Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
M aggie clung to Ace’s hand as they sprinted down the alley.
They came out on another street, cars driving past, unaware of the drama unfolding. He barely paused, pulling her left.
“Ace, where are we?” There were renovated warehouses and industrial buildings on both sides of the street.
“Not far from the Norcross office. We’ll circle back around. Vander will find us.”
Gunfire sounded. She screamed, bullets hitting the wall close by.
With a curse, Ace pulled her into another narrow alley.
They ran for what felt like forever, but she heard her attackers following. Soon her lungs were burning.
“Here.” He pulled her down yet another alley, past some chain-link fences, and behind some overflowing dumpsters.
“You holding up all right?” he whispered.
She nodded and squeezed his hand.
“Still got your phone?”
“Yes.” She pulled it out and told him her code to unlock it.
He tapped in the number and found her contacts. “Vander? Yeah, we’re okay. Hiding in an alley. Three assailants. All armed.” A pause. “Okay, thanks.” He ended the call. “The guys are coming. They’ve called the police. We just need to sit tight and avoid the bad guys.”
“Right.” She shivered.
He rubbed her arms. Then they heard voices and they both froze.
It seemed like all her senses were enhanced.
She smelled rotting food from the dumpsters, and for once her stomach behaved.
The sunshine seemed brighter. Were the voices getting closer?
She could hear them but she couldn’t make out the conversation.
Please just be some passersby.
A strong hand moved down her back. She wasn’t alone. She met Ace’s gaze. She trusted him. She was still petrified he’d break her heart, but she trusted him.
The voices faded, and a buzzing noise filled the air.
Ace frowned, and peered around the dinged-up dumpster. “Fuck.”
But Maggie knew that sound too, and looked up. “It’s a drone.”
A moment later, the drone maneuvered into the mouth of the alley. Maggie’s chest hitched. It looked nothing like her drone. She frowned.
It flew closer.
Ace cursed.
“What?” she whispered.
“Military grade. It’s got weapons.”
Maggie’s pulse went haywire. What? That’s when she spotted the guns mounted on the drone.
This was insane .
Ace cursed again, his fingers crushing hers. “It’s probably got thermal imaging.”
Her eyes widened. “Meaning…”
“It can see us.” The drone’s weapons opened fire. Bullets pinged off the dumpster and into the brick wall. Maggie screamed.
Ace stood up, grabbed a trash bag out of the dumpster and tossed it into the air.
The drone darted to the side.
Ace yanked her up and pulled her toward the drone.
As it was readjusting, they sprinted under it and out of the alley.
“As fast as you can, Maggie.” They ran down the sidewalk. They passed a few bewildered-looking people, but the cars driving past seemed oblivious.
She heard buzzing behind them. “It’s coming!”
Ace turned and pulled her into traffic. Cars screeched and horns blared.
A car nearby slammed on its brakes, stopping inches from them.
But Ace didn’t slow down.
The drone fired again. Bullets peppered the street and the cars. Screams filled the air. Ace and Maggie ducked behind a stopped car. Ace scanned around. “Come on.”
He pulled her up and they sprinted toward a restaurant.
He hit the front door at a run. A few of the people eating at the tables looked up in shock.
“Get down,” Ace roared.
Suddenly, the plate glass window shattered in a hail of gunfire.
Diners dropped. He towed Maggie past the startled waitstaff, and through some double doors into a kitchen.
“You can’t come back here,” spluttered a man in a white coat.
“Back exit,” Ace barked. “Now.”
Ace’s tone got through, as did the sound of more gunfire from the front of the restaurant. The man pointed.
Ace and Maggie raced down a narrow hall and exploded out into the back alley. He pulled her along. A moment later, they crossed another busy street, and Ace shed his jacket and tossed it. He slowed to a walk and tugged her under his arm.
They were just a couple out for a stroll.
Ahead lay the glinting water of the bay, and South Beach Marina, filled with rows of boats. Her heart hammering, every instinct urged her to run as fast as she could.
The buzz of the drone grew louder. Her muscles went stiff.
“Easy,” Ace breathed.
They walked into a small park. Thankfully, the patch of grass was empty. She couldn’t handle a kid getting hurt.
Ace pulled out her phone, tapping and swiping fast.
“What are you doing?”
“Trying to hack the drone.” He had some code up on the screen that looked like gibberish to her.
Casually, he glanced back, and cursed. The buzzing got louder.
“They’ve spotted us,” he bit out.
They broke into a run. The park was mostly just grass, and only a handful of trees, so there weren’t many good hiding places.
Suddenly, bullets ripped up the ground behind them.
A scream stuck in Maggie’s throat. Ace yanked her sideways and they dove through some bushes.
“Come on,” he yelled.
