My Spidey senses were tingling. Something just felt off.
I bent over and grabbed one of the items Tennyson had lent me, namely a small-caliber pistol. It wasn’t the most powerful gun in the world, but it would give me some protection and I did know how to use it.
Holding the gun in my hand, I cautiously opened the Jeep door, purposefully keeping my body small.
Car headlights suddenly bounced up the drive behind me.
Jack
Why was Chiara here? Why?!
I flew out of the surveillance room. Through doors, through furniture, through walls.
Anxious to reach her before he did.
I didn’t know why this man was here, but Chiara needed to be warned. He could just be a pap, or he could be a professional assassin.
Dimly, I noted the crunch of more cars arriving. The sound of shouts. I raced out the back wall and onto the drive behind the house.
The scene seared into me, a frozen tableau.
Dark night glistening with rain.
A large graveled space for parking cars. Headlights swinging round.
The man leaning out of the bushes beside the house.
Chiara crouching down beside her Jeep, trying to see the newcomers.
The man raised his arm, a long barrel pointed at Chiara.
Not a camera. Not a knife.
A gun with a silencer.
Nothingbetween him and her.
She didn’t see him. She didn’t know he was there. She was too focused on the police cars pulling alongside hers.
She was going to die.
I was going towitnessher death.
No. Never.
Not on my watch.
Chiara
I tucked myself beside the Jeep, assessing my options.
A quick glance at the cars arriving confirmed they were the police. My heart leaped into my throat. What had happened? Who had called them? Was Jack already hurt?
That sixth-sense kicked in again, ordering me to pay attention to the shadows. Keeping to my crouch, I spun in place, surveying the dark.
A faint glint caught my eye.
A shadow figure crouched beside a hedge opposite the gravel parking area. A gun held in his hand.
