Torch (Unbreakable Bonds 3)

Footsteps pounded the pavement, but the noise was drowned out by the screams of innocent people as they realized a shot had been fired and there was still ample potential for more. Jude landed beside George’s too-still body on the ground, shouting for someone named Rebecca. Noah stared at George’s lifeless eyes. There was nothing Jude or any doctor could do for the man. The bullet had torn through his chest, likely destroying his heart. He’d been dead before he hit the ground.

And all he could think was that it had almost been Rowe.

He didn’t want to let Rowe up, wanted to keep him hidden and guarded under his own body. Noah gritted his teeth against the tremors that swept through his muscles as he tightened around Rowe, feeling him move, the jagged breaths surging in and out of his lungs. He wanted to stay there and not let Rowe risk his life, but Rowe would never stay still. Never stop fighting. So the next best thing was to be at his side.

Swallowing hard, Noah closed his eyes for a second and dropped his forehead to the back of Rowe’s head. “I saw the angle of the shot.”

He’d only met George once during the past week in the office, but he’d struck Noah as a nice guy who took his job of keeping his clients safe very seriously. He’d spent several years on the police force, but had decided he wanted to do something where he could see the impact he was making on life. George didn’t deserve to go like this. Noah was ready for blood and he knew that Rowe would be happy to avenge his employee.

Rowe’s voice came back cold and slightly muffled. “Ten o’clock?”

“Yep.”

“Roll to your left. We’ll sneak around in the chaos.”

Noah got up to his knees, still trying to cover Rowe as he got up to crouch. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Andrei sneaking closer along the side of a dark blue sedan, his gun drawn. “Cover Jude and keep your boyfriend in the ambulance until we get this guy.”

Following Rowe was like trying to keep up with a wild animal on its home turf. He moved fast and surefootedly, weaving around frantic people and vehicles with ease, all while keeping low to avoid giving the goddamn shooter a target. Noah stuck close to Rowe’s back, eyes sweeping over the chaos, assessing potential threats and tossing them aside. No one would touch Rowe.

Smoke and crying continued to fill the cold night air. Outside the temporary barriers set up around Shiver, Rowe led the way through the panicked crowd to the buildings opposite the night club. The area was filled with restaurants that had been in the process of closing for the night, while the large windows of local shops already stood dark. But it was the second and third floors of one of these buildings that had their attention. Four buildings down from Shiver, a window stood open on the third floor, providing anyone peering out the window a good view of not only the fire but the ambulances stationed near the night club as well.

Rowe led the way down an alley a short distance from the building that likely housed their shooter, their heavy footsteps splashing through dark puddles. They were halfway through the narrow space between the two buildings when a lone skinny figure in a black hoodie stepped into the lamplight at the other end of the alley.

Noah instantly clamped his hand on Rowe’s shoulder, jerking them both to a sliding halt. This was wrong. This was all really fucking wrong. Rowe was about to go charging forward, ready to kill the man with his bare hands if necessary, but Noah couldn’t let him take another step.

He sucked in a deep breath, trying to put his finger on the overwhelming uneasiness. A sharp, chemical scent cut at Noah’s nostrils, causing him to wrinkle his nose. He took a half-step back, his hand tightening on Rowe as he looked around. Even in the dim light of the street, he could see that the walls of the buildings on either side of him were wet. So was the ground, with standing puddles littering the ground. There had been no rain that day or the previous day.

“I take it you’re looking for me,” the stranger mocked at the other end of the alley.

“What the fuck is going on?” Rowe roared. He jerked against Noah’s hold, trying to go after the man, but Noah refused to let go, his fingers twisting in Rowe’s coat to hold him still.

The guy they’d chased out of the Internet café jerked back his hood so they could clearly see his face. His dark eyes were wide and his lips trembled as they stretched into a macabre grin. “He wants you dead. All of you. And I can do it. I can do what that fucking Gratton couldn’t even manage.” A soft laugh tumbled from his parted lips, sounding more of madness and twisted joy. “I’ll even kill his fucking favorite.”