Matteo Garza whirled around, dropping the bag that he’d been stuffing full of things from the wall safe. His eyes were wild and crazed. Christina cowered, trying to insert herself between Matteo and the wall, but he was having none of that. He shoved the screaming girl in front of him and wrapped a beefy arm around her neck.
“What do you want?” he demanded hoarsely.
Steele viewed him in disgust. Using the girl as a shield. No man used a woman in such a manner.
“The girl,” Steele said calmly. “We aren’t here to harm you. Let her go and we’ll go in peace.”
Garza’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. Then he glanced at the girl in scorn.
“Did you do this?” he snarled in her ear.
“No!” she squeaked out. “Matteo, I have no idea who this man is. You have to believe me!”
“Her parents sent me,” Steele said. “Now let her go and I’ll be on my way. Or you can refuse to cooperate and I’ll take you apart. Your choice.”
Garza shoved Christina forward and she stumbled, tripping right in front of Steele. In a lightning move, he slung the shoulder harness over his arm so his rifle wouldn’t fall, and then he made a grab for her with his right hand, pain screaming up his arm as his muscles stretched the already torn flesh.
He was careful to keep his pistol trained on Garza as he collected the wriggling, protesting woman against him.
“Let me go!” she shrieked. “I don’t want to go. I’m happy here! Matteo, are you just going to let him take me?”
There was hurt and confusion in her voice. Garza was completely unaffected.
“Take the puta,” Garza bit out. “She’s nothing to me.”
“Liar!” Christina shrieked. “You said you loved me! You said you wanted to be with me forever!”
Steele tightened his hold as the woman went ballistic in his grasp. Damn it. His arm was hurting like a motherfucker and he had no idea of the extent of his injury.
“Dolphin, get your ass up here. Second level. Balcony entrance. Double time,” he barked into the mic.
“On my way,” Dolphin returned.
Steele backed toward the doors, turning so he could see clear to the entrance but also keep Garza in his periphery. When the man started to move, Steele halted and leveled his gun at Garza.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” Steele warned. “I’ve got what I came for. I have no interest in killing you. Don’t give me a reason to change my mind.”
“I care nothing for the puta,” Garza bit out. “But I won’t suffer the insult of you trespassing and killing my men.”
“Do yourself a favor and forget any insult you feel,” Steele clipped out. “Don’t f**k with me or I’ll make you very sorry.”
Garza’s nostrils flared and his eyes glittered with anger and damaged pride.
Dolphin bounded up the stairs and in that moment, Christina kicked back sharply with her spiked heel, catching Steele right in the knee. She turned like a damn wildcat and stabbed at his eyes with her daggerlike fingernails and pitched backward.
Steele was forced to let her go or risk hurting her. As she ran back toward Garza, the dumbass pulled a gun, aiming toward Steele. As Christina whirled around, she saw Dolphin raise his gun and in an even dumber move than Garza’s pulling the gun to begin with, she flung herself in front of Garza right as Dolphin took the shot.
She screamed in pain and Garza was flung against the wall, blood spreading rapidly over his chest. Christina went utterly white and teetered unsteadily before falling into a dead faint. Right at Garza’s feet.
“Fuck a duck,” Dolphin swore. “What the hell did she think she was doing?”
Steele hurried forward, turning the unconscious woman over. His fingers ran up her side and came away with blood. Just a graze. Thank God. Her parents would be pissed if their daughter came home with a bullet hole courtesy of KGI.
Dolphin squatted beside Steele and put his fingers to Garza’s neck.
“Our exit has just been moved up,” he said grimly. “Garza’s dead. Word is he has the local police in his pocket. Shit’s going down all over this place. P.J. and Cole are playing ducks in a row, picking off ass**les left and right. Baker and Renshaw just set explosives by the back wall because we can’t go out the front. We have three minutes until it blows and then we have to get the hell out, boss man.”
“She didn’t want to go,” Steele said, shaking his head. “He didn’t give a shit about her. Tried to use her as a shield.”
“What a dick,” Dolphin said in disgust.
“Yeah and she still tried to take a bullet for him.”
Dolphin glanced at Steele and frowned. “You’re bleeding. What the hell happened?”
“Tangled with a knife,” Steele said shortly. “Get the girl. You’ll have to carry her. I’ll cover you.”
“Well, f**k. We can’t take her home like this. Her parents will shit a brick.”
Steele sighed, knowing they weren’t far from Maren Scofield. Fuck it all, but the last thing he wanted to happen was to schedule an unexpected visit to the blond doctor.
She bugged him. Got under his skin. Hell, it prickled anytime he was near her. Like ants under his skin, crawling from the inside out.
“As soon as we get to the chopper, get on the horn to our pilot,” Steele bit out. “Tell him we’ll be making an unscheduled stop.”
Dolphin slung his rifle over his shoulder, shoved his pistol into his holster and then reached down to carefully pick up the still-unconscious woman.