Lucas surged aside, ducking behind a running chef like he was every bit as panicked. He needed to hide his face if he was gonna stand a chance of getting anywhere near his opponent, and with Jayden down on the floor that should rob the gunman of extra precious seconds trying to figure out which one of these people was his target.

Unless he just shot them all.

There was no way to know which way this was gonna swing until bullets began to fly, so Lucas focused on closing the distance. Hemmed in by the narrow alley they'd escaped into, but with freedom just behind the man with the gun, some people took the seemingly crazy route of running past the gunman to their freedom, while others ran further down the alley.

The gun raised.

Toward Jayden.

Lucas was out of time. He span on a dime and threw himself at the outstretched arm, knocking it aside with his body while he buried his stolen knife into the shooter's gut.

The gun rattled off a barrage of rounds. The sound reverberated around the little alley and deafened Lucas in his left ear.

The knife wasn't the sharpest, and when it met the vest beneath the shirt, it snagged and refused to go any further.

Lucas didn't spare any time on that. He had to adapt, so he released the knife and jabbed the palm of his hand up into the chin of the motorcycle helmet, knocking the gunman's head back sharply.

Because of the helmet, he was going to have to work harder. Its whole purpose was to protect the wearer. It was armor, pure and simple, and the guy's biker leathers were just as protective, even before the addition of a ballistic vest under it. Lucas' number one priority, then, was to disarm his opponent before any of those shots hit a human body.

The gun arm came down. The head came forward.

An outstretched arm was a close combat godsend. Lucas grabbed him by the wrist and turned on the balls of his feet as he twisted the gunman's arm and threw him to the ground. As the helmet made a loud crack against the floor, Lucas continued his movement, and ducked his leg in by the gunman's shoulder.

And then he brought all his strength to bear on bending that captive arm backwards across his thigh.

The grinding and tearing was grotesque. The would-be assassin's screams were muffled by the helmet.

And the SMG fell to the floor.

Lucas swept his other leg around to kick the gun out of reach, then dropped his knee - and his full weight - against the gunman's chest.

Only then did he risk a look around.

Jayden had jammed himself up against a dumpster for cover. Smart move. He was eyeing the gun, but Lucas shook his head, then checked around as his prisoner continued to make desperately pained noises.

The alley was clear, so nobody had been hit. The restaurant's wall had taken some serious damage, but other than that everything seemed okay.

Satisfied, he looked back down and caught sight of the left arm as the guy finally reached for a knife.

"You want that one broken, too?" He said it calmly. "'Cause I will do that for you, if you want."

The assailant hesitated, knife half out of its sheath.

"You know you're not getting out of this. You may as well save one arm, huh?" Lucas reached across to take the knife himself, and threw it over to lay by the gun. "Jayden, call 911."

"You got it," Jayden gasped.

He looked down to the darkened visor and clicked his tongue. "You know, it might be worth bearing in mind that the guy who hired you is filthy rich, and will walk away with his hands clean unless you plea bargain. And I think the DA will want to be able to put that guy away when you talk." He shrugged. "They might even be willing to give you protection. Think it over."

Lucas sat on his guy until the cops arrived. Without an earpiece he had no way to know what was going on inside the restaurant, but no second gunman appeared, so he had to hope that Marcus and Kinkaid had come out of their fight alive too.

It was another round of questioning as they took the gunman away. Except this time Lucas had more data, and he was more than happy to share it with the cops.

So he told them everything. He mentioned their suspicions regarding Covington, and included his additional theory that Tony had been in Covington's pocket the whole time. He talked about the private investigator hot on Covington's tail, and gave the detectives the contact details in case there was evidence there waiting to be collected.

Marcus and Kinkaid were alive, though Kinkaid had taken several bullets to his vest, and they'd been enough to break three ribs. Marcus was just a little bruised, but it meant that Lucas had to wait for a replacement security detail before he could take Jayden home.

Now all they could do was wait.

"It's never going to end," Jayden insisted.

Lucas didn't need to ask for clarification. This had been Jayden's worry all week now, since the attack in the restaurant. He hadn't left his home, hadn't even gone near a window, and if Lucas couldn't fix this fast Jayden ran the risk of becoming a recluse.

