To Protect His Mate by Serena Pettus Read Free Book Online Page A

strike.
    “Sorry, honey, but they won’t make it in time,” he sneered.
    “They aren’t the only ones on their way.” Stephanie gave him an equally nasty glare while wishing she hadn’t left her gun in her desk drawer. Unfortunately, it was unprofessional—and against policy—to have a firearm in a clinical setting, but damn, she wished she’d broken the rules now. Her brave front was crumbling quickly.
    “You don’t fool me. I know you haven’t called anyone else.” He took a menacing step toward her, and she pulled her phone from her pocket. Hearing the muffled shouts coming over the line, Stephanie smiled and put the call on speaker.
    “You’re dead, you miserable son of a bitch! Do you hear me? They’ll never find your body!” Sarah screeched into the phone while Erik could be heard in the background between Sarah’s threats… Oh shit, it sounded like he was talking on the phone, too.
    “You’ll never make it out of town if you don’t cut your losses and run now,” Stephanie warned, steadily backing down the hall.
    “I’ll be killed if I fail, too, so there’s really no alternative for me now. I might as well do what I came to do and take my chances.”
    He lunged, and she dove quickly to the side, avoiding his sloppy attack. Dashing into her office, she pulled her Ruger from the drawer and took aim on the doorway. Sure enough, he barreled in after her. She took her shot, taking out his knee.
    As he crumpled to the floor with an agonized wail, Stephanie shouted to Francine to get out as she darted past him and out the back door. Sarah was still on the phone, on speaker, and screaming at Stephanie to answer her.
    “I’m all right. I shot out his knee,” Stephanie explained. “He’s down for the count, and I left him in my office. I’m running to my car and heading to Abraham’s house.”
    “Good, we’ll be right behind you.” Sarah relayed what was said to Erik, who then relayed it to whomever he was speaking to. “Erik is on the phone with Abraham and his brothers on a four-way call. They’ll all be there when you arrive.”
    Stephanie groaned. “Oh, this isn’t going to go over well, at all.” She was shaking, running on pure adrenalin, and now that safety was within sight, she realized that she would be merely running into another stressful situation, albeit far less dangerous.
    “He’ll just be happy you’re safe. I’m sure he’ll huff and puff, but you’ve done nothing wrong, so he can just stuff it. If he becomes too much of a bear about it, you can come and stay with us.”
    “Thanks, Sarah.” Stephanie was just exiting the back lot when she spotted the black Lincoln pulling away from the curb. “Shit! I’ve got company.”
    “ What? ”
    “The Lincoln is right behind me.” She was panting now, trying to think of what to do. “I don’t think I can outdrive them on these roads, Sarah.”
    “Just get to Abe’s. Erik will let them know there’s a problem coming. Don’t worry. The boys will take care of your little stalker friends.” The way Sarah said that left no doubt in Stephanie’s mind that the guys would kill these men today. “Both hands on the wheel, Steph. Just put the phone on the seat and leave the speaker on so that we can talk. We need to be able to know you’re all right.”
    “Okay.”
    She’d just left the outskirts of town, going as fast as she dared on the slick roads, when the first blast of gunfire sounded, along with the crack of metal as it struck her car. They were going to kill her. Obviously, the stakes had risen, and she was in a world of trouble now. The man in the office had said he would be dead if he didn’t kill her, so that meant someone wanted her dead pretty bad.
    Another gunshot blast and her back window shattered. “Sarah, I’m taking a lot of damage here,” she called out.
    “To you or the car?” She heard the panic in Sarah’s voice and knew her friend was trying to hold her composure.
    “The car, so far, but