Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 105825 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105825 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
But it didn’t come straight away. The red dot crawled lower, moving from her chest to her stomach. It stabilized there…
I slammed into her, knocking her to the side. and the sharp crack of a gunshot echoed off the buildings. I heard the bullet hiss past us and bury itself in the wall of the diner.
The team surged down the stairs, their training taking over. I grabbed Lorna and we all took cover behind a parked car.
“On our left!” yelled Gabriel. He already had his gun out and started firing at two men in black combat gear who were advancing down the street towards us.
“Two more on my side!” called Colton. He started firing, too. “We’ve got to move, boss!”
He was right. In a few minutes, they’d easily overrun us. Except as soon as I peeked around the end of the car, another shot rang out, making me pull back. The sniper had us trapped. “We’ve got to find out where he’s shooting from,” said Kian, reading my thoughts.
“Someone’s got to be bait, draw him out,” I said. “I’ll go.”
“No,” said Danny firmly. “Your job’s to stay with her.” He nodded at Lorna.
I shook my head stubbornly. I couldn’t let him put himself in danger for me…for us. I’d gotten them all into this mess, it should be me.
“Let’s be honest,” said Danny. “I can run faster than you anyway, old man.” He turned to go. “I’ll head for that car across the street. You watch for the flash, figure out where he’s firing from.” He took a deep breath, readying himself.
I stopped him with a hand on his arm. Then I squeezed, unable to speak.
Danny put his hand on mine. “I know.”
Then he ran. Out from behind the car. Across the street, dodging left and right—
A shot rang out. My heart stopped beating. But the bullet hit the street a foot to the left of Danny and he kept running.
“Got him,” said Cal. “Roof of the hotel. I can get him from the top of the apartment building. Give me two minutes.” And he set off at a dead sprint.
Danny was almost across the street, now. A few more steps and he’d reach the shelter of a parked car.
Then another shot rang out and Danny flew backwards as if he’d run into an invisible wall. He landed sprawled on his back on the street, a sea of red spreading across his white shirt.
45
JD
“No!” I sprang to my feet and would have run, but Colton and Gabriel muscled me back down behind the car.
Lorna, white-faced, dialed 911. “Ambulance,” she said breathlessly.
I stared at Danny through the car window. He wasn’t moving and his whole chest had turned red. Worse, a dark slick was starting to spread across the asphalt beneath him. “He’s bleeding out!” I yelled, and tried to get up again.
Kian had to help push me back down this time, the Irish thick in his voice. “That’s what the bastard wants, to make you run to him, then he’ll get you, too! We can’t go out there ‘till we kill the sniper.”
Gabriel put his hand on my back. “Cal’ll get him. He’s the best.”
I couldn’t answer. I just crouched there, guts twisting, watching the pool of blood beneath Danny grow and grow.
46
CAL
I crashed through the double doors of the apartment building and sprinted over to the elevator, dodging a bucket in the middle of the tiled floor. I hit the button and stood there primed, ready to slide around the door as soon as it was open wide enough, my thumb ready to punch the button for the top floor. I’d seen Danny get hit and all I could see was that spreading red stain on the front of his shirt. Thirty seconds, I told myself. That’s all it would take for the elevator to get up to the tenth floor. Then I’d find the service stairs up to the roof. One quick shot. Less than a minute, and JD and the others would be free to help Danny.
Five seconds passed. Come on. Come on! Then it sank in that I couldn’t hear any clunking and whirring from the lift descending. I hit the button again and, this time, I noticed that it didn’t light up.
I twisted around and looked at the bucket I’d dodged. Water was dripping into it from a leak in the roof. The place was falling apart.
The elevator doesn’t work.
Fuck.
I bolted for the stairs and started pounding up them.
47
LORNA
“Where the hell is Cal? It’s been more than two minutes!” JD was beside himself, his eyes wild, his voice rough with pain. I put my hand on his arm, but there was nothing I could say. I knew he blamed himself for getting the team into this but it was my fault, they were all risking their lives for me.