Page 75 of The Billionaire's Angel

“No,” he said again. “I swore to you I would keep you safe fromhim.”

“I'll be wearing a bullet proof vest,” I said, looking from Gage to Aiden, who was shaking hishead.

Gage let out a bitter half laugh. “You think a vest is going to do you any good when he shoots you in the head? And forget about armor piercing bullets. A vest is barely safer than nothing at all. No. It's too dangerous,Sophie.”

“He's not going to shoot me,” Isaid.

“You don't know that,” Gage shouted, and Iflinched.

He wasn't angry at me. He was scared. We were all scared. And he liked the idea of me walking into a room with an armed madman about as much as I would like it if he offered to do the same. I took a deep breath and let itout.

“I do know that, Gage. Anthony had guns when we were married. There was always one nearby, but he never once threatened me with a weapon. If he's going to kill me, he'll do it with his hands, not abullet.”

“Sophie, no,” Gage said, his eyes searching my face, anguished andfurious.

“If I can get him to move into the right spot, your guys can shoot him?” I askedCooper.

“Yes,” he confirmed, sending a wary look atGage.

Gage let out a frustrated growl and stepped back, his fists clenched at his side. Without another sound he turned on his heel and stormed out the front door, slamming it so hard it shook in theframe.

Aiden looked at us both. “Sophie, I think this is a shit idea. I'm not going to try to stop youbut—”

“Aiden, we don't have time for this,” Cooper remindedhim.

“I know. Give me a minute with Gage.” He looked to me, then to Cooper. “Get her suited up. I'll get Gage on board, and then we'll go.” He walked out the front door, leaving me alone withCooper.

“For the record,” Cooper said, “I don't like this idea much better than they do. But we need some help to take him down. And if anyone else goes in there, he'll shoot onsight.”

“I can't let him hurt Amelia,” I said. “I can live with a lot, but I can't live withthat.”

“Then let's get to work,” he said, scanning me from head to toe. I wore a long sleeve button-down, jeans, and a pair of white canvas sneakers. “Go change into a sweater. Something thick and loose fitting. Befast.”

I took off down the hall to my room, unbuttoning my shirt as I ran. By the time I got back to the front hall, Aiden and Gage had returned, and Cooper had a long black duffel bag open on the floor. He pulled out a stiff black thing that I guessed was the bulletproof vest and handed it to Gage. “Get this on her. The wire is alreadyattached.”

Without a word Gage crowded me into the corner of the front hall, shielding my body from view with his bigger frame and said, “Pull your arms out of your sleeves, and lift up yoursweater.”

I did as he instructed and stood still, letting him fasten the vest over my shoulders and around my torso with efficient motions that told me he’d done this more thanonce.

I opened my mouth twice to say something. Anything. No words came out. Gage couldn't seem to look atme.

When he was done, he tugged my sweater back into place and turned to join the others. I followed, surprised to hear him say, “I'm taking theshot.”

“Gage, I've got a guy inposition–”

“I'm taking the shot, Cooper. You're not sending her in there and leaving me sitting in a van two blocks away. Fuck that. I'm taking the shot. You don't have a single guy on your team better thanme.”

“You're not a sniper,” Cooperargued.

“You don't need a sniper. You need a guy who can take a shot through a window at medium-range without endangering hostages. What the fuck do you think I've been doing for the last tenyears?”

Cooper lifted his chin in the direction of the stairs and said, “Change out of that rig and grab what you need. The clock is ticking. Meet us in thecar.”

Gage flew up the stairs. I barely had my seatbelt on when he came out the front door and slid into the backseat of Cooper's oversize SUV beside Aiden. He'd changed into a muddy green, long-sleeved T-shirt, khaki cargo pants, and was carrying agun.

Gage didn't say a word as he buckled his own seatbelt. Cooper had me sitting in the front so he could spend the drive giving me instructions, most of which revolved around not getting myselfkilled.

Aiden and Gage sat in the backseat in silence, the weight of their disapproval pressing on me. My chest ached, worse every time Gage refused to meet my eyes in the rearview mirror. I didn’t know if he’d forgive me forthis.