Club Prive Book V by M. S. Parker Read Free Book Online Page B

lie, but the words died before they reached my lips.
    Gavin let out a cry of pain and looked down. Howard smiled up at us as he yanked his knife out of Gavin’s calf, raising it to strike again. I kicked out, knocking Howard away, but he rolled with it this time and came up with his gun in hand.
    “Move!” Gavin grabbed my hand even as I saw Howard raise the gun.
    My legs obeyed before my mind processed what was happening. I let Gavin pull me out the door and we ran down the hall. I heard a muffled sound of a gunshot behind me. The room was soundproofed all right. We headed straight for the stairs. Howard was shouting after us as we disappeared through the door. Fear was sharp and metallic in the back of my throat, and the sound of blood rushing in my ears was almost deafening.
    We ran into the main room and started to cut across. We were less than a third of the way across when Gavin stumbled for the first time. I grabbed his arm, trying to help him.
    “Go,” he said.
    I shook my head. “No.”
    “Dammit,” he swore. “Carrie, please.”
    His leg buckled as we reached the middle of the floor and his foot slid on the blood that had been trailing behind him. Howard’s knife had gone deep. I bent to try to help him up and heard the stairwell door slam open.
    “Go!” Gavin shoved at my hand. He looked up at me, pleading. “Please.”
    A gunshot echoed and I felt the air above me move. Howard was getting closer, and the next shot might not miss. But I couldn’t just leave Gavin to die. An idea – something completely and utterly insane – popped into my head. I stuck my hand in Gavin’s pocket, ignoring his questions and look of complete surprise. I grabbed what I wanted, then turned and ran.
    I hit against the wall, jarring my hands and sending a jolt of pain up my injured thumb. I turned, praying that Howard would wait until he got closer to Gavin to do anything. Gavin pushed himself backwards, but didn’t try to get up. Without him saying a word, I knew it wasn’t because he couldn’t stand, but because he was trying to draw Howard’s attention away from me, giving me time to escape.
    Fuck that.
    “You son of a bitch.” Howard was breathless. He may have had the pretty movie-star face, but he clearly didn’t keep up with his cardio. “How dare you! I gave you everything!” He pointed his gun at Gavin as he moved closer.
    Now Gavin pushed himself to his feet, the look on his face saying that he wasn’t about to let Howard shoot him on the ground.
    Every inch of me was tense as I waited. Just a little more. I heard the click as Howard prepared to fire. No more waiting. I jammed Gavin’s key into the lock, turned it, and hit the button.
    With a soft whirr, the gears beneath the floor began to turn and the floor started to move. I saw surprise flash across Gavin’s face, but his reaction was brief. Howard’s was not. He let out a sound I could only describe as a squawk and nearly tripped over his own feet trying to move away from the widening gap. Gavin didn’t even hesitate. His fist hit Howard square in the jaw, sending the older man reeling backwards. The floor had opened enough that Howard fell into the water beneath with a splash. His gun landed on the floor several feet away.
    I breathed a sigh of relief and ran back out to the floor. I threw my arms around Gavin and pressed my face against his bare chest. I could feel his heartbeat and concentrated on that steady sound. His arms wrapped around me, his hands moving up and down my back, palms hot through his shirt. My body started to respond to his touch. Even after all I’d been through, he could still have that effect on me.
    “Help!” A gurgling cry from the pool pulled our attention from each other to Howard.
    He was thrashing around in the water, going under, then sputtering as he resurfaced. “I can’t swim!”
    “Too bad.” Gavin’s words were hard.
    I looked up at him. I had to admit, part of me wanted to leave him there. If Gavin