Lena's POV
The deadbolt turned slow from the outside, click click click, and my heart stopped beating for three whole seconds. The safe house was dark except for the emergency light over the stove, and Rhys went from exhausted to alert in half a heartbeat, pulling me off his lap and pushing me behind him with his good arm.
He said, "Get in the bedroom, lock the door, do not come out."
I said, "No."
He said, "Lena, now."
The lock clicked open, the door cracked an inch, and a voice I knew came through low and calm.
Marco said, "Boss, it is me, do not shoot."
Rhys sagged where he stood, shoulder bleeding fresh through the bandage, and dropped his gun onto the bed with a thud.
He said, "Jesus, Marco, you almost got your head blown off."
Marco pushed the door open the rest of the way,
