Hot Alphas by Lora Leigh Page B

sounded far too confident. “But he’ll give me far more than money for your life, honey. He’ll give me the identity of the Giovanni heir that he’s hiding. And I know he’s hiding him, because I traced him as far as your stepfather’s home nine years ago before he disappeared.”
    The who?
    â€œWhat the fuck is he talking about?” Turk hissed, reaching behind his hip as though to catch her arm.
    Instead, his fingers curled around the butt of the weapon she’d tucked into the band of his jeans.
    â€œThe hell if I know.” Erin slid back marginally, giving the appearance that Turk was indeed holding on to her.
    â€œYou don’t have to know who he is,” Tyler snapped, anger filling his tone now. “All you have to do is come along quietly. Do so, and I won’t make your boyfriend suffer before I kill his ass.”
    If she was going to die either way, then she’d just die here, with Turk, rather than later. Rather than lying down and grieving for the man who had stolen her heart so effectively that she hadn’t even realized how much of it he owned, she’d just die with him.
    â€œDon’t let them take me,” she whispered under her breath.
    Turk grunted at the almost silent plea.
    â€œWalk away, Tyler, and this won’t have to get messy.” Erin knew him. He used that tone of voice only seconds before dealing with the irrational drunks at the bar.
    â€œBut I do so love leaving a mess.” The cold smile that curled at the other man’s lips was the first indication that he’d run out of patience.
    She felt Turk shift closer to her, his arm bunching, muscles tightening to pull the weapon free when she was suddenly blinded by bright, white light.
    A manacle at her waist lifted her clear off the ground as she felt herself thrown to the side. The blast of gunfire exploded around her as a heavy weight followed her to the grass, crushing her beneath it.
    The scream of tires on blacktop filled the night, screeching through her senses as male screams filled the violent symphony for endless seconds.
    Then, silence filled the air.
    It was so deathly still now that she wondered if time had stopped.
    A curse whispered at her ear then—Turk’s voice—deep with irritation as his hand tightened at her hip before his weight suddenly rolled from her.
    Rolling to her back Erin quickly scanned what she could see of the parking lot only to be blinded once again by the bright lights of a helicopter overhead.
    The steady drone of the helicopter’s motors were almost a distant sound before Turk blocked the light, reaching down for her.
    â€œIt’s over,” he promised her, pulling her to her feet as she placed her hand in his. “They’re dead.”
    â€œWhat the hell happened?” She breathed out, still shocked by the suddenness of it. “God, Turk. What happened?”
    She could see the bodies then. Tyler’s and his two friends’, sprawled out on the blacktop, their bodies twisted or lying at odd angles. There was no way they were still alive.
    â€œThe hell if I know.” He breathed out roughly, pulling her to his side and surveying the scene as well. “I’ll be damned if I know, Erin. But I have no doubt J.D. will figure it out. No doubt at all.”
    At that moment the helicopter landed in the deserted restaurant parking lot beside them as vehicles began pouring into the area. Residents of the apartment building were beginning to creep from the doors and if the black-clad figures erupting from the SUVs that braked to a quick stop were any indication, those residents would never see, nor ever know, exactly what happened.
    â€œTurk. Erin. Let’s go.” One of those black-clad agents neared them, lifting the dark mask he wore to reveal his identity.
    Iron’s eyes were icy cold, his expression hard as he stepped to them. Dressed in dark jeans and jacket, it was obvious he