“Target is on scene,” Logan said in his earpiece.
Just as they’d planned. So far, everything was going just according to Sydney and Mercer’s plan.
They’d wanted to pull Slade out of D.C., to make him think that he was safe, that no eyes were on him.
Insects chirped around Gunner, and the swamp behind him stretched for miles.
The place was secluded, all right, and Slade would no doubt think it was the perfect spot for him to approach Sydney.
He’d be wrong.
But I still don’t like this.
No way did he want Sydney alone in the room with his brother. Slade had become twisted, whether from the drugs or something else, and Gunner knew there were no limits to what the man might do.
Gunner wouldn’t feel safe until Sydney was in his arms again.
“I have a visual.” This came from Cale. “Target is leaving the vehicle and approaching the house.”
Now they would see just what secrets Sydney would learn, and just how very far his brother had fallen.
* * *
“WE’RE OKAY,” SYDNEY whispered as she belted her fluffy, terry-cloth robe. The robe was huge, but that was the point, right? To disguise what she was wearing underneath it.
A bulletproof vest.
Gunner had been adamant on that point. He wanted their babies protected. She did, too. She just had to make sure that Slade didn’t see any sign of that vest.
The doorbell pealed. She glanced at the clock. Just a little after midnight. Her hand quickly ran through her hair, tousling it so that it would look as if she’d gotten out of bed. Then she waited a few moments, not wanting to rush to the door too quickly.
The doorbell pealed again.
With quick steps, she made her way to the door. She glanced through the peephole. Saw Slade’s face under her porch light. Her hand flipped the lock and she opened the door. “Slade! What are you doing here?” Sydney thought she did a pretty good job of projecting surprise into her voice.
He smiled at her, the smile that had once made her think he was such a charming guy. The smile she now understood was a lie.
“I couldn’t let you be all by yourself, sweetheart. Not when you were so broken up.” He stepped over the threshold. She eased back, carefully putting distance between them. “You might think everyone has let you down, but I haven’t.”
Yes, you have.
He shut the door behind him, locked it. When he moved, she saw the slight bulge under his jacket. He’d come to comfort her, but he’d also brought a weapon?
He came to kill me.
Her breath felt cold in her lungs. She’d thought that he’d try to keep charming her first. Sydney hadn’t believed that he’d go straight for the kill.
She backed up another few steps. He followed her, falling into line with her picture window. Perfect positioning.
“It’s after midnight,” she told him as she pretended to try to smooth her hair. “You shouldn’t be here now.”
“I needed to see you.” His gaze raked over her robe. He frowned. “And you wanted to see me, or else you wouldn’t have let me in the door.”
Her head moved in a faint nod. “I needed to...I needed to talk with you. About Gunner. I didn’t know that—”
“—he was a monster?” His gaze came back to her face. “Now you do. Now you know you were with the right brother in the beginning.”
The right brother has you in his sights now.