Killer Countdown (Man on a Mission 6)

Shane let his gaze pass on by as if he’d never seen Niall, completing the circuit he’d begun. He did nothing to acknowledge he got the message his brother was sending him, but his heartbeat accelerated with a kick of adrenaline. All the pieces were falling into place.

Stragglers were still filing in and taking seats in the rows in the back, but a few came down the aisles to the front where one or two empty single seats could still be found. A trickle of disappointed people made their way up the front staircase on Shane’s left and found places in the balcony.

Then the house lights dimmed.

Chapter 21

Saying excuse me, Carly sidled her way past two men and a woman—Old Town students by the looks of them. She didn’t know why they were standing in the back—the hall was fairly full, but not standing room only—and she needed to get by them to mount the staircase.

She’d already scoped out the first floor, and the hit man wasn’t there. At least...she was fairly confident he wasn’t there. She couldn’t be absolutely positive, but she didn’t have any more time to waste because the third speaker had already taken the lectern. That meant in a few minutes, Shane would be standing there. Unprotected. And that was unacceptable.

* * *

Marsh was slouched in his chair—the only way he could sit unnoticed with the rifle strapped to his right shoulder. He glanced around to see if anyone was watching, and was reassured no one seemed to be paying any attention to him. Exactly what he wanted. Everyone seemed to be focused on the lawyer now at the lectern. One more speaker after this, and then it would be the senator’s turn.

He could have taken the shot earlier. All five of the panelists had been lined up at the table like targets in a carnival booth when the initial introductions had been made. But too many people had still been moving around the balcony, searching for seats at the last minute, and the risk had been too great. Not so much that one of them could have gotten in the way of his shot, but that one or more of them might have seen him as he took aim. And he wanted no more witnesses he would have to kill.

Then, when each speaker had risen and crossed to the lectern for his or her opening remarks, the moderator had politely backed away to one side—right in Marsh’s line of sight to the senator. Every frigging time. He’d cursed internally the first time it had happened, because he’d already unbuttoned his raincoat, preparatory to taking the shot. Then he’d berated himself for being too eager. Patience, he’d reminded himself. Patience was one of his bywords. Patience. Practice. Planning. Preparation. The senator would eventually take the lectern. And Marsh would be ready.

* * *

The twitch between Shane’s shoulder blades was getting worse with each passing minute, and he gritted his teeth. What’s taking so long? he fumed silently. He wanted this over, one way or the other. Take the shot, damn it, he told the sniper in his mind. Take the damned shot!

Then he saw a woman in a coat and hat that resembled Carly’s rapidly climbing one of the staircases in the back, and his brain stuttered as his heartbeat quickened. It looks like...no, it can’t be... The woman disappeared from view, and he told himself he was imagining things. She might look like Carly from a distance, but it couldn’t be her. Carly was safe in Niall’s condo.

Then the woman’s head and shoulders appeared atop the balcony, and though her hat was pulled low and her scarf obscured the bottom half of her face, his heart recognized her even before his brain did. Son of a bitch! The anger and fear curling through him at the sight of Carly—here...at risk—far eclipsed anything he’d ever experienced with the seizures. His lack of control over the situation...his inability to do anything except pray the sniper didn’t see her, didn’t target her instead of him...

Shane had drawn his Beretta and was racing toward the wooden staircase at the front long before he realized what he was doing, his legs pumping like pistons as he ascended the stairs. The speaker stopped in midsentence and gawked. The crowd gasped and turned to watch in stupefaction. But Shane heard nothing. Saw nothing except Carly at the far end of the balcony, kitty-corner from him...too far away. One thought pounded through his consciousness. Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. As if prayer could keep her safe until he could reach her.