LITMIR.BIZ

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rammed the heel of her right hand into his Adam’s apple. She followed it with a left-handed jab to his mouth. He hissed and staggered back.

      Leigh saw him clearly then. Too clearly. He was most certainly one of the men from the parking lot. There was no expression in his muddy-colored eyes, no emotion on his face. He latched onto her neck and roughly twisted her so her back was against his chest.

      “Quit fighting me,” he warned, shoving the gun even harder to her temple.

      His voice was raspy, apparently from the blow she’d managed to deliver to his throat. That didn’t give her much satisfaction. He towered over her. And he was solid. He could easily kill her with his bare hands. Of course, he wouldn’t have to do something so menial since he had her gun and probably his as well.

      “Let’s do this the right way,” the man yelled across the room to Gabe. “Depending on what you do, I can make this easy for her, or I can make it real slow and ugly.”

      Leigh didn’t care much for those two choices. The man was no doubt talking about how he intended to kill her. “Step out where I can see you, Agent Sanchez,” he ordered.

      She wasn’t sure what Gabe would do. Until she heard the thud of his weapon drop to the floor. He stepped out from behind the post and walked toward them with his hands tucked behind his head.

      God. He was surrendering.

      Her heart started to pound harder. She’d hoped he might be able to save them or at least buy some time so she could figure out what to do. But Gabe hadn’t done that. Instead, he’d surrendered to a man who would probably kill them both before she drew her next breath.

      “Who are you working for?” Gabe asked him.

      “No one who’s willing to bargain with you.”

      “Then how about we bargain? Before you say no, I think you should know the woman you’re holding has plenty of money. I’m sure we can work out some financial arrangements that’d make it profitable for you to let her go.”

      “Save your breath,” the man retorted. “I’ve got no plans to be a rich dead man, and that’s what’ll happen if I cut a deal with the likes of you.”

      Her gaze connected with Gabe’s. There was a slight lift to his right eyebrow. For the first time, she recognized something in his eyes. Exactly what, she couldn’t say, but he was definitely trying to communicate.

      In a move that seemed both in slow motion and at a speed not humanly possible, Gabe’s left hand whipped out from behind his head. He held another gun that he’d hidden. Something small and sleek. The fluorescent light licked the silvery metal and sent a flash across Leigh’s face. Gabe aimed the gun directly at her.

      She had no time to think, no time to react. She briefly, very briefly, considered that Gabe and his gun would be the last things she’d ever see. But what she couldn’t figure out was why he wanted her dead, especially after he had saved her.

      Gabe double-tapped the trigger. The shots cracked like enormous wads of chewing gum. Leigh felt warm spatters of blood on her cheek and waited for the pain or numbness to follow what was certainly a fatal head wound.

      That didn’t happen.

      Instead, the man behind her slumped into a heap, the pistol he’d held against her temple clattering to the floor.

      Her breath shattered, a noise coming from deep within her throat. Leigh’s hands began to shake violently. Still, she kept her attention focused on Gabe, afraid to blink for fear he’d disappear before she could get to him.

      Getting to him, she soon learned, wasn’t even necessary. It seemed he made it to her in one step. She grabbed onto him and held tight.

      Without breaking her grip, Gabe picked up the gun he’d tossed on the floor and placed the smaller one into the slide holster on the back waist of his jeans. He handed Leigh the other weapon that the man had taken from her.

      “There’s no need for you to see that,” he said, referring to the body. He led her toward the door.

      He was right. There was no need for her to see the man. That didn’t stop Leigh from glancing back at the lifeless body and the perfectly centered hole in his head. Gabe had literally shot the man right between the eyes. The other bullet wound was only a fraction of an inch above the first one.

      She pressed her hand to her stomach, hoping she didn’t get sick. “He’s dead?” she asked unnecessarily.

      “He’s dead.”

      “You could have shot me.”

      Gabe slightly rearranged his expression, apparently insulted. “I wouldn’t have missed. Not ever.”

      Leigh prayed she’d never have to test his accuracy again. “Well, thank you. That’s twice you’ve saved my life.”

      “Don’t thank me yet. We’re not out of danger. We have to get away from here first.”

      Leigh silently agreed. One man was dead, but there were at least three others who would probably be willing to do what their comrade had tried.

      Gabe stopped when they reached a large metal door at the end of the room and turned to her. “Here are the rules. Stay behind me at all times. I want us back to back, moving together. Got that?”

      “Yes, I think so.” Leigh hoped so anyway. She still felt woozy, and Gabe’s quickly spoken instructions seemed jumbled.

      “Rule two—you watch our backs, and I’ll take care of anything that comes from any other direction.” He tipped his head to her gun. “By any chance, do you remember how to use that?”

      She eyed the weapon as if it was a foreign object. “Maybe.”

      Gabe repeated that, adding a soundless word of profanity. “All right. If you have to shoot, hold the gun level and brace your wrist with your left hand. That’s a lot of firepower, and I don’t want you dropping your weapon when you feel the recoil. Shoot to kill. Understand?”

      Gabe didn’t wait for her to answer, not that Leigh had anything to say about the abbreviated lesson on how to kill. He spun her around so they were back to back. He eased open the door and peered into the parking lot.

      The alarm started almost immediately. It wasn’t a typical security system that clamored loudly enough to be heard blocks away. It was a piercing hum, but it was certainly meant to serve as a warning.

      “All right. Let’s go,” Gabe said. “Remember everything I’ve told you.”

      Leigh didn’t know how he expected her to do that. She literally couldn’t remember her name so how would she keep all the other things straight? Maybe she’d get lucky, and her instincts would kick in if she had to shoot.

      The night air engulfed her when they stepped outside. It was humid, almost stifling. Even with the drone of the alarm, the place was eerily silent. No traffic noise. No birds. Nothing. Just the sound of their steps as Gabe orchestrated them away from the building.

      Shoot to kill, he’d told her. That made sense because a wounded gunman could still have a deadly aim. She had to wonder if she could kill. Or if she’d ever killed before.

      God, that seemed an awful thing not to know.

      Gabe skirted along a row of shrubs, following the semistraight line until they came to a Dumpster. They ducked behind it just as the door to the laundry area flew open. Milky yellow light poured out into the darkness.

      So did two armed men.

      Gabe latched onto her hand and forced her to run. “Stay with me.”

      Shots shattered the near silence, sounding so close that Leigh didn’t want to know just how close they were coming to Gabe and her. She lost count of how many times the guns fired, but they seemed to keep pace with her racing heartbeat.

      Leigh hadn’t remembered her flip-flops or her hurt ankle until

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