Savage Love (Savage Trilogy #3) - Lisa Renee Jones Page 0,73

to him. “Can’t Kane used whatever he has on Pocher to free your father?”

“My father doesn’t want to be free. He’s one of them. You and I have more in common than you realize.”

We order and then head to a table to wait for our drinks. “I’m going to the bathroom.”

“I’ll try not to drink your coffee,” she says, her tone flat like it’s not a joke. She means it. I laugh because my God, her and Savage are just so alike.

I dart away and down the hallway to the bathroom. I’m about to enter the single person room when the back exit starts to open. I have no idea why but my heart leaps. I dart inside and lock the door, leaning on the hard surface and giving myself a talking to. Pocher’s handled. I know this. That means he called off Alejandro. I’m still jumpy though, so very jumpy in a way I wasn’t at the station. I’ll be better when I see Rick. When I hear him say this is over, I’ll know it’s over.

I push off the door, do what I came in here for, wash up, and fix my face, which means maneuvering around my gun for my lipstick. The gun, the Sig Sauer P238 gifted to me from Rick, is a comforting site and presence, and I find myself leaving my bag unzipped as I walk to the door, my hand lingering on the steel of my weapon. I have to let it go to open the door though, and I swear I have this warning system going off in my head. A fight or flight kind of thing.

I pause and dial Rick. He answers on the first ring. “Hey, baby. We’re almost there. We’re parking now.”

“Oh good. Okay. Hurry.”

“Always when I’m coming to you, baby.”

I smile and disconnect, already calmer. I shove my phone back in my pocket and drawing a breath, I unlock the door and turn the knob. Suddenly, I’m shoved hard backward and I end up falling down. Adrenaline surges through me as I bring Alejandro into view. The next minute is in slow motion. Alejandro slams the door and instinct, and years on end of training, kick in. As he raises his gun, mine is already in my hand, and I don’t hesitate. I fire at his chest and I hit my target. He flies backward and hits the wall and then slides to the ground.

I scramble to a sitting position and the door flies open again. My gaze catches on Lilah as she enters, weapon drawn. And then to my shock, everything is in slow motion again, as Alejandro raises his gun in my direction again and Lilah shoots Alejandro in the head. This time blood splatters all over the place including on me. I drop my gun and press my hands to the floor and I’m shaking now. “I shot him in the chest. How was he alive.”

Lilah kneels beside him and yanks up his shirt. “He’s wearing a vest. Are you okay?”

I never get to answer. Rick is suddenly in the tiny room with us, pulling me to my feet, enclosing me in his arms, and I’m molded close to his big, hard body. And the world instantly calms but I can hear Lilah calling in the incident and other voices. There are other voices but they don’t quite compute right now. “Tell me you’re okay,” he whispers, cupping my head and tilting my face to his inspection. “Tell me you’re okay.”

“I am. I tried to shoot him. I did shoot him. He had on a vest, but I didn’t hesitate.”

“Shoot for the head,” Lilah says, kneeling at our feet, and now wearing gloves, as she bags my weapon. She stands. “Aim for the head next time. Those bastards always wear vests.”

“I hope there won’t be a next time.”

“You’re in love with this man,” she says, motioning to Rick. “There will be.”

“You saved my life, Lilah.”

“You can save your own next time.” She eyes Rick. “She did a fucking good job. There are cops that hesitate more than she did. Get her out of here but don’t leave.”

Rick catches my hand and when he leads me out of the bathroom, we settle into a corner where he proceeds to shelter me from the growing law enforcement presence with his big body.

“This is over, baby. A few more hours of this hell and this is over. We can start our new life together. And I can actually