Page 38

W eaving in and out of traffic, Max barreled through the streets toward the Snow mansion with his heart in his throat.

William grabbed the “oh shit” handle on the door when Max made a hard right onto the street.

Parking down the block from the grounds, Max checked the clip on his Ruger and shoved a spare clip into his pocket.

“We waiting for the cops?”

“No, Levi is on his way.”

“You talk to him?”

“Yeah,” Max said.

“What did Levi tell the cops when they got to Sara’s place?” William wanted to know. “I didn’t stick around long enough to find out.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know all the details, but I’m getting the sense that Levi has a sketchy past,” William said, keeping pace with him.

“He gave them a fake ID that will hold up,” Max replied. Sliding out of the jeep, he quietly shut the door.

William came around the backend and joined him with a nine-millimeter handgun in his grip.

“What’s the plan?”

“Break in, kill that son of a bitch if he laid a hand on her, and get Lily back,” Max growled and stalked through the night.

Reaching the guard shack, Max glanced through the small window on the door and grimaced. Sliding open the door, he stepped inside and bent over the body of the guard. He pressed his fingers to the man’s neck.

“He’s dead,” he said.

Max ran stooped over through the open gates and slid into the shadows that still clung to the shrubs, trees, and bushes that lined the driveway.

The morning sunrise had yet to reach the front of the house, but it was fast approaching daylight and he would bet money Lily’s grandfather had a home security system on all sides of the house.

The old man’s only mistake had been depending on a single guard at the gate to keep him safe.

William flanked him and together, they reached the front door. Not that he’d go in that way, but he wasn’t sure where another entrance was.

The door was ajar and Max stared at the sliver of opening, scared to death of what that could mean. Fear wouldn’t prevent him from doing his job, but it might make him reckless.

With both hands on his weapon, he eased the door with his boot. It silently swung wider.

The entryway stood empty and he moved inside with William. Together, they combed the bottom floor. Finding nobody, Max moved up the grand staircase to the second level. William went left at the top of the stairs and Max went right.

They met back on the landing.

“Nothing. He’s gone,” William said.

“Fuck,” Max growled and started down the stairs.

“Boss?” Levi hissed from the entryway.

“Up here,” Max called out and Levi stepped into his sight, holding the spare gun the bodyguard kept in his SUV.

“Anything?” Levi said.

“Nothing.” William shook his head and reached the bottom stairs with Max.

Max dug into his jacket and handed Levi an earpiece.

“There’s got to be a guest or pool house and a garage or shop,” Max said when Levi took the device and tucked it into his own ear.

“We haven’t checked any of that yet,” William said.

Max headed through the house and opened the sliding back door to the large wrap-around patio. The door hadn’t been locked.

In the back of the house, just past the patio steps, lay a wandering path of cobblestone. On each side, tall hedges and overgrown trees grew. It was more of a nature walk than a manicured garden.

Beyond the first curve in the bend and past the massive swimming pool lay the guest house. To the right was a workshop. The path to the left led to the multi car garage.

“I’ll take the garage,” Levi said and disappeared.

Max wasn’t worried about Levi. The former military assassin could handle his own and then some—Levi had been nicknamed Crash for a reason.

“I’ll take the guest house, you take the shop,” Max said and he and William split up.

Getting close enough to the front door of the guest house that looked like more of a cabin in the woods was tricky. Where the garden had been overgrown, the foliage around this place was neatly kept.

Max crouched and moved slowly, elbows bent, gun to his chest.

“Found the driver,” Levi said through the comms. “He’s tied up, but alive.”

“Copy,” Max whispered.

“Nothing in the shop,” William said. “I’m coming your way, Max.”

Max reached up and tried the door knob and it turned. The door silently swung open, but before he could enter, he heard Chris call out.

“Is that you, Max?”

Max said nothing, he wouldn’t buy into the fucker’s bullshit.

“You’re just in time for the show,” Chris yelled.

Max still didn’t enter, he stayed crouched at the side of the open door. He wasn’t going to walk into an ambush.

Down. Max gave the hand signal to Leo to keep the dog out of the line of fire.

Leo crouched, body tense, every muscle quivering, with his ears perked.

Max craned to hear into the room, he fought with the desire to charge inside and waited. He never did things rashly…but Lily was in there.

He had a minute to reassess and wait for William to reach him.

At least that was what he thought… until Lily gasped and cried out.

With his blood boiling, Max went through the open doorway hard and fast.

His gun raised, he found and locked on Chris in seconds.

His eyes landed on Lily, who sat tied in a chair next to the fucker.

Mascara ran down her cheeks and over the duct tape Chris had just finished slapping over her mouth. Lily’s blonde hair was ratted as if Chris had manhandled her or fisted it overly tight.

The sweatshirt Lily wore earlier was gone and the thin blue t-shirt beneath ripped, showing one side of her pale pink bra. Her jeans were gone, leaving her wearing only a pair of pink panties.

Rage made Max lightheaded and he blinked and returned his focus to Chris instead of Lily. If he kept looking at Lily, he was going to lose his shit.

Either way, Chris was a dead man, the motherfucker just didn’t know it yet.

And Max was going to be the one who ended it all. He’d take pleasure watching the life bleed from his eyes.

The maniac’s gaze was alight with laughter and madness.

“Put your gun down.” Chris rubbed the side of his weapon on Lily’s cheek, down her throat, and then into the rip on the t-shirt.

The gun Max had on Chris stayed steady.

“Or I’ll blow her tits off.” Lily made a sound in her throat when the gun nudged one nipple.

Max needed to kill Chris, but with the gun on Lily, there was no way he could safely get off a shot.

Max knew that the moment he put his gun down, Chris was going to kill him.

“You’ve got one chance, Chris,” Max said, keeping his voice calm, his eyes on the man instead of Lily. “Let her go and walk away, because you and I both know you won’t hurt her.”

Max needed to give his backup time to get in behind him or to find, if there was, another way into the small house.

An eight-foot sofa stood in the middle of the room instead of against a wall and that gave Max an edge.

Inching his way toward it, Max blocked the doorway from Chris’ view as much as he could.

When Max’s backup arrived, it was Levi. The bodyguard slipped through the door stealthy and shit—the belly crawl would have been impressive if Max had been inclined to comment.

“Fuck you. You and I both know I’m not leaving here alive,” Chris snarled, reaching down to cup Lily’s other breast in his free hand. Lily fought, but the way she was tied to the chair made it impossible to avoid the asshole’s touch.

A noise from the bedroom brought Chris’ eyes from him to the door and then back to him.

Chris had only glanced away a second, not giving Max enough time to attack.

With the gun Chris held being so close to Lily’s body, Max couldn’t risk shooting yet.

“Looks like Gramps is awake,” Chris said. “See… I was going to use him to make Lily here a bit more compliant.”

Chris rubbed at his cheek and Max noticed the blood from a wound.

Lily had bitten the fucker’s face.

He was so fucking proud of his girl.

“But now I’ll just need to use you.” Chris smiled and then his voice turned ugly. “Put down your fucking gun.”