Chapter 25
Aaron watched as Eli dug his knife into Celine’s throat and the small trickle of blood that followed. Rage hit him hard, but he shoved that emotion back down. Celine needed calm and cold. Just like he’d been trained. “Let her go.”
Eli eased the knife down, tracing the tip down her chest and belly. “I don’t really want to do that.”
When he tucked the knife between her thighs, like a sick lover’s caress, Celine moaned and her eyes went wide. He kept his other hand over her mouth and continued his slow arc back up to her neck.
Aaron fought back the nausea and concentrated his aim at just over her right shoulder. This close he could probably get a round off without hitting her, but the blast would burn, and if he was so much as a hair off…
The open window behind Eli caught his attention. He needed a distraction. “You scaled my cabin?”
“Easy peasy.”
“And you sent your friend through the front door as a distraction, even knowing I’d put a bullet in his skull.”
Eli shrugged, but his eyes glowed with pleasure. “He said he wanted to help.”
Aaron had seen men like this before. Killing didn’t bother him, it excited him.
Being in power, like he thought he was now, aroused him.
Aaron shifted right, to a better position to fire.
“Who sent you? You’ve left my agents scouring the pentagon for moles, but I don’t think your boss is there anymore. ”
Eli turned, countering his movement. “I think we both know who I work for and what he wants me to do to her. But not before I take care of you. Drop your gun and I won’t make you watch. The men usually cry and beg when I kill their women, it’s a huge distraction from my pleasure.”
Celine bucked, her scream muffled by Eli’s hand over her mouth. His training was already working at full speed and Eli’s taunts kicked it into overdrive. His heart rate slowed. His veins turned to liquid nitro.
And then he spotted the pistol clutched in Celine’s right hand, dangling in front of her.
He caught her wild gaze and held it as he spoke. “I think you’ll find her a little harder to tame than the helpless women you’ve hurt in the past. She knows how to defend herself.”
Celine’s eyes widened more and she clenched the pistol partially hidden beneath her t-shirt.
Eli slid the knife down again, toying with the material covering Celine’s breasts as he shoved a knee between her legs. “I’ll break her. Just like I break them all.”
Aaron nodded, a slight movement of his head. Celine fired.
Eli screamed and dropped the knife. He shoved Celine forward and clutched his blown-out knee. Aaron caught her in his arm and fired a single bullet into Eli’s head. The bastard dropped like the piece of shit he was, his wide sightless eyes staring up at the ceiling.
Aaron dropped his gun on the bed and took Celine into his arms, uncaring of the fact they were both trembling. “Are you okay? Did he cut you?”
A muffled ‘no’ was her response.
Aaron held her at arm’s length, took in the trail of blood on her neck and the ice in his veins turned to molten lava. Dead. Mr. J was so dead. He’d been the one to hire Eli and Daniel. He’d been the one to try and sell her as a sex slave. He’d been responsible for her kidnapping.
“Aaron?” Celine put a hand on his chest, the other wrapped around her neck. “I swear, he just nicked me. It’s nothing.”
Aaron groaned and yanked her back to him, unable to get his mouth to work right. All he could do was hold her and tell himself she was alright. “Do you need to sit down? Never mind, sit down. I’ll get the first aid kit.”
Celine surprised him when she cupped his cheek, stopping him before he could force her to the bed. “I’m okay. You protected me.”
“That was too close. I should have known it wouldn’t be as easy as it seemed.”
“And now they’re dead and we don’t have to worry, right?” Her tone was serious, but steady.
“Why are you being so calm?”
“Because I feel like it’s over and because he didn’t really hurt me.” She lifted up on her toes and placed a kiss on his lips.
Aaron groaned on contact and took her mouth in a kiss that left them both shaking. Seeing her like that…again…he shuddered. “I could have lost you.”
“Nah, I had him.”
Her words drew a shaky chuckle from him. “I love you, honey. God, I love you.”
She relaxed in his arms, her faced turned up to his. “I love you too.”