Chapter 17 #3
Bones pointed toward the upside down vehicle as Alex crawled her way out of the shattered passenger window.
“Alex!”
“Coulter?” She stumbled her way up to her feet. “Oh, thank God. I-it’s Cyrus. He k-killed Gordan.”
“We know.” He raced toward her at warp speed. “It’s okay, now. You’re safe.”
But it was a lie. She wasn’t safe. Not by any stretch of the word. Because Vas was also there.
He’d survived the crash, but the bastard hadn’t simply managed to escape. He’d made it around the front of the SUV without any of them realizing it and was now standing directly behind Alex.
“Alex, watch out!” Coulter tried to warn her, but he was too late.
Vas had already wrapped an arm around Alex’s throat.
“Stay back or I’ll shoot!” He pressed the barrel of a gun flush with her temple.
No!
“It’s over, Cyrus,” Coulter yelled back, keeping his own weapon steady. “Drop the gun and let Alex go!”
“Screw you!” the cornered man shouted. “I drop the gun, all you’ll do is shoot me.”
“Maybe.” Bones paused. “But if you don’t, we will kill you where you stand.”
“Come on, Cyrus. You can’t possibly think you can hurt her and walk away from this alive.”
“This isn’t how this was supposed to go,” the man shouted. “I had a plan. I was finally free.”
He’s talking about Crawford.
“I know.” Coulter nodded. “But look at it this way. At least you’re free from Crawford. That has to count for something, right?”
“You don’t want to do this, Vas.” Digger joined their efforts. “Just put the gun down and let the girl go.”
“Do it now, asshole,” Apollo added his own words of warning.
Coulter watched Vas close with an operative’s eye. The guy was scared. Desperate. An animal who was trapped with no means of escape.
He refused to look at Alex, knowing if he did, his focus would vanish. She was alive and had crawled out of the wreckage of her own volition. For now, that would have to be enough.
A few terrifying seconds later, Coulter realized he should have been looking Alex’s way. If he had, he would have noticed the signs. He would’ve realized what she’d been planning, and he and the others would have been better prepared for what was about to come next.
In a moment that would haunt him for the rest of his days, several things happened at once.
Alex “lost her footing” and her legs folded beneath her. Vas had to shift his hold to keep her from going down. When he did, the gun’s barrel slid away from her head.
Coulter knew it was his only chance.
He pulled his trigger. Vas’ body jerked as Coulter’s bullet penetrated the man’s skull. Alex screamed and fell to her knees as her captor’s lifeless body crumpled into a heap in the grass behind her.
“Alexandria!” Coulter covered the remaining distance between them. When he got to her, he dropped to his knees and joined her on the ground. “Oh, God, baby.” He started to pull her close but stopped for fear she’d been injured in the crash. “Shit. Sorry. Are you hurt?”
There’s blood running down the side of her face and a bruise on her cheek. Of course, she’s hurt.
Her gorgeous eyes glistened with tears of relief. At first, he thought she was about to throw herself into his arms or give him a kiss. But that wasn’t what happened. Not at first, anyway.
Like always, the incredible woman took him completely off-guard.
“What took you so long?”
Alex shoved both her hands against his chest so hard Coulter started to fall back on his heels.
“I-I’m so sorry.” He came to a rest on his heels. “Alex, I swear, we got here as fast as we . . . OOF!”
She did throw herself into his arms, then. Alex wrapped her arms around his neck so tight it was almost impossible to breathe.
“I thought I’d never see you again.” She buried her face as the well of tears in her eyes started to fall. “God, Colt.” Her breaths began to stutter. “I-I was . . . s-so . . . s-scared.”
“I know, baby.” He kissed her temple and squeezed his eyes shut. “I was, too.”
So fucking scared.
“Is she okay?” Garrett joined them.
“I-I’m okay,” Alex answered for herself.
Physically, aside from a few scrapes and bruises, she seemed to be telling the truth. Emotionally, time would tell.
“Of course, you’re okay.” Coulter peeled her arms from his neck so he could look into her eyes. “You’re the strongest woman I’ve ever known.”
A fresh well of tears formed as her quivering lips curved upward into a watery smile. “I love you.”
Thank you, God.
Her image blurred behind his own onslaught of tears, and his chest swelled like never before. “Ah, Alex.” He carefully brushed some blood-tinged locks from her eye. “That’s a relief, because I love you, too.”
“Take me home, Coulter.” She leaned up and pressed her lips to his.
From where he still stood beside them, Garrett spoke up again. “Yeah, I’d say she’s good.”
With his eyes closed and his mouth savoring the sweetest taste he’d ever known, Coulter gave his brother and the rest of the team a thumbs up. The chuckles that followed were like music to his ears.
It was over. Alex was safe and Crawford and Vas were both dead.
“Come on, you two.” Garrett helped Alex up to her feet. “Let’s get the hell out of here before someone comes along and we have to explain this mess to the locals.”
Coulter pushed himself up with a groan. “I’ll call Agent Price on our way back to the jet. She has people who will handle the clean-up.”
“Of course, she does.” Bones snorted. “The woman runs a non-existent shadow unit within the CIA. Why wouldn’t she have people waiting in the wings to make a scene like this disappear?”
“The job does come with its perks.” Coulter wrapped an arm around Alex and pulled her close.
“You gonna miss it?” Garrett asked, referring to his earlier vow to leave the agency once the case against Crawford was closed.
“What’s to miss?” He looked down at Alex with a smile and more love than he knew he possessed. “I’ve got everything I need right here.”
A woman who loved him, a brother who always had his back, and a team of men who’d accepted him as one of their own. For the first time in his life, Coulter felt as though his world was finally complete. And suddenly, he felt like the luckiest bastard in the world.