“Run, Ellie,” he gritted out.
“Michael.” Her voice sounded like a prayer, breathless and desperate. She was standing just a few feet away, frozen, but the sound of his voice seemed to spur her into action. “I’m not going anywhere without you. I’m not leaving you again.”
In her voice, he heard determination, but he heard something else. Something he couldn’t begin to interpret.
Aidan was flailing beneath him, the lettuce scattering across the floor as he maneuvered out from under Michael then grabbed at his arm. Michael twisted until his arm was free, but Aidan’s elbow landed on his side where the bullet had hit him. Michael howled in pain.
“No!” yelled Ellie as she brought the frying pan down on Aidan’s knee.
The man barked out a curse, and Ellie hit him again. She whacked him on the other knee, and the elbow, until Aidan rolled away. Michael scrambled up out of Aidan’s grip, but as he turned around, Aidan had already pulled out his gun.
“Leave,” he said, swinging the gun in the direction of the kitchen staff.
They fled, and Aidan turned back to Michael.
“Last time I made the mistake of leaving you to die,” he hissed, low enough that Michael could barely hear him. “This time I won’t make the same mistake. All those people outside the door think I’m protecting them from Elizabeth. Everyone saw you chasing me in here, so I’ll call it self-defense.”
Michael crouched against the shelves, the cold metal at his back. He knew Aidan wouldn’t hesitate to shoot; the man had already thought through how to cover his tracks. It didn’t matter whether the law was behind Aidan or not if Michael didn’t live.
Michael looked up at Ellie, just a few steps away. Her face was clouded in fear.
Aidan shook his head, catching his attention. “You know I can get away with this.”
FOURTEEN
Ellie’s breath had been stuck in her throat from the moment she had seen the blood on the shirt peeking out from the bottom of Michael’s jacket. Aidan’s shot in the forest had found Michael, but somehow, Michael had found his way back to her. There was no way she was going to let him get shot again.
“Don’t you dare,” she said as she stepped in front of the gun, holding the frying pan in front of her like a shield.
Aidan looked up at her in surprise just as she swung the pan at his hand. The gun went off, and Ellie’s heart stopped. There was a splintering crash and then shards of glass rained down. The light above her had shattered. Shrieks came through the dining room doors, but no one entered. The shock on Aidan’s face turned to anger and, to Ellie’s horror, she saw that he was still holding the gun. And now he was pointing it at her.
Ellie closed her eyes and drew in a breath as a calm spread through her. If this was what God wanted, she could face it. Please let Michael survive.
But a thud behind her startled her out of her prayer. She opened her eyes to see the kitchen doors fling open. A man in a suit ran through them, with two security guards behind him.
“These people are attacking me,” said Aidan.
Ellie opened her mouth to protest, but the man in a suit spoke first.
“Sir, put down the gun.”
The scrape of chairs, thud of boots against the floors and low, urgent murmurs came from the dining room. From behind her on the kitchen floor, she heard Michael blow out a breath. “Aman. Thank God.”
Aman. The friend Michael had mentioned when they were back at the fire tower. Somehow, he had found them.
Aidan looked over his shoulder at the man in the suit, to the security guards, pointing their weapons at him, then back at Michael. Understanding registered in his expression. It wasn’t going to work this time. “This is a misunderstanding. I want to talk to my lawyer.”
One of the security guards arched her eyebrows. “That’s your right. But right now, you need to hand over your gun.”
Aidan glared at Ellie. She had no idea what he was going to do. Would he shoot her, right here, in front of witnesses? Her heart pounded harder.
Finally, he lowered the gun and muttered, “This isn’t over.”
One of the security guards came quickly to take the gun, and the other reached for his arm.
“You can’t arrest me,” he growled.
“You’re on private property,” said the woman. “We have the right to detain you until the police show up.”
“We’ll see how that goes,” Aidan said. He smiled at Ellie as he was led away.
She could see he was already calculating how to manipulate the situation. But for right now, they were safe, so she focused on that and turned around to face Michael.
The man with the suit was kneeling down beside Michael, the man he had called Aman.
“You’ve been shot,” he said. “I’m coordinating with our medical team. The moment Natanya, our concierge, said your name and that you were bleeding...” Aman shook his head, like he had no idea how to complete that sentence.
“It’s really good to see you,” Michael croaked. His smile was weak, but there were traces of humor in his voice. “You’re looking great.”
“You aren’t,” said Aman. “This is a heck of a way to say hello after three years.”
“I’ve had quite a day.”
Aman blew out a breath. “Are you going to make it here for a few minutes?”
“I’d like to think so.”
“I’m going to talk to the medical team,” Aman said then disappeared, leaving Ellie alone with Michael. She knelt beside him on the floor.
