Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Redemption for Misty (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Pierce Securities Book 5) by Anne Conley Page B

Andrew’s voice carried through the kitchen, and Chris answered him with a yell. He guessed that answered the question about what was happening in the kitchen.
    Crash came barreling in the seating area, panic all over his face. “I heard you had a bomb on your door they haven’t gotten to yet. Why the fuck are you still here?” He looked at the scene before him, and Chris saw the minute dawning struck. “Saul? You’re part of this?”
    Saul nodded, his chin held high, eyes defiant. Crash’s eyes went from Saul to Misty to Chris before striding over to Saul and grabbing the front of his collar.
    “You son of a bitch,” Crash seethed.
    Chris knew what was going to happen. “Can you disarm him before you clock him? He’s got weapons all over him.”
    But apparently Saul didn’t know how to use them, if the fact he made no move to stop Crash was any indication. Or maybe he knew he was totally defeated.
    Holding one of his own guns on him, Crash doubled Chris’s cover. “Police are on their way. Ghost took care of the guy in the kitchen. He won’t be holding anyone else hostage. How long have you been here?” As if it were a normal day and they had this conversation all the time. Chris rolled his eyes.
    Saul had gone pale at the mention of his buddy being incapacitated, and Chris was sure he was wondering if he was dead. Chris didn’t care much.
    “Andrew, I need to tell you something,” Misty interrupted. Chris was still holding her around the waist, unwilling to let her go as he kept the Uzi trained on Saul. “I love him, too. I didn’t say it back because he caught me off guard, but I wanted to thank you for choosing Chris to take care of me. He’s been amazing, and I’m looking forward to a lot of time in our future.”
    Andrew grimaced. “Now really isn’t the time, Misty.”
    “I know, but I wanted you to know, since you have a gun in your hand. I don’t want you doing anything stupid.”
    “I’m not pointing the fucking gun at your god-damned boyfriend , Misty. Chill.” Crash’s words were gritted out of teeth clamped shut. It was like his jaw was wired closed, and Chris grinned at him, taking Misty’s lead. The cops had come to take care of Saul, so there wasn’t anyone to cover anymore.
    Pressing her closer, Chris grinned at Crash, who was staring at both of them. “I betrayed your trust. But I still love you, too, man. You’re my brother. And she’s my girl. It’s actually kind of perfect when you think about it. Not that this is a great time to be thinking about it…” But he did. As a bevy of police officers took Saul out in handcuffs and cataloged all the guns he had in his coat, it was all Chris could think of.
    Andrew went with them—still on the clock—but before he left, he turned to Chris. “Try and take her back to the house, would ya?” His expression softened a bit as he tossed Chris his truck keys. “I still need to talk to you guys, but just keep her safe for now. I don’t know how long this is all going to last.”
    “Will do.” Chris hadn’t let go of Misty since he’d gotten his hands on her. He needed to feel her under his fingers, to make sure she was really here, really okay.
    And he didn’t let go the entire way back to Crash’s truck, where he’d parked it blocks away. They drove home in a heavy silence as their adrenaline bottomed out. He could barely hold his eyes open as he made his way through the traffic, news vans, and police cars to get out of the downtown area. There were roadblocks set up, but Chris managed to talk his way out of them, practically signing over his first born in the process. This was an unprecedented situation, one without protocol, and he was sure he’d be talking to the police, government, and military, explaining what had happened for the rest of the calendar year.
    But right now, he had to get Misty home.
     
    Epilogue :
    One month later…
    “This one?” Misty was biting her bottom lip as she thought, and it was sexy