Page 139 of Last Chance

“I have orders to stop you from taking the woman. The person who gave the orders will be seriously ticked off if I fail. I don’t want to face his wrath. If you’re smart, you won’t either.”

“He’s not my problem, but you are. You’ll be dead in two seconds if you don’t get out of my way. When I shoot, I don’t miss. Move.”

Weapon up, Sawyer moved into sight. “I don’t think so, Reyes.”

Reyes dragged Janie in front of his chest as a human shield and pressed the barrel of his weapon to Janie’s temple. “You. I should have known. How did you find us?”

“Drop your weapon, Reyes.” He didn’t dare let himself look at Janie. A distraction could be the death of them all. “Now.”

“She’s mine. Diego gave her to me. I leave with her now or she dies.”

“I don’t like those options.” Janie was wheezing. Reyes was holding her too tight, choking her. “Baby, turn your head to the right.”

“You talk to me,” Reyes snapped. “I own her. I speak for her.”

Janie turned her head, and the wheezing subsided. She slid her hand into the pocket of her hoodie. What was she doing?

Afraid to give away her movements, Sawyer kept his expression neutral as his woman pulled out the knife she’d taken from his pocket. What was she planning? Whatever it was, he needed to provide a distraction to cover her movements.

He took two steps forward. “You’re not leaving here, Reyes. This is your last chance to come out of this alive. I’m not letting you leave with her. You’ll have to go through me to take Janie.”

An ugly smile curved the other man’s mouth. Reyes did exactly what Sawyer wanted him to do. He moved the barrel of the pistol from Janie’s head, pointed it at Sawyer, and fired.

The impact of the bullet sent Sawyer sprawling on the ground. He sucked in a breath. Oh, man. That was going to leave a bruise. Thank God for bullet-resistant vests.

“No!” Janie pressed the button to release the blade and slammed the steel to the hilt in Reyes’s thigh.

Reyes screamed and reached down to yank the blade from his body.

Janie dropped to the ground and rolled away from her captor.

Reyes cursed, aimed his weapon at Sawyer again. “Get back here or I’ll shoot him a second time.”

Teagan threw her knife at the other man, her aim true. A split second later, another blade buried itself in Reyes’s other thigh. He screamed again, clutching the hilt of the second knife.

Ignoring the pain in his chest, Sawyer scrambled to his feet and covered the distance between him and Reyes at a dead run and tackled him. Two rabbit punches to the gut and one right cross, and Reyes was out.

Sawyer wasn’t finished punishing the man who had taken Janie from him. He continued to pummel Lorenzo Reyes until his face was a pulpy mess. He wanted to kill the man who had hurt the woman he loved.

A small hand clamped on his shoulder. “Sawyer, I’ve got him,” Teagan said. “Ease up. He’s not worth the cost you’ll pay if you kill him. Go check on Janie.”

Janie. Sawyer shook his head to clear the tunnel vision, leaped to his feet, and raced to Janie’s side. She was still sprawled on the ground. Was she hurt worse than he thought? He couldn’t look at her when Reyes used her as a human shield. Sawyer knew himself well. If he’d seen Janie’s injuries, he would have lost his focus.

Gently, he moved Janie to her back and froze when he finally saw her bruised and swollen face and the split lip. “Oh, baby.”

Fury boiled up inside Sawyer. He turned his head to glare over his shoulder at the culprit and started to climb to his feet. Lorenzo Reyes was a dead man.

“Sawyer!” Tears trailed from Janie’s eyes. “You’re alive. I thought Lorenzo had killed you.”

“I’m wearing a vest.” He kissed her forehead and again shifted his focus to the man who hurt Janie. “Give me a minute. I’m not finished with Reyes.”

A soft hand clamped over his wrist. “No. Stay with me,” Janie murmured.

His gaze swung back to the woman he needed more than his next breath. “He hurt you. No one hurts you and gets away with it.”

She smiled slightly and winced as her lip bled more heavily. “I think you hurt him worse than he did me. Stay with me, love.”

He settled by her side again. “I reserve the right to revisit the plan to make him pay. He’s earned it.”