“I didn’t hear anything. Are you sure it worked?”
She squinted at the icon. “It says Test so maybe this isn’t how you’re supposed to set it off. Go stand near the door and listen. Maybe you’ll be able to hear it over there.”
Mara walked over to the door and pressed her ear right up against the wall. “Okay, hang on.”
Kay clicked the button and looked at Mara expectantly.
“Nothing. Try again.”
Kay minimized the screen she was looking at just in time to see Eli duck out of view.
“I lost him!” She clicked through the video feed images until she found Eli again. He was in the dining room, his back against the wall. She clicked through to another screen. The other man was walking down the hallway. Then he turned around and went the other way. Her skin chilled. He was going to enter the dining room from the kitchen.
“What’s he doing?”
Kay shook her head and pulled up the menu she’d found earlier again. “He’s trying to find Eli. I have to do something. Maybe I should cut on the sprinkler system or something.”
“Wait, look. Oh no.” Mara gasped.
Kay looked up to see the other man sneak up behind Eli with his arm raised. Eli turned, a look of shock on his face, then fell to the ground.
Her heart in her throat, she started clicking every icon she could.
A SCREECHING ALARM blared above their heads and they both covered their ears. Eli used the distraction to run out of the room and into the hallway. He collapsed against the wall and clutched his arm where the first bullet had grazed him. It was just a flesh wound. The thick leather of his coat had taken the worst of it. The alarm fell silent and then blared again.
“What the hell is that sound?” Justice screamed from the other room.
Eli was grateful for the erratic noise because it was the only way he’d known that Kay was safe. Unless someone had his password to get on his laptop, the only other way to control the system was through the computer in the panic room. He wasn’t sure exactly what Kay was doing, but her messing with the security system could give him an opportunity.
That’s my girl, he thought. It sounded like she was running a system test. Even if she didn’t know how to operate the security system properly, she could create enough distraction for him to have an advantage.
“Boss, I need you to get him closer to the back doors.” Tank’s voice startled him. Eli had forgotten he was wearing the earpiece. “I’ve got rounds that go through glass, but it’ll be easier if I have a clear shot.”
Eli ran into the kitchen and behind the island. If he was going to get Justice in position, he’d have to back himself into a section of the kitchen behind the counter and hope he followed.
It was a risk. It would leave him vulnerable because he’d have the oven at his back, so he’d have to take a leap of faith and trust that his guys would come through for him.
“You know, I was going to let her live,” Justice mused, his voice thoughtful. He sounded close. Eli peered around the island, taking note of the other man’s position at the entrance to the kitchen. He stood slowly, his weapon on Justice the entire time.
“Who?”
“Your girl. Kaylee. Such a pretty name. And that voice. Mmm, mmm.” Justice ran his tongue over his lips. “I’ve never been into thick girls like you are, but I’m starting to see the error of my ways. I bet she tastes like heaven.”
Eli’s fingers tightened around his weapon. “You’re going to stay the hell away from her, that’s what you’re going to do.”
Justice laughed. “You’re not in the position to tell me what I’m going to do. That was always your problem, you know. You never knew when to accept that you’d been beaten. One of the most stubborn trainees I ever had. It’s what made you so tough, but it’s also what made you so easy to track. You never could let go of the things you couldn’t have.”
“I don’t like letting go, but we all have our faults. Yours was always your arrogance. That’s what led you here in the first place. This revenge you’ve spent the last year seeking, and it was all for nothing. I wasn’t the one who betrayed you. I was just a stupid kid who thought you were my friend.”
“It really wasn’t you?”
“No, it wasn’t me. But I’m sure as hell glad it happened because I’ve learned something over the past few years, too. I’ve learned about friendship and trust. You were always so sure you were smarter than everyone else, and you couldn’t trust anyone to have your back.”
“Trust is for fools.”
“It’s the one thing you can’t understand, and it’s the reason why I’ve won.”
“You haven’t won shit. I’m still holding a gun pointed directly at your heart.”
Eli shrugged.
Justice’s eyes narrowed, rage all over his face. “You think I won’t shoot you?”
“I know you will, but I’m not that worried about it. Because I know something you don’t know.”
Eli stopped moving and Justice did, too. He stood directly in front of the gaping hole in the sliding glass door.
“Oh and what’s that?”
“That the guys I employ are better shots than I am.”
A second later there was a soft thud, and Justice dropped to the ground. Eli dove to the side, covering his head with his hands as the cabinets where he’d been standing were plastered with bullets. There was a soft moan and then the sound of the front door being kicked in.