Page 111 of Danger and Dominance

Couldn’t tell.

She tried to kick him again, and this time, he yelled even louder, pulling her toward him, then slamming her back against the wall.It didn’t hurt as much this time, but she also couldn’t seem to stand anymore.Her legs were sinking, and she was going down with them.

Don dragged her forward, away from the wall, and she stumbled, falling, but he was holding her up.

Something appeared in his throat.

Black and silver and sticking out of his neck.

Oh God.

There was a knife in his neck.

Don’s gaze met hers, and he blinked as if confused.His grip relaxed, and he let her go.Cassidy sank down to her knees, staring in utter disbelief as Don groped at his throat, then pulled the knife out.Blood sprayed across her, around her, but she couldn’t find her voice to scream.

David

Disbelief poured through David as he watched the absolute dumbass pull David’s knife from his throat.If he hadn’t done that, if he’d waited till an ambulance arrived, he might have had a chance.

A small chance.

But a chance.

Cursing as blood spattered over Cassidy, David pushed himself up to his feet and stumbled forward.Don hit the ground in the alley with a sickening thud.He would be dead in moments, David knew, bleeding out from the wound because he’d been dumb enough to pull out the knife.

On the other hand, it was a quicker death, and David sure as hell couldn’t regret it.

At the other end of the alley, Mason and Jensen were already running toward them.He heard the door he’d come through open, but he was already moving toward Cassidy, not waiting to see who else was joining them.

“I’ve got you,” he murmured as he hit his knees beside her, using his right arm to pull her back against him.She turned into his shoulder, shock written all over her face.Don’s blood decorated her pale skin, standing out stark and red.Fuck.He hadn’t meant for that to happen to her.

It wasn’t like she’d needed to be more traumatized.

She burrowed into him, obviously wanting his comfort, despite the fact he’d literally just killed a man in front of her.Drew jumped down from the roof of the building, rolling as he hit the ground and bouncing to his feet right next to Don’s body, just as Mason and Jensen pulled up beside him.

“Dammit.I wanted to beat the shit out of this asshole,” Jensen complained, kicking the corpse’s leg.Mason and Drew shook their heads at him, Drew lifting up his hand to run it over his dreads and giving them a hard tug.

Behind David, Lincoln coughed.He must have been the one coming out the door.

“There are security cameras in this alley, Jensen,” Lincoln said, though his tone was only mildly reproving.They’d all been thinking the same thing.

David at least got some satisfaction from knowing it was his knife that was buried in Don’s throat.No, he didn’t feel bad about it at all.It had been clear self-defense on his part, not to mention defending Cassidy.Who knows what Don would have done with her if he’d managed to kidnap her?

Tightening his grip on her, David twisted, pulling her farther away from Don’s body and obscuring her view.

Sirens were already wailing in the distance.

“Mason, can you come check Cassidy over?And where’s Claudia?”he asked, looking around.She was the only one missing, which wasn’t like her.

“Keeping watch over the others, just in case,” Lincoln said.He put his hand on David’s shoulder.His right one, thankfully.“We weren’t entirely sure what the threat was and what was going on when Ashley and Jennifer came running back in.”

“That and she was the drunkest,” Jensen added.“Since it’s her birthday.”

“Dammit.You know she’s going to be even more of a pain in the ass about celebrating her birthday next year,” Mason muttered, narrowing his eyes at David.“You’ve been shot.You dumbass, why didn’t you say anything?”He dropped down to his knees on David’s left, reaching to unbutton David’s shirt.

“Well, if you wanted to get me naked, you could have just said so,” he quipped.“I’ll be fine, though.It’s just a flesh wound.Check Cassidy.”He was starting to get really worried about the fact that she hadn’t said a single word.

Police cars came to a screeching halt at the end of the alley, along with an ambulance, which was good.David and Cassidy would need them, but he still wanted Mason’s opinion of how she was.Thankfully, his teammate was already quickly checking her over.