“It’s just going to put him to sleep.” She frowned as they slowed down. He was moving uphill now. “I worry a bit it won’t be enough, though. It’s dosed for a smaller man. He’s much larger than Walter.”
“It will work. Shit. I’m probably going to get my ass kicked first though. Why does everyone I fight have to be so fucking big?” Jake asked.
Charlotte swerved and made a crazy turn. “He’s going down the alley. I think I can get ahead of him.”
She stared at the GPS on the van’s dash. It showed where the small side road led. She made another turn and brought the van to a halt.
Jake hopped out just as Carter sprinted from behind the building line. Jake found a way to avoid a prolonged fight. He simply put a foot out and the big Aussie, who was looking behind him, tripped and hit the ground with a loud thud.
“Bloody hell!”
Penny got out of the van, followed by Charlotte.
Jake jumped on the guy’s back, placing his gun at the base of his neck. “All right now, you massive piece of meat. We’re going to do this nice and easy.”
The Aussie twisted him off with a loud shout and Jake was tossed in the air, hitting the bricks of the building to his left. A groan came out of his mouth, but he was back on his feet in an instant and he never dropped the gun.
“Get the hell out of my way, yank, or use that gun because I’m not going anywhere.” The Aussie was on his feet, bleeding slightly, but shoulders squared and ready to fight. “And get the women out of here. I don’t want to take them down but I will.”
Charlotte stared Penny’s way and nodded.
It was up to her. She palmed the needle, flicking the safety cap off.
Charlotte cleared her throat. “Hey, we just want to talk, Mr. Brody. Candice is in the van.”
She was hiding in the van. Likely crying again.
Carter split his attention between Jake and Charlotte. “I think I’m done jabbering for the day. We’ll find another way.”
She couldn’t let him do that. She steeled herself. She would get one shot.
“We can’t let you go. Please come with us,” Charlotte said.
He turned directly to her and Penny strained to reach him, shoving the needle into the man’s thick neck, pushing the plunger down.
Carter immediately batted his big arm out and Penny went flying the same way Jake had. The air knocked out of her lungs as she brushed the side of the building. She fell to the cobblestones, struggling to breathe.
“Damn it.” Big hands reached down and started to pick her up. She was surprised to open her eyes and find it was Brody Carter and not Jake Dean who tried to help her up even though he had a needle sticking out of his neck.
“Shit-arse job. Hate hurting women.” His eyes glazed and he dropped her hands, hitting the ground with a hard thump.
“You okay?” Jake reached out a hand.
Penny nodded, adrenaline still rushing through her system. She got to her wobbly feet.
“Charlotte, see if you can help me get this guy in the van. We need to get out of here. I can’t imagine Baz isn’t coming this way.”
That was when the first bullet flew down the alley.
Penny looked down the long street and saw Baz there.
“Shit.” Jake returned fire, putting half his body behind a trash bin. “Get him in there or we leave him behind. You’ve got ten seconds before my need to get you to safety takes over and there will be no more discussions or rebellions.”
Gunfire cracked through the air.
Penny wasn’t about to leave the Aussie behind. There had been something about the way he’d tried to help her even after she’d shot him full of tranquilizers that brought out her protective instincts. He hadn’t been like the other one. She couldn’t leave him to die, and that’s what would happen if she let Baz have him. She pulled the needle out of his neck, tossing it away before gripping his wrist. Charlotte took the other one and they started to drag him toward the van.
Sirens began to wail.
“If we all get taken in, who do you think is going to fare better with the cops, Champion?” Jake called out.
There was a frustrated shout and then the beating of shoes against the cobblestones.
Jake left his spot. “Get him in now. We have to go. I have no idea if he’s gone for good or if he’s just picking a better spot. Your men will have my ass if I get you killed.”
Where was Damon? Panic threatened because she couldn’t be sure Baz hadn’t shot him. He’d been perfectly willing to shoot anyone in the church it had seemed. She hefted the Aussie up, helping to roll him into the back of the van.
Charlotte looked down at her phone. “No time for recriminations. Ian wants a pickup. Let’s go. He’s got injured.”
Penny’s heart sank as she hurried to her seat. Candice stared down at the unconscious man and huddled in the back of the van.
Penny tried to hold it together because one way or another, she would need to get through the next few minutes.
Damon’s heart pounded in his chest as he burst out of the church. All around him panicked tourists screamed and yelled for loved ones, but he was looking for one woman. Where was Penelope?
He’d attempted to make his way toward her, but by the time he’d muscled to where she’d been last, she was gone.
Was she hurt? Was she lying somewhere bleeding and wondering where the hell he was?
Simon Weston was suddenly beside him. “Let’s go. Penelope’s been taken to the car. Charlotte’s driving. Both of the women are fine. We need to get down the street so we can avoid the police who should be here any moment.”
She was fine. Relief flooded through him at the thought. And he could see Baz forcing his way through the crowd up ahead. They’d slowed him down, the throng forming a wall that made it hard to get through. As he watched, Brody Carter managed to bust through and started to jog down the street, his head turning back to see who was following him.
“We have to get the man Baz is chasing. He knows where Bennett is.” Without another thought, he took off.
He slipped through the crowd, forcing his way where he needed to. He had seconds before Baz would be through the human wall and then Damon had very little chance of catching him. Even as he picked up his pace, he could already feel his lungs burning.
Baz turned, catching sight of him. A look of pure hatred crossed his face and he pulled his big gun, pointing it straight at Damon.
He moved just in time, rolling to his left.
A man beside him fell, the bullet that had been meant for Damon taking his life.
The crowd scattered and Damon was on his feet again. He couldn’t stop, couldn’t consider the man who had fallen. Baz had done that. Not him. It was up to Damon to bring Baz down, but he couldn’t do it from where he was standing. Fredrikinkatu Street was full of terrorized tourists, and the wail of sirens could be heard in the distance. If he took a shot, he might hit one of them. Too much chaos. It aided Baz.
He could see down the long length of the road, tall buildings on either side. He forced himself to move, to ignore the pain in his chest. He ran through the small park, past the tiny store they’d visited earlier. His feet beat against the cobblestones as the uneven ground threatened his every step.
Baz turned again, firing back. Damon whirled, his head spinning as he felt a burning sensation sizzle along his left bicep.
The road was sloping up now. He had to work harder. Run faster. Push himself. He had to.
He couldn’t stop. He had to get that fucker. Penelope would never be safe as long as Basil Champion was walking the earth. Somewhere in the back of his head he knew she wasn’t the objective. Protecting her wasn’t what he was being paid to do but somehow she’d become his mission. When everything else was stripped away, when he couldn’t allow his own stupid history to hold sway, when all he could hear was the thundering of his faulty heart, he knew what mattered. Penelope.