He set his phone down and came over to sit by Jayden's side, then drew Jayden into his arms. "It's going to end," he murmured against Jayden's soft hair. "I promise you."

"You can't promise that."

"Yeah." Lucas nodded slightly. "I can."

Jayden didn't ask for more detail, and Lucas wouldn't have given it even if he had.

So when the cops called to say that they'd arrested Covington, Lucas was every bit as relieved as Jayden.

"Putting that PI on this asshole was worth ten times whatever you were paying the guy." Detective Goodman pushed a folder across the table toward Jayden, then she sat back in her chair.

Jayden opened the folder and sifted through it, and Lucas glanced over his shoulder at the contents. Photographs, written observations, printed records. The investigator had been thorough, that was for sure.

"We've got a solid link to our assholes who tried to kill you. We've got the money coming out of Covington's accounts and straight into theirs. We've got phone calls that all line up. Plus, icing on the cake, one of our mooks wants to plea bargain and is willing to flip on Covington." Goodman grinned like a wolf. "We got Doctor Hapsburg, too, and we're gonna put some pressure on him, but I don't doubt he got paid off to lie about your father's autopsy. Covington is going down, Mr. Deus. Thanks to you."

Jayden rubbed his cheek, then nudged his glasses up his nose. "It's all thanks to Lucas," he said softly. "I'd be dead without him."

Goodman met Lucas' eye, and she gave a firm nod. "I don't doubt it. You're willing to testify against these bastards, I assume?"

Lucas smiled to her every bit as wolfishly. "It would be my pleasure, Detective."

It really would.

Life became a whirlwind for a few weeks. The press wanted to interview Jayden non-stop. Paparazzi hung around the building. The front desk had to hire someone to replace Tony, who had been taking fat stacks of cash to call a number whenever Jayden left or returned.

And Alan Duchenne used Covington's arrest to exert pressure on the board at Deus Pharmaceuticals to re-evaluate their decision to fire Jayden.

God, Lucas never wanted to get on Duchenne's bad side, that was for sure. The guy who had been so laid back in Jayden's meetings with him was like a rabid dog the moment he had metaphorical weapons in his hands. He was more than happy to walk right on over to Deus Pharmaceuticals' head office and suggest to the rest of the board - one by one - that they'd all been manipulated as part of Covington's longer-term plan, and within weeks of his visit Jayden had a job offer in his hands.

After that, it got a lot easier to convince Jayden to go outside.

"You're gonna take the job, right?"

Jayden sat by Lucas' side with his legs curled up on the couch, one elbow draped across Lucas' lap. "What if I'm no good at it?"

Lucas laughed at that and leaned in to kiss him softly. "You're ridiculously smart. And if you screw up, you learn from it. This company is yours, Jayden. You've fought for it. You've earned it. And more than that, there are kids out there who are depending on you taking up that offer to save their lives. You can do so much good. I can't even begin to estimate how many lives you're gonna save just by signing a piece of paper. You know what I think?"

"What?" Jayden looked up at him.

"I think you've been fighting so long you've forgotten what it's like to not need to. But don't let a contract fool you. This is gonna be war. You've only won the first battle."

Jayden wetted his lips, and his eyes gleamed. "You think so?"

"I know so. Covington was willing to kill you, but every man on that board betrayed you, and they know their days are gonna be numbered. They know you're gonna start replacing them with people you can trust. You're going to need to pick your battles carefully, offer golden handshakes to whittle them down and start promoting the people who work for you who actually deserve a spot at that table. You can do this. It's just strategy, and once you reach a tipping point you'll have more control over the board." He grinned. "Softly, softly."

Jayden's features lit slowly as Lucas spoke, and then he laughed. "You're right. God, I let Covington scare me so much, didn't I? But you're right. This isn't about them, and it sure as hell isn't about me. This is about every single family they've screwed, every life they risked for profit. Thank you."

Lucas was about to say there was nothing to thank him for, but Jayden's hand went to his groin and his lips were on Lucas' and if that was the way Jayden wanted to express gratitude, who was Lucas to argue?