Page 160 of Storm Warning

“Aww. Sweet.” He shifted the gun toward Andre again. “Hurry up.”

Riley lowered both hands. With her left hand, she gripped the muzzle of her Sig and handed it to Carlos, grip first. “Here. Take my gun. Please don’t hurt Andre again.”

Carlos reached for her weapon with his left hand.

Perfect. Riley activated her wrist sheath, and a steel blade slid along her palm. In a split second, she adjusted her grip and tossed the knife with a snap of her wrist.

The knife blade sank deep into Carlos’ throat. Eyes wide, he dropped both pistols to reach for the knife. Gurgling, he started toward her, still pawing at the knife.

She grabbed her Ka-Bar, stepped into Carlos, and executed a quick figure eight, slicing across all Carlos’ major arteries, then shoved him away from her and Andre. Abby’s boyfriend was dead in less than a minute.

As soon as she checked to be sure Carlos was no longer a threat to them, Riley used the Ka-Bar to cut through the zip ties binding Andre’s wrists and ankles.

The moment she released him, Andre swayed and would have hit the ground if Riley hadn’t steadied him.

She pressed the panic button on her watch. A second later, someone sent a silent message across her phone screen. “I can talk freely. This is Riley Sloan. I need a cleanup team at my house immediately. I also need an ambulance for Andre Marsh. Notify Brent Maddox.”

“It’s Zane. Are you okay, Riley?”

She rushed to her bathroom to grab a handful of hand towels. “I’m fine. Andre isn’t.”

“What happened?”

“Carlos Jimenez was waiting for us inside my house. This is the second time my security has been breached without my alarm going off.”

“I can’t explain that.” Zane’s voice was tight.

“Oh, I think I can. Bring in Abby Dale. She works in the lab, and her security clearance is high enough that she’d have access to my home address and my security code.”

“If that’s the case, I guarantee it won’t happen again. I’ll lock down that portion of the database with codes only I can break. Is Jimenez incapacitated?”

“Try dead. He didn’t give me a choice. Good old Carlos planned to kill Andre, then kill me.”

“I understand. The team will be at your home in fifteen minutes. The boss will be there in five, just ahead of the ambulance.” He sighed. “You know the cops will be all over this.”

“Can’t be helped. Send me the best lawyer we have on retainer. I need to be with Andre, and I don’t want to waste time in an interrogation room.”

“Copy that. I’ll take care of it. Keep the line open, Riley. I want to respond in an instant to what’s happening. What are Andre’s injuries?”

“He has a head injury that’s bleeding like crazy.” She touched Andre’s shoulder. “Any other injuries besides the one on your head, sweetheart?”

“Nope. Carlos pistol-whipped me, stunning me. I hit the floor, and the next thing I knew, he had me on my knees, wrists and ankles bound. The only other thing hurt is my ego.”

Zane chuckled. “I understand. The boss is one minute out. The ambulance is three minutes away.”

At one minute to the second, Brent Maddox strode into Riley’s office and stared at Carlos Jimenez, his disgust obvious. He glanced at Andre and Riley. “Are you two all right?”

“We’re fine, boss,” Andre said, pointing to his head. “This is just a scratch.”

“A scratch, huh? Looks like you need stitches to me. Riley?”

“Fine, but in need of an excellent lawyer.”

“You have one coming. She’ll meet you at the hospital. Her name is Maggie Wainwright.”

Relief swamped Riley. “Thank you, sir.”

“Give me the details before the EMTs and cops arrive.”