The Girl Next Door (Shadow Agents 6)

Deuce whirled toward that door, shouting, and Gabrielle used that moment—distraction!—to slam into him as hard as she could. He staggered back, and tripped over Cooper’s end table. He crashed to the floor, and, as he fell, Deuce yanked her down with him.

The gun flew from his fingers. Gabrielle scrambled for it, but he caught her around the waist and hauled her back against him. He flipped her over and his hands went right to her throat.

“Let her go.”

That low, lethal voice came from just a few feet away. Deuce didn’t let her go, but he turned his head and stared up at the man who’d just kicked in the door.

The EOD director—the guy Cooper had called Mercer—stood there, with a gun in his hand. A gun that was trained right on Deuce.

“I gave you an order,” Mercer barked. “Get your hands off her and get to your feet, now.”

Deuce slowly freed her, and Gabrielle sucked in desperate gulps of air. Spots danced around her eyes.

“I didn’t expect you to come,” Deuce drawled. His hands weren’t on Gabrielle’s throat, but he hadn’t moved back, either. Actually, his hand was dipping toward his waistband. “I mean, the big boss doesn’t usually get his hands dirty.”

“I made an exception this time.” Mercer had a dead aim at the man’s head. But even though Gabrielle saw that his aim hadn’t wavered, Mercer’s attention had. His gaze was on Cooper.

Deuce laughed. “You’ve always been making exceptions for him. You think I didn’t notice? Hell, from the very beginning...that rescue mission was a suicide job, but you still sent us out to find him. You were desperate to get some jumper out of that hellhole, and I had to wonder...why?”

“I value all of my agents—”

“He wasn’t an agent then,” Deuce pointed out. “Not then, but you risked our lives for him.”

Mercer was still looking at Cooper. A mistake. “Mercer!” She yelled her warning.

His gaze swung back, but Deuce had already pulled a backup weapon from his ankle holster. Deuce didn’t hesitate—he fired on the director.

Even as Mercer fired at him.

The thunder blasted in Gabrielle’s ears. Blood bloomed on Mercer’s chest, and he staggered back.

Deuce fell to his knees. He’d been hit, too, and the blood covered his chest just as surely as it covered Mercer’s.

But Deuce wasn’t done. He turned his head, stared at her. Stared, smiled, and lifted his gun.

They were inches apart.

I won’t go out without a fight.

“No!” A deep cry of fury and fear. Not her cry. Cooper’s.

And—Cooper was there. He lunged at Deuce, with a knife gripped tightly in his hand.

Deuce tried to spin toward the new threat, but Cooper had moved too swiftly. Cooper attacked with his knife, driving it into Deuce’s body.

Gunfire didn’t thunder again.

The gun fell to the floor. Deuce gasped. His hands fought for the knife.

Cooper shoved it even deeper into Deuce’s chest. “It’s...over...” Cooper growled. “Over.”

And it was.

Gabrielle grabbed the gun. She pointed it right at Deuce.

But Deuce wasn’t looking at her. Blood soaked the floor beneath him, and he lay there, staring at nothing.

Not anymore.