27. Miles
BANG. BANG.
I hear the gunshots, and without thinking, I run right towards them.
I don’t know what or who I’m running towards, all I know is three of my guys are out here and there’s only one fucking asshole.
There’s a seventy-five percent chance one of my men was shot, and that’s all I can think about right now.
I run around the corner of the house and see Hudson lying out on the grass, grunting and holding his side.
I can just barely see the bloody crimson that stains his hands from the reflection of the moon, and I feel my chest cave in slightly.
Hudson and I have known each other since we were young.
His father was a part of my dads security team, now seeing his son covered in his own blood, it’s something I’ve never wanted.
I drop down beside Hudson, my knees hitting the pavement hard enough that I barely feel it. My gun slips from my hand and clatters to the ground beside me as I immediately press both hands over the wound, putting as much pressure as I can against the blood soaking through my fingers.
“Stay with me, brother,” I grit out, my voice rough and desperate. “You’re not fucking dying on me. Do you hear me?”
I look up, scanning the area wildly, searching for any sign of the person who did this. My heart pounds against my ribs as adrenaline floods every inch of my body. The world feels too quiet, like everything is holding its breath while that son of a bitch gets further away.
Footsteps echo from around the corner, and my head snaps up.
“Over here!” I shout, as Nate and Morgan come running over.
“Oh, fuck!” Nate yells, immediately reaching for his phone and stepping away to make a call. I pull Morgan down to Hudson's side, pressing her hands over Hudson’s wound.
“Keep pressure on it!” I order her and grab my gun. I have to fucking find him.
“Boss, we got a huge fucking problem here. I need backup. Now!” Nate says into his phone, and my neck snaps in his direction.
My entire body freezes. Who in the fuck is he calling ‘boss’ when I’m standing right here. “Nate, who the fuck are you talking to?”
He doesn’t answer. He just stares at me for a long second, something unreadable flashing across his face before he finally drops down beside Hudson, taking over with Morgan to help her keep pressure on the wound.
My stomach twists. I open my mouth to ask him again, to demand to know exactly who the hell he was talking to, but before I can get the words out, something catches my attention.
There’s a figure breaking through the trees in the distance, running away from us. The second my eyes lock onto him, everything else disappears. I sprint in his direction as fast as I can, heavy emotions crashing into me all at once.
I think about all the things he’s done to Maddie, all the messages he sent her, all the tears he’s caused her to shed.
I can feel my blood boiling as it’s coursing through my veins and all I can focus on is how I’m going to rip this man apart limb from limb until there’s nothing left of him but a fucking torso.
I run up to the fence line and start looking in every direction. There’s nothing fucking out here. My breathing is erratic, my hand vibrating from how tightly I’m holding the gun. Nate runs up behind me, his pistol gripped firmly in his hands, as he looks around.
“He’s not here,” I murmur softly, still looking around, hoping I see him.
“What?” Nate asks, and I kick at the dirt on the ground.
“He’s not fucking here!”
Red hot rage runs through me as the image of Maddie sitting in our room hits me like a ton of bricks. She’s still alone in the house with Kaitlin.
“FUCK!”
I take off running towards the house, Nate following behind me.
“I’m gonna check on Hudson!” he yells, but I don’t stop running. I fucking can’t, even though all I want to do is drill him on who he was talking to. But Maddie is more important. My chest starts aching at the thought of her not being okay.
What if he got to her? What if all of this was Kaitlin’s fault?
I bust through the front doors and sprint towards the stairs, taking them two at a time until I reach the second floor. Our bedroom door is locked and I bang on it with everything I have.
“Maddie, baby, it’s me! Open up!”
The bedroom door swings open, and before I can even process it, Maddie launches herself into my arms.
Thank fucking God.
I catch her and pull her against me, holding her tighter than I probably should, but I don’t care.
She’s here and safe, and the bastard didn’t get to her.
The thought alone makes my stomach turn.
I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d walked in and found something different.
She pulls back slowly, and that’s when I notice the gun still clutched tightly in her hands.
A surge of pride cuts through the fear still sitting heavy in my chest.
That’s my fucking girl.
