Ashe found herself wanting to smile in spite of everything. You little hussy. I can’t believe that’s what you’re thinking about. I killed one, and Temnyy killed the other.
We killed one and Temnyy killed the other, but there are more.
Ashe went still, her eyes flying open. More? In the house? How many more?
Several. Godiva was complacent about it while Ashe was panicking.
Ashe thought quickly, trying to figure out how she could put the question to her leopard without confusing her. You know all the men who work with Timur. Not counting their leopards, are there others in the house that are strangers to us?
That was a long concept for her cat. She had always communicated with her with the hopes she had a leopard, although those communications had been one-sided until recently when her leopard had begun to start into her heat cycle that corresponded with Ashe’s.
Three. One is very close to us. Two are a distance away. They started to come to us when I emerged, but there were too many between us.
How can you know that? Can you smell them? Why wouldn’t the scent-blocker work on the female as it did the males? That made no sense.
No. It isn’t that.
Godiva gave no more information. Ashe scrubbed fast and then stepped out of the shower, finding a towel and quickly drying off. She smeared an antibiotic cream on the shallow rake marks on her thigh, her eyes on the door.
Timur wasn’t back, and that worried her. He wasn’t a man to leave his woman alone too long in a dangerous situation. Her gaze dropped to the gun on the sink where Timur had put it. There were droplets of blood on it.
She wrapped the towel securely around her and then picked up the gun and went to look for her man. She padded barefoot down the hall and immediately heard voices.
“Take me to him or you’re dead and so is your little play toy. Of course, before she dies, we’re going to have fun with her.”
She peeked into the room. A naked man stood with a gun pointed at Timur’s head. She didn’t want to chance a shot. If she missed the kill shot, he would certainly pull the trigger and even if she didn’t miss, he might still pull the trigger in reflex. So no shooting him.
She leaned against the wall, just beside the door and took off her towel. She put it just in front of the gun in her hand, as if she was walking in, drying herself off. If he turned toward her, just for a moment, she would take the shot. If not, hopefully her naked body would make the man react the way the leopard had. She only needed a split second of distraction. Timur would do the rest.
She took a deep breath and stepped fully into the doorway. “Timur …” She allowed her voice to trail off.
The gunman turned toward her just slightly, his gaze taking in her naked body. She froze, trying to look stunned that Timur wasn’t alone.
Timur spun, slamming his palm into the barrel of the gun, so that it went straight up. He locked the arm and wrist so it would be impossible for the gunman to fire. Timur stripped the gun from him and stepped back.
Ashe didn’t hesitate or call out. She simply took aim and shot the gunman. Three times. She couldn’t stop pulling the trigger until she’d gotten off those other two shots. The sound was loud and she hadn’t missed. Timur had also fired, using the man’s own weapon. He only fired once but he didn’t miss either. The gunman crumpled to the floor.
“Godiva says there are at least two others in the house,” Ashe announced as if she hadn’t just killed another human being.
Timur nodded. “Kye and Rodion are on them. The others are sweeping the house room by room.” He indicated her clothes.
They were too near the dead man and the bodies of the two leopards, but she refused to act horrified in front of Timur. She forced her reluctant body to move, delicately skirting around the pools of blood.
“This isn’t going to be easy to clean,” she pointed out as she picked up her jeans and T-shirt. It was obvious that Timur had gotten to them first and inspected them for bloodstains. They were still partially folded. She slipped into them.
“You did good, Ashe,” he praised.
“Why are they here? Why so many? Do you think my grandfather sent all these men after me? That would be just plain ridiculous.”
He shook his head. He’d been caught by the gunman as he’d been pulling on his jeans, and now he did them the rest of the way up. “No, babe. These men were sent specifically after my brother and me. Gorya, Mitya and Sevastyan are at risk as well. They probably have orders to kill Kyanite and Rodion too. The two outside, I have no idea where they came from, but these in the house are from our lair in Russia, Ashe. Anyone coming with us, or helping to hide our trail from my uncles, will be on that hit list.”