Way of the Shadows (Shadow Agents 8)

“We’re almost there, baby. Hold on for me.”

She wasn’t holding on to him at all. She couldn’t.

“Got you!” Thomas yanked her forward and into his arms. He fiercely held her. She should feel the warmth from his body. She didn’t. Tremors shook her. Her gaze fell on the shadows behind them as Thomas tried to rub her arms and her legs. He was yanking at her wet clothes.

“B-behind...” Speaking was so hard. She tried to push at him. To warn him.

Thomas was too fixated on her.

“G-gun...” Where was his weapon? They needed it.

Thomas’s head flew up.

“B-behind...”

He pushed her down into the snow. His hand hit the ground near her and when it rose again, she saw he had his weapon. He fired. Once. Twice.

She’d seen the shadow out there watching them. Waiting for another moment to attack.

“He’s running,” Thomas snarled.

“F-follow...” The man had already gotten away once. They couldn’t afford to let him vanish again.

“If I do, you’re dead.” He pulled her into his arms and kept his gun ready. “No, baby, that’s not happening. You’re priority.”

She needed to help him. The attacker could circle back around. Everything that was happening... It was all one big trap. She had to help Thomas.

But she could only shudder.

He pulled her closer. “I’ve got you, and I won’t let you go...”

* * *

THE SNOW WAS a blur around him. The agent had Noelle. He was trying to make his way back to the cabin with her.

His chest burned where Noelle’s bullet had hit him. The blood was leaving a trail in the snow. But the storm would make that trail vanish. The storm would...

He leaned against a tree as he fought to catch his breath. The man’s bullet had grazed his arm, cutting through the coat, but Noelle’s had been the one to do the most damage. He’d just been caught off-guard by her. To see her, standing right in front of him, after all of those years...

She was a ghost from his past.

A ghost who had shot him. He’d reacted instinctively when the bullet hit. He’d grabbed her and thrown her toward the ice.

The ice had been meant for the man—the one called Thomas. The fellow was proving himself to be a worthy hunter.

But he’d still die.

And I remember you, Thomas... Because he’d crossed paths with that man before. Only Thomas hadn’t been such a good guy then. Noelle had no clue about the man she thought was her partner.

No. Clue.

Thomas would die soon. So would Noelle.

It was just a matter of time....

The wound throbbed. He shoved more snow against it. Damn it, he was going to have to stop that bleeding. He could feel weakness pushing through his blood. But where the hell was he supposed to find help in this storm?

Gritting his teeth, he trudged forward. He’d stayed alive through plenty of attacks. He’d survive this, too, and then...then he’d make Noelle Evers and her partner pay.