Passing His Guard

Aiden staggered to his feet, but her relief was short-lived. The next three punches were a crippling combination of body shots—two in the ribs and one in the gut, each blow sending him stumbling back. “No . . .” she screamed, her throat raw, voice cracking. Aiden must have heard her because he glanced up, giving her a chance to survey the damage. There was a large gash over his left brow, blood ru

Their eyes co

His top lip curled in the faintest hint of a smile.

Wham! The fighter dealt Aiden a blow that dropped him to his knees. An arch of blood splattered across the mat. Time stopped, temporarily suspended by her horror as Aiden toppled forward. “Noooo!” she screamed, leaping to her feet, fighting to get out of Moralli’s grasp. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Aiden’s opponent drop on top of him, raining down brutal punishing blows. She struggled and flailed to break free. She had to get to him, she had to stop this. Movement to the left caught her eye and suddenly Nikko was behind them. He lunged for Moralli, who must have seen him, too, because he let go of her to fend off the attack.

“Run, Rya

He didn’t have to tell her twice. Rya

“Stop!” she screamed, ru

When neither of them responded, she acted in thoughtless desperation and threw herself on the fighter’s back. Slipping her arm beneath his neck like she’d seen fighters do during countless YouTube videos, she yanked back with all her might. But the move wasn’t as effective for her as it was for the fighters on TV. She wasn’t sure if Aiden was conscious. God, she wasn’t sure if he was even breathing! What if she was too late?

“Stop!” she screamed again, pummeling the fighter with her fists. His momentary surprise swiftly turned to anger. The growl curdling in his throat sounded more animal than man as he turned and swung his arm around, knocking her off his back. He was stronger than she’d realized. And when the fighter’s fist co

Rya

It took a moment for the spots dotting her vision to clear, but when they did, she couldn’t believe the sheer impossibility of what she was seeing. Aiden had the fighter pi

The man beneath him wasn’t moving. He’d gone flaccid several punches ago, but Aiden showed no signs of stopping. The bloodthirsty crowd went wild, cheering and screaming for Aiden to finish him, and she had no doubt that was exactly what he intended to do. She couldn’t let him do it. She knew him too well, knew if he killed this man, it would haunt him the rest of his life. Aiden wasn’t his father. He wasn’t a vengeful, heartless monster. He wasn’t a killer.

“Aiden . . .” she called for him, wincing when the movement made the pain knifing into her head worse. She must have been hit harder than she realized. Rya

Aiden called her name, followed by a foul curse. He sounded a million miles away, his voice tight with urgency. But she was too dizzy to answer him, nausea churning in her gut. A moment later, a strong pair of arms slipped beneath her, lifting her up and cradling her against a wall of solid muscle. She could feel the thunder of his heartbeat against her shoulder. Through the scent of clean male sweat, Rya

“Rya

Just as she was drifting off, a loud bang resonated inside her head, followed by the pounding of footsteps and a voice calling out, “This is the FBI! Nobody move!”

CHAPTER

44

Rya

“You’re awake.”

Aiden’s deep, husky voice was like a soothing balm over the throbbing in her head. Lord, he was a blessed sight. Aside from a line of sutures above his left brow and a few bruises, he didn’t seem much the worse for wear. She wished she could say the same for herself.

“Where am I?” she croaked, her throat dry and raspy.

“The penthouse. You took a bad blow to the head. You’ve been in and out for a couple of days. I don’t know if you remember . . .”

“A little bit, but not very much. It’s mostly a blur.”

He nodded and reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “The doctors said you have a bad concussion. It might be a while before—”

“Hey, Aiden, my cab is here. Tell Gingersnap I said—oh, hey, you’re awake.” Nikko popped his head in the doorway. Finding her conscious, he stepped inside. The strap of his CFA duffel was slung over his muscular shoulder, the overstuffed bag resting against his hip.