LITMIR.BIZ

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felt calm, though his heart was thumping like bloody hell. Well, he couldn’t help that, could he? Adrenaline was flowing; he felt ready, eager, almost weightless in his anticipation of the battle to come. A smile curved his lips. Not a nice smile.

      “Laz…come on, mate.” Adam’s voice in his ear had an impatient edge to it now.

      The distance between Corbett and the hooded man was closing fast. He touched his tie and murmured, “Steady, old man…steady.”

      Thirty meters…twenty…ten…

      Steady…

      At point-blank range, the man pulled his hands from his pockets. One hand held a gun. Using both hands, he brought the weapon up, aimed it at Corbett’s chest and fired.

      Lucia heard the sound of the gunshot. She watched him fall.

      It was the last thing she saw clearly. The next thing she knew she was running—flying—down the sidewalk toward the two men, knowing as she ran, knowing without seeing, that the assassin was advancing, aiming his weapon at his target’s head for the killing shot. Her scream of rage and despair seemed to hang behind her in the Paris twilight like the echoes of a bugle’s call to arms.

      * * *

      Corbett lay on the cold sidewalk and struggled to breathe. Was his heart still beating? He didn’t know, couldn’t tell. He thought he was alive. He must be, he could see and hear. But he couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Was this how death came?

      He could hear the scrape of footsteps coming nearer, hesitantly…his would-be assassin, checking to see whether he was alive. If he’s learned anything from his last two attempts, he’ll put the last shot—the killing shot—between my eyes. If I’m not dead already, I soon will be.

      There’s no way Adam can get here in time.

      This was it, then. His last moment on earth. Corbett closed his eyes and thought of Lucia.

      She didn’t feel her stocking feet on the sidewalk. She had no idea she’d dropped her stole, or that she’d hiked her gown to her waist.

      Your body is the weapon, Lucia….

      Her mind was calm, its focus narrowed, locked on her target. All the strength and will of her mind and body compressed into one powerful force.

      And she struck.

      It’s been said no one can swear quite like an Aussie, and in those first few seconds after hearing the gunshot, Adam did his level best to uphold his former country’s reputation. As he was running toward that awful sound he kept swinging back and forth between a strong desire to strangle his best friend and the fear the bloody idiot wasn’t going to live long enough to give him the chance.

      Why had the bleedin’ bastard waited so long to give the okay to move in? Had he been waiting for Lucia to get out of harm’s way? Okay, he could maybe understand that, but now there was no way he or the others could reach Laz before the assassin finished the job—if he hadn’t already. If I can get to the blinkin’ corner, I’ll have a clear shot at the blighter, maybe I can wing ’im, at least. If Laz hadn’t given strict orders to take him alive… Bloody hell!

      Adam rounded the corner with his gun drawn, his heart in his throat and his lungs on fire. What he saw stopped him in his tracks.

      To Corbett it was flashes of color, flurries of motion, bodies hurtling through space, meeting, struggling, falling, the violence too insanely hurried to be real.

      What he remembered afterward was the sound. A screech of pure animal rage; grunts and sickening smacks and thumps. A scraping, skittering sound. More grunts and gasps, the sounds of men in desperate combat.

      No. Not men. One man, and one woman.

      Lucia.

      It was his worst nightmare. The woman he realized had a very important place in his life was struggling for hers against an armed assassin. His assassin. And he could do nothing. Couldn’t move, couldn’t even breathe. Could only watch helplessly while the battle played itself out.

      Lucia’s initial attack had the advantage of surprise. Her flying kick slammed into the assassin as he stood over Corbett’s body, the gun pointed down at his target’s head…hesitating, inexplicably, although she didn’t recall that until later, and was only unquestioningly grateful for the extra second or two that meant the difference between Corbett’s life and the unthinkable. His death.

      The kick sent the gunman crashing to the sidewalk. The gun flew from his hand and went spinning across the wet pavement. Lucia dove for it, not noticing nor caring that her bare legs scraped the concrete, or that what was left of her gown barely covered the rest of her. All she knew was a fierce sense of triumph when she felt the shape of the gun in her hands, still warm from the assassin’s hands.

      She managed to twist her body around barely a split second before the man was on her, his full weight pressing her down.

      He was strong. Stronger than she was. Bigger than she was. And now he had the advantage, his upper body strength pitted against hers, as he struggled to force the gun from her hands. She could feel it slipping…slipping from her grasp. But now she could feel his weight easing off the lower part of her body as he concentrated all his efforts on retrieving the gun.

      Yes—her legs were free! And she brought one knee up, hard, between his legs.

      In that same second there was a deafening explosion.

      Then everything went still.

      For Corbett, hearing the gunshot was a thousand times worse than getting shot himself. His reaction was instinctive; he tried desperately to get up, go to her, see if she was all right. Help her any way he could. He managed to lift his upper body a few inches before crushing pain slammed him back down. He dragged in a breath, and that hurt, too. He gritted his teeth and got out one word: “Lucia…”

      “Take it easy, mate. Don’t try—”

      “Adam—Lucia—I heard…”

      “She’s okay. Can’t you hear her? She’s the one swearing a blue streak over there. Lie still, you bloody fool, don’t you know you’ve just been shot? Point-blank range, too. If it hadn’t been for that armor you’re wearing, that slug would’ve put a hole through your chest as big as my fist. Where’d it hit you? Oh, crikey. Damn good thing it wasn’t a couple inches higher, it would’ve stopped your heart for sure. As it is, I’m bettin’ you’ve got some busted ribs, at the very least.”

      “Yeah…hurts to breathe. Feels like…I’ve been kicked by a mule. Where the hell’s our shooter? Did Lucia—” Corbett grimaced and put a hand over his eyes. He swore under his breath, then said, “Please tell me she didn’t kill him. Damnation—we needed him alive.”

      Adam glanced over his shoulder. “Nah, he’s not dead—not yet, anyway. Bleedin’ pretty badly, though. Our girl’s doing what she can for the blighter.” He looked back at Corbett, grinning. “Wish you’d seen her. I’ve never seen anybody move that fast in my life. She was like a whirlwind—like that cartoon—crazy little guy, that tasmanian devil, you know? Came out of nowhere. Poor sod never knew what hit ’im. Not at first, anyway. Dropped his weapon, they both went for it, and that’s when she shot him. Might’ve been an accident, I don’t know. Either way, she didn’t have much of a choice, mate, so you’d better not be blamin’ her for whatever happens now. You know she saved your life, right?”

      “I’m not blaming her…or anybody else.” He set his teeth and struggled up onto one elbow. “My fault. Should’ve given the go-ahead sooner…”

      “Damn straight,” Adam said.

      He’s just a kid.

      It was the first thing Lucia thought when she rolled the inert body off her. His body was lithe and strong, but slender, slim-waisted, like a

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