Huxley couldn’t sleep so he roamed through Sara’s home, checking doors and windows in the rooms.

He heard the slight sounds coming from the spare room where Lily slept, but kept going.

Far be it for him to complain about Max getting laid. The man had been in love with Lily Snow for years.

Back out in the living room, Levi stopped by the fireplace to give Leo a scratch on the head.

“Let’s go out, boy,” Levi said and the dog immediately stood and trotted to the door.

Levi stepped out onto the front porch and waited while Leo watered the nearest tree. The dog took his sweet time and trotted around the front yard area looking for the perfect spot to do his business and Levi wished he had pulled his fucking coat on.

“Stay,” he told Leo and ducked back inside the house. He shut the door to keep out the cold and lifted his coat from the coat rack in the hall.

He was just about to open the door again when he saw movement in the hallway.

Pulling his nine-millimeter from the shoulder holster he wore, Levi entered the darkened hall.

It looked like Ryan and Levi frowned. The guy had crashed on Shane’s bedroom floor for the night. What the fuck was he doing?

Ryan crept over and pressed his ear to Lily’s bedroom door.

“What are you doing?” Levi growled, just as the far door snapped open and Sara entered the hallway.

“Fuck!” Ryan jumped. The noise coming from Lily’s room had been too juicy to ignore and Ryan flushed with embarrassment at being caught listening. “Nothing, asshole.”

In the next instance, Ryan noticed the gun in Levi’s hand and lunged forward to knock it away. He was tired of getting it pointed in his face.

The move from Ryan had been unexpected, but Levi had an edge over the skinny fucker and he deflected. Ryan kicked at him, sending pain through his shin.

Having had enough, Levi got the slighter man in a headlock, cutting off the guy’s airflow. Ryan was stronger than he looked and the fight took on a savagery born from the man’s desperation to breathe, but Levi hung on. Ryan’s legs kicked out against the wall.

Sara screamed and scrambled sideways trying to get away from the brutal fight.

Chris came barreling into the hallway from Sara’s bedroom.

Maybe this was overkill, but Levi didn’t give a shit. Ryan was probably Lily’s stalker.

Leo’s savage bark came from outside the front door and the dog scratched aggressively at the wood. Yeah, he had fucked up leaving the dog out front even for a moment.

What Levi hadn’t expected was the sharp and piercing pain when Ryan shoved something sharp into his side. Levi lost his breath and his grip and Ryan lunged away. Rolling to his knees, Levi came up and aimed the gun at Ryan.

Just then, Shane stumbled into the hallway. “Shit!” the man shouted.

Fumbling for his phone with his free hand, Levi shot Max a one-handed text message while holding the gun on Ryan.

Who held a pencil in his fist.

Levi fired a bullet into the ceiling and then leveled it back at Ryan.

At the first sounds of struggling in the hallway, Max launched from the bed.

He woke up Lily and quickly told her to dress in jeans, a sweatshirt, and sneakers. Max tore on his own clothes and shoved his handgun into the back of his jeans.

Bang!

Lily jumped and Max silently cursed when a gunshot echoed in the hallway, the loud sound reverberated through the room and house.

“Out the window,” Max ordered and grabbed Lily by the hand.

“What about Sara!” she hissed, pulling at his grip.

“Levi will protect her and just remember…it’s not Sara the stalker is after,” Max growled and slammed open the window, lifting her through the opening before she could protest.

First order of business was to get Lily to safety and then wrap back around. Max climbed through the window and pulled his cell phone out to call William. The man was on duty tonight because of the extra detail on Sara’s house.

“What’s up, Max?” William answered on the first ring.

“Something went down at Sara’s. I’m taking Lily out the window to safety. I need you to get every available guy you can and get here. Call the cops on your way,” Max gave the orders.

“Get her out of there, I’m on my way,” William said. Keys rattling, the guy was running.

Max hung up and spun to Lily, who seemed to be standing frozen. He lifted her by the waist and hauled her over the wet grass of the backyard and to the walkway along the side of the house.

Max headed toward the gate just as the back door busted open. He grabbed Lily’s hand and sprinted down the walkway. He kicked open the gate and ran.

Leo raced up to him.

“Heel,” Max barked and when he reached the sidewalk, he gripped Lily by her good wrist and sprinted through the neighborhood heading for the park.

The trees in this community were big and there were plenty of shadows to keep him and Lily hidden from the overhead street lights.

Max stopped beside one thick tree and pushed Lily against the bark, keeping her there while he pulled his phone back out to send a text to Levi.

“Check in. Who was it?”

Max received only silence. There were no three dots signaling a response. And that worried him. Had the shot that was fired hit Levi?

He sent William a text to call emergency services and William’s response came immediately.

“I’m on it.”

Max wanted to double back around and get his jeep, but couldn’t risk Lily.

Leo sat on his haunches close to them, ears up, eyes locked on Max.

“Is that William?”

“Yeah. He’s sending EMTs.”

“What about Levi, did he say anything?”

“No.” Max pushed the phone away and grabbed her hand.

“Was he the one shot?” Her voice trembled.

“I don’t know,” he murmured, keeping a tight hold on her hand.

Jogging down the street, Lily ran because Max didn’t stop. The man pulled her, making her run until her sides ached. Hell, everything ached, even her arm beneath the brace had started to throb again.

“Hold on,” she gasped and when he stopped, she bent over with her hands braced on her thighs, still favoring her right arm, but she could tell by the way she could use her hand that it was getting stronger.

Her lungs burned as she sucked in air and when she glanced at Max, she found him barely winded.

Leo nosed into her hand and she stroked over the big dog’s head.

“I hope Levi is okay.”

Max ran a hand down her back. “He’s trained.”

“Do you think it was my stalker?”

“Maybe.” Max frowned. “Let’s find somewhere to hole up until we know for sure what happened.”

Lily couldn’t agree more.

“Let’s call Roger,” she said, holding out her hand for his phone. Hers was still sitting on the nightstand.

After calling her grandfather’s driver, she called Sara, but it went to voicemail. She sent a text.

“Check in with me. I’m worried.”

Jethro Snow’s driver picked them up roughly twenty minutes from the time of the call, which was impressive since the Snow mansion sat on the opposite side of town. Roger must have broken every speed limit to get to their location.

Encased in the warm interior of the town car, Leo sat up front in the passenger seat, his eyes locked on Roger. Lily slid closer to Max and when the man’s arms closed around her, she wanted to stay there forever.

But her friends were in danger.

And the terrifying part was that some of them could already be dead.