Him not blowing up qualified as a small victory because this topic changed his otherwise steady personality white hot. She took that as a positive sign.
With one last glance at the photos on the cell, the pieces came together in her head. “Not that long before you guys crashed in, there were four people here with me. These two plus the one you talked with on the phone and another.”
“How did two get away without any of us seeing them?” Cam asked.
Connor continued to stare at her as he took Cam’s cell out of her hands. “Good question, but we’re talking about people with skills. These aren’t petty thieves. These guys look like professionals and the guy on the phone specifically asked for me.”
Shane blew out a long breath. “The news just keeps getting better.”
Her heart hammered and the thumping of the beat in her ears had her inhaling in an effort to calm down. She didn’t know what would happen next or how they would get out of the cabin, so she said one of the things she absolutely needed to share. “Thank you all for coming.”
“There wasn’t a chance we wouldn’t.” Cam reached over and squeezed her hand. “And not just us. We had to keep the Maryland team from heading out here, too.”
“You’re one of us.” Shane treated her to a wink before looking away again.
Connor moved into her line of sight. “Yes, you are.”
Some of the anxiety pinging around inside of her faded. “Connor, I need you to know—”
He put a finger over her lips. “We have a lot to talk about, and we will because I am done living like this, but all of that has to wait until you’re safe.”
She wanted to spill it all. Tell him how much she still loved him and spell out all of their problems and make him talk through each one with her.
Forget about the presence of his men and the danger. If this was it, if this was how it ended, she wanted him to know she had never stopped loving him and never would. He was hers forever.
But the closed look on his face and slight shake of his head told her this was not the time. Certainly not the place. “Okay.”
He touched her cheek. “Did you recognize the voice or face of the man who talked to me on the phone?”
“No.” And she had tried. She’d turned over every memory and all the bits Connor shared of his life before her.
“Folks.” Holt cleared his throat. “We’re going to have sunrise soon and we have some people to warn.”
“Right” Connor rubbed his hands together. “We need to get word out to your coworkers.”
She knew that cost him something and rested her forehead against his chin to let him know how much it meant. “Thank you.”
A strange red light flashed through the room. She spied a dot and watched it streak along the wall. Connor followed her gaze before his grip tightened.
“Get down!” he yelled as he knocked the chair over and dragged her to the floor with it.
She blinked and he had her on her stomach, wedged under his body with her head against the upturned chair’s wooden seat. The first boom had her lifting up in shock. Before she could say anything or even think, Connor put a hand on her head and pushed her down again.
She could see from their black shoes that Holt and Shane moved around. She heard shuffling off to the side and assumed Cam kept shifting and firing.
“Do not move.” Connor spoke right into her ear. He could have been yelling, but with all the noise crashing and thumping it barely registered as a whisper.
Then the weight against her back lifted. Turning, she watched him sprint toward the broken window he came through earlier. As he got there a bullet clipped the frame and wood splintered right by his face. He ducked but not before a piece clipped his cheek.
She bit back a scream as wood kicked up around her. She sat up and her shoes slipped against the floor as she skidded on her butt, looking for any square foot of the floor not covered by debris.
“Incoming.” Red lights raced over Cam and he ducked. “Jana, tuck in a ball.”
She shook her head as she watched Cam’s mouth move and heard his voice, but the words wouldn’t register. She was about to warn him about the lights when Connor’s body slammed into her. He skidded across the floor almost hitting the far wall. Glass crunched all around her as they slid.
One second he stood a few feet away. The next, he covered her, pressing her down as his body jerked and he grunted in her ear.
As fast as it started, the gunfire broke off again. She peeked over Connor’s shoulder and saw the front door had fallen over and both Holt and Shane were gone. Pieces of wood and shards from the wall and chair littered the floor.
Cam crouched next to her head. “Are you okay?”
She looked up, thinking to reassure him. But his entire focus stayed on Connor.
“What’s going on?” She tried to shift but the weight on her grew heavier and she only made it to her side. The pieces fell together as panic roared through her. “Connor?”
Cam put a hand on her shoulder. “Hold still a second.”
She grabbed at Cam’s hand, clawing in panic from the narrow-eyed concern on his face. “Is he hurt?”
Footsteps thumped on the hard floor as Holt stepped back inside. “We have four down... What’s going on?”
“Help me.” Worry edged Cam’s voice as he caught her hand in his.
Holt dropped to his knees on her other side. “What are you doing?”
“It’s Connor.” Cam cleared his throat. “We need this vest off so I can take a look.”
They wore matching flatlined expressions that had her heartbeat nosediving. She flipped over and moved, trying to get a better look at what was happening behind her.
She shoved at Connor’s shoulder. “Answer me.”
He swore as he rolled onto his side on the floor next to her. “I’m fine.”
He shifted up to his elbow, but Holt pushed him down on his stomach and held him there with a strong hand. The sound of Velcro ripped through the otherwise quiet room as Cam stepped over her and dug his hands underneath Connor’s body.
“You were shot in the back?” The words stuck in her throat as she struggled to breathe.
Cam carefully peeled the vest off and exhaled as he fell back on his butt. “We’re good.”
“Are you sure?” She struggled to sit up and look over the two broad backs in her way. She scanned Connor’s sweat-soaked T-shirt and the good news sunk in. “There’s no blood.”
Cam nodded. “The bullet went into the vest.”
“It held. Always nice when the equipment works.” Holt cuffed Connor on the shoulder then stood up.
Her legs refused to move. Relief hit her hard enough to send her slumping against the floor. “I can’t believe you were shot.”
One of Cam’s eyebrows lifted. “It was either him or you.”
The scene replayed in her mind. Her on the floor. Cam calling out a warning. The bright flash of red light she only now remembered. It cut through the air and then Connor smacked into her. That meant one thing.... He’d risked his life to save her.
If anything had been off, even by a fraction, he’d be dead. The air whooshed right back out of her lungs. “You could have miscalculated and been hit.”
Connor