Page 91 of Swerve (Boosted Hearts 1)

The door opened and the driver of the black car walked out . . . Harry was with him. He was stumbling, his face was messed up, and there was blood dripping from his nose.

The other guy opened the trunk and shoved Harry in and slammed it shut. Then he straightened his jacket and walked back inside.

Holy fuck!

I had to do something, now. If they left with Harry, I knew I’d never see him again. It didn’t take genius to work out what happened next.

Panic surged inside me, but I fought it back down. Harry needed me; there was no time for anything or anyone else.

I stared at the building across the street. The light was still on, and I hoped like fuck that meant they were hanging around in there for a little longer.

With one last glance down either side of the street, I ducked low and sprinted over. “I’m gonna get you out, Harry.”

No one was coming yet. My adrenaline shot higher as I pulled the lock picks from my wallet and started working on the trunk, a skill Neco had taught me the second time Valery went away for a week and locked me out of the house. Blood was pumping so hard though my veins, it roared through my ears. It seemed to take forever before I heard the click and release of the lock. I yanked the trunk open and Harry squinted up at me, eyes already swelling shut.

“Thank fuck,” he muttered.

“Quick,” I whispered and grabbed his arm, helping him out. “We need to get the hell out of here . . .”

Someone grabbed me from behind, yanking me back roughly, and at the same time, raised their arm and fired off a shot. Harry went down, hitting the ground hard. I twisted, coming face to face with the driver of the black car.

He stared down at me, gun held up, pointed at me . . . then something moved across his face. Recognition? He grinned, wide. “Well, look who we have here? Nice of you to make things easy on us.”

The last time I was attacked, I froze, all my training forgotten. Not this time. This time I was prepared. The guy was big, but not bigger than Zeke. I knew I could take him, or at least get away from him. I moved quickly, lifting both arms, one hand going behind his wrist, the other grabbing the gun. I wrenched it out to the side, twisting his wrist back hard. He grunted in pain and the gun clattered to the ground.

He lunged at me, yanking me into him and I dropped to my knees instantly. He wasn’t expecting it and lost his hold on me. I spun low, kicking his legs out from under him, and he hit the ground hard, head cracking against the asphalt. In my peripheral, I saw Harry struggling to get up as I sprang to my feet and brought the heel of my foot down hard on the asshole’s balls. He screamed.

The sound of pounding feet penetrated my brain next and I jerked my head up, pulling my own gun from the back of my jeans as I stood over Harry and aimed into the darkness. “Come any closer and I’ll shoot.”

“It’s us.”

Van.

Then the guys from the agency were suddenly there, surrounding us. I lowered my weapon.

A bang, like a door slamming, echoed through the night. It sounded like it came from the rear of the building. Jude sprinted past me, tearing down the side of the building toward the noise.

I crouched down. Blood oozed from Harry’s shoulder. “Jesus, are you okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

I helped him to his feet, and he rested against the car as I yanked off my jacket and applied pressure to the wound.

Zeke looked up at me from his position on the ground. He had my attacker on his stomach, securing a set of cuffs.

“Jesus, Ruby,” he muttered, that Southern drawl stronger than I’d ever heard it. He shook his head. “You did good.”

Pride filled me, even as my nerves increased. I knew I’d have a lot of explaining to do, and I knew no one was going to like what I had to say. They were working this case and I withheld information from them.

“How did you know we were here?” I asked.

“Didn’t,” he said. “Had a tip-off about the meeting tonight. I’m guessing we weren’t the only ones.”

Jude appeared from around the side of the building and shook his head. “Nothing. They got away. We’ll do a sweep of the building. I’ll call Connor.”

Connor was Jude’s contact in the police force. Thank God. Relief washed through me. That’s exactly what I wanted, to protect Neco from himself. If I hadn’t been here, if Neco had been the one to find these guys, things would have ended differently. The guy on the ground wouldn’t be wearing cuffs; he’d be wearing a body bag. I refused to let Neco carry that around.

Van dipped his head in agreement. “They need to be in on this. And we need to get Harry to the hospital.”