He didn’t dare draw attention to the fact that the pool of blood he was still lying in would be a dead giveaway or she’d completely fall apart. As it was she was only holding on by the thinnest thread. Letting go of her hands, losing her touch left him feeling suddenly bereft and hollow, like a part of him had died. But he pushed her toward his vehicle anyway, his tone purposely harsh and commanding as he pinned her with his most forceful and authoritative stare.
“Go while you can, damn it. I said someone will be here for me any minute now. Don’t you dare let those fuckers get their hands on you.”
God, he hoped he wasn’t lying to her about his back up. He’d managed to activate the “oh shit” button, as his teammate Eliza had named the transponder they all carried with them. He wasn’t far from headquarters. Hell, someone should be on the scene already.
“For fuck’s sake listen to me” he bellowed. “I don’t know who the hell you are, lady, or what the hell you did, but I’m not about to let someone who just saved my life get her ass killed instead.”
She scrambled up, keeping her head low, and slithered between the door and the interior. She turned and looked one last time at Isaac and he could swear she was pleading with him for forgiveness. The door slammed behind her and the engine cranked. He winced when the SUV lurched forward, stopping then going, the brakes screaming in protest.
Well, fuck. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to send her away. It didn’t appear that she even knew how to drive. Hell, she didn’t look old enough to be driving. He ground his teeth in frustration over his inability to provide her with the protection she so desperately needed and just prayed he’d made the right decision.
Testing his body’s responses, he rolled to his stomach and then belly-crawled around the front of the remaining vehicle, his knuckles white from his fingers being wrapped so tightly around his gun. He leaned heavily against the grill of the car and waited, one hand still rubbing his chest in disbelief.
“Isaac,” a low, distant voice called. “Sitrep.”
Isaac blew out his breath in relief when Zeke, one of the newer DSS recruits, announced his arrival.
“You got backup?” Isaac said in a voice just loud enough to carry.
“Dex is with me. What’s going on, man?”
“Shooters. Didn’t get a bead on their location, but they weren’t close when they first shot. No idea if they’re still on scene or if they’re closing in. Watch yourselves, and I hope to fuck you’re packing some serious heat.”
He heard Dex snort and took that as an affirmative.
“You take a hit?” Zeke demanded.
Isaac opened his mouth and them promptly shut it again. How the fuck did he answer that question? Yeah, he’d taken one hell of a hit. He should be on his way to the morgue to get a toe tag, but it was as if the wound had never happened. As if his heart and lungs hadn’t taken a mortal blow. How to explain that to his partners?
“No time for questions. I’ll explain later. Get me the fuck clear. Just don’t get your asses shot.”
“Not in the game plan, my man,” Dex retorted. Then he paused a second. “You need a medic?”
“No. Just wheels.”
“Shadow is on scene now and is scouting for the shooters. If they’re still here, he’ll take care of it,” Dex said.
That much was true. Shadow came by his code name because he was just that. A shadow that no one could detect. No one would ever know he was on them until it was too late.
“Good idea,” Isaac murmured. “But tell him to watch his six. There was more than one. Shots were fired from at least three different sources.”
“He’ll take care of it,” Dex said confidently. “I’m more concerned about your condition.”
“I’m fine,” Isaac insisted. “Just don’t like being a sitting duck.”
“We’ll have you out of here in no time. Just relax and keep your guard up. Zeke and I have you covered and Shadow will take care of any remaining threat.”
But what worried Isaac was that he hadn’t been the target. His thoughts froze. Or . . . Maybe he had been? The shots hadn’t been aimed at the woman. Not a single bullet had hit the vehicle she was closest to, while he, on the other hand, was lucky he still had his balls. This hadn’t been about him at all, nor was it a random shooting by rank amateurs. It had been an intended abduction resulting in collateral damage—almost. They wanted him dead and her alive. At least only one of the results they’d wanted had been accomplished.
Either way the mysterious angel was in serious trouble, and he’d be damned if he left her helpless and running from the assholes who’d made it clear they didn’t play nice. He had no idea what they wanted with her, but even as he contemplated the reasons why, he rubbed a hand over his chest—his completely healed chest that showed no sign of the very real kill shot. His unmarred chest gave him a pretty damn good idea why a bunch of damn assassins had her on the run and terrified out of her mind.
If her abilities were known—and he’d bet his last dollar that someone knew about her miraculous gift—they wanted it. There were any number of factions that would stop at nothing to have her under their thumb.
Fuck that.
She’d saved his life. And even if she hadn’t, after one look at the bruised and bloodied, fragile slip of a woman, there was no way in hell he wouldn’t move heaven and earth to make damn sure she was protected at all times. This was personal. This wasn’t a DSS mission where she’d be assigned to a team or another man. She was his to protect. And if Caleb, Beau or Dane had a problem with that, then they could go to hell. He’d hand in his resignation and take on the job himself.
“What the fuck?” Zeke roared as he and Dex appeared in front of Isaac. “You said you hadn’t taken a hit. Jesus fuck, there’s blood everywhere. You need an ambulance and to get to the hospital now.”
Isaac sighed and then simply pulled away the blood-soaked shirt so they could see the unmarred flesh of his skin.
“Look, guys, I know what it looks like but if I told you what happened, even with the shit you’ve been exposed to working for DSS, you’d likely haul my ass to a psych ward.”
“Try us,” Dex said calmly.
Isaac blew out his breath and then related the entire story, from the time he saw his door open to when he took a mortal shot to the chest and was miraculously healed by the mystery woman.
To their credit, the only response they displayed was a rise in their brows.
“So you just let her go? Without protection? So those assholes get another shot at her?” Zeke asked in disbelief.
“I made her take my ride,” Isaac snapped, glaring at Zeke. “I wasn’t in a position to protect myself, much less her, and I couldn’t justify such a huge risk to her when I knew my backup would be here within minutes.”
Shadow appeared seemingly from nowhere, but his scowl indicated he’d been privy to the entire explanation. Which was just as well, since Isaac really didn’t want to rehash it.
“And that helps her how?” Zeke asked in a persistent tone.
Isaac shook his head at how slow on the uptake Zeke was. And reinforced his glare, his nostrils flaring in irritation. “She took my company vehicle.”
Realization flickered in his teammate’s eyes.
“You going after her?” Shadow asked, drawing Isaac’s ire from Zeke and right on himself.
“What the fuck kind of question is that?” Isaac snarled.