They circled a tree. He paused to tap on the phone again. Bullets hit the tree trunk, and Ace curled his body around hers.
Then he grinned. “See how you like this.”
The drone stopped shooting, then flew sideways. He tapped again and it started a crazy, deranged flight path.
Maggie grinned. “You did it!”
Movement caught her eye as three armed men sprinted into the park.
“Ace!”
“Fuck.” He grabbed her hand again.
They darted along the grass, shouts echoing behind them.
Ace tugged her through some playground equipment. He paused and tapped on the phone again.
The drone opened fire at the men, and they scattered and dove.
Then suddenly, the drone swiveled and rose higher.
Ace cursed and tapped the phone again. “No. No .”
“What?”
“I’ve lost control. There’s only so much I can do from a phone.”
The drone stabilized and zeroed in on them. Its guns swiveled, and her stomach dropped away.
It fired and Ace leaped on her, taking her to the ground. She felt him jerk and grunt.
“ Ace .”
She looked back over her shoulder.
The drone was flying even closer, the guns pointed right at them. Despair flooded her, squeezing her heart.
Then suddenly, a shot rang out. The drone jerked and then plummeted straight to the ground, crashing into the grass. She watched it bounce.
Chest tight, Maggie looked up… To see Vander standing nearby, feet spread, holding a deadly-looking rifle aimed into the air.
Saxon, Rhys, and Rome were there, too, chasing after the three gunmen. “Ace, thank God,” she said. “Vander and the guys are here.”
But Ace didn’t move. Didn’t respond. He was a dead weight on top of her.
“Ace!”
* * *
Ace came to at the sound of Maggie’s frantic voice. He blinked open his eyes and bit back a groan.
Maggie’s pale face leaned over him. Saxon was beside her, yanking on Ace’s arm. Pain shot through him.
“Easy, Buchanan,” Ace muttered.
“Welcome back.” Saxon finished wrapping a bandage around Ace’s bicep.
“My God.” Maggie cupped his cheek. “You got shot!”
“Hey, I’m very alive, gatinha .”
There were tears in her eyes.
“No crying, anjo .”
She nodded.
Ace sat up and fought back a wave of dizziness. He lifted a hand to the side of his head and realized he must have bumped it on the way down.
He could see that Vander and Rhys had the three attackers on their bellies, hands tied behind their backs.
“Everyone okay?” he asked.
Sunlight glinted off the gold strands in Saxon’s hair. The guy came from money, and it was obvious, but he was still a badass.
“Yeah,” Saxon replied.
“Except you,” Maggie said. “ You got shot.”
“Hunt’s on the way,” Saxon said. “Rome is getting an X6. We’ll take you guys back to the office, and Ryder will meet us there.”
Ryder Morgan was Hunt’s brother. He was a paramedic, and former Air Force combat medic. He often patched up the Norcross team when they wanted to avoid the hospital.
“He needs a doctor,” Maggie insisted.
“It’s only a flesh wound,” Saxon said.
Maggie sniffed, and Ace watched as anger ignited in her eyes. “Those assholes shot him!”
Uh-oh. “Maggie—”
She leaped up and shot across the grass.
“Shit.” Ace got to his feet, ignoring the pain in his arm and a wave of dizziness.
By the time he caught her, she’d kicked one of the attackers in the side.
“You assholes. You think you can just go around shooting people! Trying to kill a pregnant woman.”
“Hey, babe, take it easy.” Rhys reached for her.
“No!” She kicked another guy.
Ace pulled her close to him with his good arm. “Chill, gatinha . It’s okay now.”
She sucked in a breath, then the fight went out of her.
“I’ve got you,” he said.
She buried her face in his neck. “I was so afraid.”
“I know.” He hugged her. He’d been terrified while they were running from the drone.
A black X6 pulled up on the street, with Rome’s big form behind the wheel.
“Get her back to the office,” Vander ordered. “And get that arm checked.”
“Oh, your arm,” she cried. “Let me go! Did I hurt it?”
“No. Come on, Maggie.” He glanced at Vander. “I want the drone.”
Vander lifted his chin. “I’ll get it.”
Ace bundled her into the backseat of the SUV. Rome drove them back to the Norcross office and into the bottom-level parking. Ace led Maggie up into the office area. She lifted a shaky hand to his face.
“ Dios . What if that drone had—?”
“It didn’t.” He grabbed her hand and realized it was steady. She was shaken but not falling apart. “My tough gatinha .”
“I didn’t feel tough while we were being chased.”
He kissed her nose. “How about when you kicked the bad guys in the ribs?”
Color filled her cheeks. “They made me mad. And they deserved it.”
“You do have a temper.”
“I heard someone got shot again,” a deep, amused voice said.