Chapter 70 - Gage
My sights back on the house now that Penny is safe in the church, I look through the windows and spot her just as she disappears into the storage room under the basement stairs.
Smart fucking girl. As long as she stays quiet in there, I doubt the soldiers will find her.
The door blends perfectly into the paneling.
A second later, movement catches my eye as someone sprints to the door on the walk-out level. I squint to get a better look through the scope. It’s not a soldier in uniform, but something about the guy nags at my memory. He turns a bit so I can see his face and my stomach drops.
Mars. Fucking Mars.
That fucker. I watch him sneaking into the house after her like he belongs there. My blood boils. Where the hell has he been? And what the fuck is he doing here now?
I keep my rifle steady, my eye on the windows of the lowest level, and see him slide into the storage room where Luna’s hiding. I swear to God, if he gets her caught by these guys…
Then I see the soldiers moving around on the upper floors. They’ve entered the house and are moving like they’re sweeping the place. I shift my aim. The barrel lowers slightly, zeroing in on the basement windows again, the ones near where Luna’s hiding.
They won’t take her. Not while I’m breathing.
My finger curls around the trigger as doubts fill me.
Can I make the shot? I’ve made longer shots than this when hunting, but never through a window or with so much at stake.
Is this the right play, though? If I start shooting, it could distract them and get them out of the house, but so much can go wrong.
I blow out a deep breath, and a picture of her face flashes before my eyes.
I love her. I know I do. I’ve known it since she put her small hand on my chest and demanded that I share my pain with her.
I’ve been waiting what feels like my whole life for our time to be together.
Just how far am I willing to go to make her mine?
To protect her? Is it murder to take a life to protect someone you love?
That’s a whole different fucking level of commitment.
I force a breath out. Try to calm the thundering in my chest and decide that I’m all in. If I have to kill these soldiers to keep her safe, then that’s what I will do.
The men search the basement just steps from where my girl and Mars are hiding. My hands ache with how tight I’m holding the rifle, just waiting for the moment they discover her and I have to take the shot that will change me from the man I am.
"Breathe Gage, relax your hands. Let the tension go," I tell myself. I know if I'm too tense, it will make it harder to make a good shot.
It feels like an eternity with my finger on the trigger, watching the soldiers make their way through the basement. Finally, I relax my hold when they don’t find her and head back upstairs.
That was too fucking close.
Another few minutes pass before I see her again. Luna steps out of the storage space under the stairs with Mars right behind her. She looks angry, and I smirk when I see her bat away his hand on her arm. Make him fucking grovel, sweetheart.
Any amusement I have turns to ashes and fear in the next second.