And she had. Taryn couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen the truth before now. Was Payton that good of a liar? Or was Taryn simply that blind? That was something she’d have to debate later. Right now, she was more concerned with getting out with her life. And given the way Payton looked at her, Taryn wasn’t sure that would happen. Not to mention, she had no way of alerting Jace to the fact that things had changed. All she could hope for was that they witnessed what was going on.
Payton held out a hand to Boyd, who put a pistol in it. Her sister then turned and pointed the gun at Taryn’s head.
Taryn stared into her sister’s psychopathic eyes and lifted her chin. “You must hate me a great deal to want to kill me.”
“You’ve given me no choice. I know Jace and his buddies. They’ll be here soon for you. When they arrive, all they’ll find is your body. But don’t worry, I’ve got a trap set for them. They’ll be framed for your murder. You’ll be dead, Jace and his friends will be in jail, and Boyd and I will get away to continue building our empire.”
Boyd gazed adoringly at Payton. “No one can come up with a plan like my beautiful girl.”
Taryn smiled then. She struggled not to laugh as a calmness washed over her. Now she understood why Jace had told her to go over the plans again and again. She had forgotten them for a moment, but they filled her mind once more, and she couldn’t help but grin.
Because if there was one thing she could depend on, it was Jace.
Payton’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. “What’s so funny?”
“The fact that you think you’ve thought of everything.”
“I have,” Payton stated.
Taryn shook her head. “Hate to break it to you, but you haven’t.”
Boyd’s smile disappeared as he moved to stand beside Payton. He glared at Taryn. “Tell us what you mean.”
She shrugged and wiggled her fingers, a sign to Jace and the others that it was time. Taryn then slapped Payton’s hand away at the same time she leaned to the side. The gun went off, the sound deafening Taryn in one ear. Gunshots erupted from the guards next to Boyd as he grabbed Payton and tried to pull her to him.
Taryn held a hand to her ear and started turning away just as Payton pulled the trigger again. Taryn jerked in surprise, and a bellow of pain ripped from her when the bullet entered her shoulder.
Chapter 27
The moment Jace saw that Payton wasn’t a prisoner, he notified the others that he was shifting positions. He rushed down the stairs to the bottom floor in an effort to get closer to Taryn. His heart hammered erratically in his chest because he knew that things were about to hit the fan.
They had imagined all sorts of scenarios, but the one option they hadn’t taken into consideration was that Payton was working with Boyd. And while none of them could hear what was said between Taryn, Boyd, and Payton, Jace saw the surprise and wrath on Taryn’s face through his scope, as well as Payton cuddling up to Boyd. That’s all he needed to realize what was going on.
He reached the window and looked through the scope to find Payton with a gun trained on Taryn. He saw Taryn wiggle her fingers, but Jace couldn’t get a clean shot at Payton from his current position. He pressed the button on his COMs and told the others, “Shoot Payton!”
Before he could finish the sentence, Payton’s gun went off. Jace’s heart stopped. “Noooooo!” he bellowed and began shooting the guards near Taryn.
When he saw Taryn go down to one knee, Jace lowered his gun and ran to the exit. He kicked it open and lifted the rifle to his shoulder once more. Men poured out from everywhere as gunfire erupted from all angles. He aimed at Payton, but before he could get off a shot, the unmistakable sound of a sniper rifle sounded, and the bullet hit Payton center mass. She went down instantly.
Jace had no idea who or where the shooter was or why they had shot Payton, but he was glad for it. He took out two more guards as he made his way to Taryn. When Jace had nearly reached her, he found Boyd in his scope, right as the bastard rushed into a building. Immediately behind Boyd was the tall, black-haired man who had stood beside Boyd. Except this time, he had a knife in hand.
Another loud crack sounded just as Jace turned to find a guard getting ready to fire at him. The guard’s head snapped back with the force of the sniper round before he slumped to the ground. In Jace’s ear, he heard the other members of the team asking who the sniper was. No one had spotted the shooter yet.
It felt like an eternity before Jace got to Taryn. He saw the blood as it soaked her shirt and ran down her arm. When she spotted him, tears filled her eyes. Jace grabbed her good arm and helped her to her feet, moving her next to the vehicle to help shield them from oncoming bullets.
“You’re clear, Jace!” Brice shouted over the COMs. “Come toward us.”
Jace caught Taryn’s gaze. “We’ve got to make a run for it. Can you do it?”
“Yes,” she said as she held her wounded arm against her body.
Jace checked to make sure all was good, then gave her a nod. They took off toward the warehouse. Jace fired two shots when a guard stepped in front of him. The same man was hit three more times, his body jerking with each strike of the bullets. Jace jumped over the guard’s prone body on the way to the building.
The moment he had Taryn inside, he motioned for her to get behind a stack of crates to take cover from the bullets flying at them. Jace used a broken window near him to sight in targets and fire. Then, as quickly as it had started, the battle was finished. The sound of sirens filled the air when the gunfire ceased.
“Time to leave,” Cooper said over the COMs.
Jace took one last look around to make sure no more of Boyd’s men were moving. Many were dead on the ground, but a few had run off when they realized that they were losing. Unfortunately, Boyd was also gone. Jace spun and went to Taryn to check on her wound.
She sat with her back against the crates, holding her arm tightly against her side with her eyes closed. When he kneeled beside her, her lids lifted, and her beautiful green eyes met his. She smiled despite the pain that was evident in her shallow breathing.
“You did good,” he told her.
She licked her lips and shook her head. “You’re being kind.”
Myles came up beside him then. He nodded at Taryn. “I’m Myles.”
“He’s a friend,” Jace told her. “And a hell of a good medic.”
It killed Jace to see Taryn wince when Myles examined her shoulder. Jace knew how lucky she was to be alive. If she hadn’t pushed the gun Payton held at her away, if Taryn hadn’t turned and tried to leave, things could be much, much worse.
“I don’t think the bullet hit the bone. I can’t be sure, though, until we get to a hospital,” Myles told them.
Caleb walked up with Brice then. “We’re not going to get that chance if we don’t bug out of here now.”
“Go,” Jace told them. “Meet up with Cooper and Cash and get out of here.”
There was a loud snort as Cooper and Cash walked into the room. “Like we’d do that.”
“There’s no need for everyone to go to jail,” Taryn said. Her gaze landed on Jace. “Leave. All of you.”
Jace shot her a smile. “I’m not going anywhere.”