Sharpshooter (Shadow Agents 3)

Carefully, oh, so carefully, he unhooked her seat belt and eased her from the car. The other driver was out of his vehicle now. Yelling about fools who shouldn’t be on the road.

Gunner lifted Sydney up against his chest. She felt small and fragile. Breakable. She seemed so fierce most of the time that he forgot just how vulnerable she could be.

He leveled a killing stare on the man who was yelling instead of checking to see if Sydney was hurt. The guy stopped midholler and backed up a few steps. “Call for help,” Gunner snarled.

The guy nodded frantically and pulled out his phone.

Gunner carried Sydney away from the road. More cars had stopped now. Bystanders were trickling toward them.

He put her down on the nearby grass. Brushed back her hair. There wasn’t enough light for him to see her face clearly. “Are you all right?”

She nodded. “The brakes didn’t work,” she whispered. “I couldn’t stop.”

Fear and fury battled within him. Another attempt on her life. This time, he’d been helpless.

“An ambulance is coming!” a voice called out. It sounded like the guy who’d been yelling minutes before.

Gunner slid his hands over Sydney’s body, looking for any signs of injury. No broken bones. No cuts. But she winced when he touched her left shoulder. The seat belt would have cut into her there.

When he stopped his exam, she immediately wrapped her hands around her stomach. “I couldn’t stop,” she repeated again.

And he’d been helpless.

This ends now.

He pulled her against his chest and held her until he heard the wail of the ambulance.

When the EMTs rushed toward him, Gunner said, “She’s pregnant. Just...please, make sure she’s all right.”

As she was settled into the ambulance, he finally looked around.

He saw that others had joined the crowd. Cale was there, with Slade.

Slade’s haggard face told Gunner that he’d heard his words. The time for secrets was over.

“Meet me at the hospital,” Gunner called out to Cale.

The other agent nodded.

Gunner wasn’t letting that ambulance leave without him. He climbed inside and caught Sydney’s hand.

“Gunner,” Sydney whispered. “My stomach’s cramping.”

Tears stung his eyes. He held her hand tighter even as he bent and pressed a kiss to her lips. “It’s going to be all right.” The ambulance lurched forward, and Gunner began to pray.

* * *

SYDNEY WAS ON a special exam table. She was too early in her pregnancy for the doctor to hear the baby’s heartbeat, so an emergency ultrasound had been ordered.

Gunner paced beside her, his expression even more fierce than normal.

The cramping had stopped, but the fear? Oh, yes, that was still there. She didn’t want anything happening to the baby inside her.

Not my baby.

“Gunner, I’m scared.” She could tell him. He was her best friend. Had been, even before they’d become lovers.

He stopped pacing and immediately came to her side. “Don’t be. This baby is fine.” His fingers twined with hers.