“He was here, Miles. He tried to get in the door, then we heard the gunshots and I thought it was you. I was so scared, Miles! God, I don’t know what I would have done if it was you.” She cries into my chest and I kiss the top of her head, holding her close to me.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’m okay. I’m so fucking proud of you, baby. You did good.”
She holds onto me and doesn’t let go. I know she needs this right now. Shit, I need this right now. He was so fucking close to her, I can only imagine how she felt in those moments.
I look up and see Kaitlin sitting on the bed. I can’t help but feel like this is all her fucking fault. I just know it is. If Maddie would have never brought her here, the stalker would have never found our location.
Kaitlin looks over at where we stand in the doorway. Her phone is in her hands and I can see them shaking. Her eyes are watery and she gives me a weak smile. Fake. It’s all fucking fake, I just don’t know how to prove it yet.
I can’t lose it on her now, not in front of Maddie.
There’s something up with this bitch and I intend to find out what it is before she hurts my girl any further.
I pull Maddie away from my chest and go to hold her face when I remember the blood on my hands and stop myself.
She sees the blood and her eyes grow wide.
“Oh my god, Miles, the blood!”
“Hey, it’s alright, it’s not mine. I need you to do something for me, alright? I need you to pack your things. We have to go somewhere else. Can you do that for me?”
She doesn’t ask questions, she just sniffles and nods her head in agreement, immediately grabbing a duffle bag and doing what I asked her to do.
Good girl.
I look over at Kaitlin with pure hatred and walk towards her. She sits up a little straighter, fear laced in her expression. Good. She needs to be afraid of me.
“You need to leave.” I spit the words out like venom on my tongue and I know she feels it.
She doesn’t say anything, she just nods her head and gets up and walks out of the room. I don’t care what happens to her at this point. If he’s still out there, I hope he finds her.
My phone vibrates in my back pocket, and I pull it out to see a text from Nate.
Nate: We’re taking Hudson to the hospital. It’s not looking good, man.
Me: Keep me posted. Maddie and I are going to stay in a hotel. I’ll send you the details when I have them. We still need to talk.
“Is he gone now?” Maddie whispers from across the room, and I look over at her.
She’s standing next to the bed where the duffle bag sits filled with most of her belongings.
This isn’t how today was supposed to go for her.
She was supposed to have a good day with Morgan shopping and having fun.
Now it’s turned into another day from hell.
“Did you kill him? Why are we leaving?”
I can’t lie to her. She deserves to know the truth and know the danger that she’s in, but I know it’s going to hurt her.
“No baby, I didn’t. He’s still out there. He shot Hudson. They’re taking him to the hospital now.”
Her eyes fill with tears, and she sits down on the edge of the bed. I knew this news was going to get to her.
“This isn’t your fault, Maddie. Hudson knew what he was getting himself into when he agreed to protect you. He knew the severity of it and knew all the possibilities.”
She nods, but I can tell she’s still blaming herself even though she shouldn’t.
Hudson, Nate, and Morgan were trained for this.
They knew exactly what they were signing up for from the very beginning.
There was never any illusion that working on my security team would be safe.
The job came with risks, sometimes life threatening ones, and every one of them accepted that before they ever stepped through my door. That’s why I chose them.
The need for security started with Benny.
For years, I suspected he was involved with dangerous people.
He always had too many secrets, disappearing for weeks at a time, but somehow always managed to stay one step ahead of everyone around him.
I never had proof that he was working with anyone, but my gut told me there was more going on than he ever admitted.
When I started digging into the things he left behind after he disappeared, I realized my suspicions weren't completely unfounded.
Whether Benny intended to or not, he left me standing in the crosshairs of people I never even knew existed.
From that moment on, living without security was never an option.
“We need to go see him.”
“We will. Let’s just finish packing and get settled. You’re my priority.”
I help Maddie finish packing the rest of our things and call Julius to bring one of the cars around to the front.
Maddie and I have already been followed once before in the Jeep, and I don’t want to risk being followed this time.
All the other cars have been parked in the garage since we’ve been here, so they should be safe.
There’s a soft knock on the door before Julius announces himself.
“It’s all set, Alexander. Would you like me to load up your things?”
“That would be great, Julius, thank you.”