Reluctant Protector Read Free Page B

shield would only hold so long.
    “Okay, look. We’ve got some cover here, but it’s only temporary. These idiots are shooting in the general direction of the car, but eventually one of us will sustain a more permanent wound.” She eyed the steep hillside. “Do you think you can make it up the hill when the time comes?”
    Seth dragged in a labored breath and tried to sit up. The rain plastered his shaggy hair against his forehead. “Yeah, sure. But the deal is, I'm not moving from here until I see some cops and an ambulance. I have this funny thing about being shot at. I like the people responsible to go to jail.”
    Just what she needed, a comedian. “That’s all well and good, but if you don't start working with me, you'll be dead, and then no one's going to drop the soap. These boys aren't fooling around.”
    He still gripped his shoulder and his eyes were hard and laced with pain, but the corners of his lips twitched at her joke. He levered to a sitting position. “Let's get to safety first, and then I'm calling the cops. I don't know what they want from you, but I think we need some help of the ‘protect and serve’ variety.”
    They could argue the point later. “Fair enough. Okay, there are four of them. One of them is already down. I don’t know if they radioed for reinforcements yet, so we need to move fast.” She pulled a gun from the back of her waist band. “Do you know how to fire one of these?”
    Seth frowned. “Are you shitting me? I usually wait until a woman cooks dinner for me before I shoot someone for her.”
    Cassie shook her head. “I don’t actually want you to shoot anyone. I just need you to provide cover until I can distract the other guys.”
    He narrowed his eyes. “Just how do you plan to distract them? Are you on some crazy Xena, Warrior Princess kick? I gotta tell, you that’s kind of hot.”
    Cassie fought a smile. “You'll see.” She trained her attention on Tweedle Dumber and burrowed into his mind. She got too much residual interference at first, so it wasn't a clean job. She probed with a question. How many men have they sent? How did you find me?
    She experienced brief resistance, but then the answer came. They had followed her GPS unit. After a little more probing, she garnered the location of her tracking chip. She wouldn’t be able to remove it on her own, but that was another problem for when she and Seth were safe.
    She pressed Tweedle Dumber to aim his weapon at his nearest companion. That’s it, pull the trigger. Pull the trigger, pull the trigger. You’ll be happier when you pull the trigger. She held her breath, waiting to see if the suggestion took root. This batch of Trackers was not as dumb as the usual lot. They had stronger wills. When the gun fired, a brief ppphft filled the air then the man in the middle collapsed.
    Two down, two more to go. Knowing her brother, Cassie assumed they weren’t armed with bullets. Peter wanted her back, not dead. Maybe stun guns, more probably Nisulin bullets. If those overgrown meatheads had real bullets, then they were meant for Seth. She shivered. One person already risked their life for her. She wouldn’t put Seth in the same predicament. No one was going to die today.
    Seth groaned next to her. “Cassie.” He breathed heavily. “My arm is burning. What the hell did they shoot me with?”
    She didn't take her eyes off her targets. She preferred not to kill them if given the choice. But she couldn’t control both of them. Not with her energy so low. “I wish I knew. Just help me and I'll get you safe.”
    Tweedle Dumber shook of her control and howled when he tripped over the hulking body at his feet. Rage contorting his face, he spun and shot in their direction again. This time, Seth ducked.
    “Promise me you'll tell me what you did to piss them off so much when we get out of this.”
    “I'll think about it.”
    The men would be at the car in another twenty feet. Seth had their only weapon. She would have