Page 100 of Love Bomb

Bain couldn’t look away. All he could think was—where were the other guards? As if he’d summoned them, a guy came running from the trees behind the folly.

“What’s going on here?” he shouted as he approached the group.

Dougal held up his hands, while positioning himself between the new guard and Buzz Cut.

“Nothing to worry about,” he said. “Your friend had a seizure and we’re taking him to the clinic.”

“Seizure?” The new guard stepped around Dougal and Margaret jabbed him with her stun gun.

He toppled.

Jean, who was stationed by the car boot, lifted her phone. “This is Wooly Socks. We need a second pick-up.”

“No!” Darach bellowed over the phone. “Red Leader does not sanction any more pick-ups. Or use of stun guns. Is that clear?”

“This is Wooly Socks,” Jean said. “Red Leader is barely out of nappies and can go jump in the loch.”

In the distance, two more guards were running toward the folly.

Bain gave up on stealth. “And there’s the rest of the team,” he said, not bothering to whisper.

“We need to get them before they call for help. The last thing we need is more Benson Security out here,” Conall said lifting his phone. “This is Gaudi One. Two more guards are heading into the folly zone from the direction of MacDonald farm. We need them eliminated before they call for back-up.”

Bain snatched the phone from his brother’s hand.

“Not eliminated,” he corrected, because who knew what these women would do if they were given that order. “Contained. We want them contained.” He handed the phone back to Conall. “You might as well go help them lift the guards into the car,” he said, as it was clear Dougal and the Knit or Die women were going to throw out their backs trying.

“This is Refuge One,” Brenda said through their phones. “We have deployed a distraction.”

As if on cue, a figure appeared in the clearing, coming from the direction of the church. She was moving fast. Bain sucked in a breath. Then his jaw dropped.

“Is that…”

He just stared.

Because Shona, a woman closing in on seventy, was running toward the new guards at a surprising speed.

And she was stark naked.

Everyone within viewing distance stopped and stared, including the two guards heading for the folly.

Shona, meanwhile, screamed, “For Scotland!” and kept on running.

She looked cold.

The guards were just as stunned and confused as the rest of them, which meant Kirsty and Brenda were able to walk right up behind them and stun them.

Bain ran a hand down his face. Lake Benson would have a few words to say to his team after this. Although, judging by their performance tonight, it was clear they weren’t the A-team. Hell, they weren’t even the B-team. But then, guarding a folly from possible attack probably didn’t rate as a job for your best team. Maybe these guys were temps?

A truck drove across the field to Kirsty’s position, and Kade jumped out to help load the guards into the back.

“Is that your truck?” Rona said.

“Aye.” Bain honestly couldn’t have said anything else even if he tried.

“This is Red Leader,” Darach bellowed from several phones, dotted around the field of chaos. “This is not the plan! Do you read me? This is not the plan!”

CHAPTER FORTY