Eve
Eve glanced at Liam in the back seat of the escalade and offered him a reassuring smile. She didn’t think it worked, because Liam looked as white as a sheet and his lips barely twitched in response. She couldn’t blame him for being nervous, but he was doing the right thing. He understood that as well as she did, but it would be of little consolation to him now. Save for a few months here and there with foster parents, Liam and Silas had lived together since they were eight and ten years old respectively so it was only natural that Liam would see testifying against Silas as the ultimate betrayal.
But Silas was a bad man through and through. From everything that Eve already knew about the Vipers’ leader and from the few things that Liam had told her about him, Silas was a dangerous man. He was intelligent and manipulative and personally responsible for taking a small thug gang that did little more than jack car radios and knock over the odd liquor store, and turning them into something far more alarming. Dangerous.
Now the Vipers had structure and menace and were more akin to the mafia, operating on a much larger scale. But unlike any mafia, the Vipers had no rules of conduct. They did whatever the hell they wanted to, and they showed no remorse. According to Liam, Silas encouraged the Vipers to act that way. A man like that needed his day in court, and the city would be a hell of a lot safer with him behind bars. She just wished putting him there didn’t fall squarely on her mate’s shoulders. It was too much burden for any one man to carry, and there was nothing she could do to ease that burden. It was eating away at her from the inside, but she forced her expression to stay relaxed and encouraging. It was literally the only thing she could do for him right now.
“We’re nearly there,” Hawk said from his position behind the wheel.
Eve’s stomach churned, and a feeling of unease settled over her, but she couldn’t put her finger on the exact cause. It could very well have been her cat reacting to Liam’s nervousness, but Eve wasn’t so sure. She thought it might be more than that. She scanned the road up ahead of them then checked behind, which she’d been doing periodically since they left the safehouse. They hadn’t been followed, but that didn’t necessarily mean much. The Vipers were smart and resourceful, and it wouldn’t have been hard for them to find the time and location of the hearing.
By the time they reached the courthouse, the tension in the car was tangible. Eve turned to offer her support once more to her mate, but found him turned in his seat, staring at something out of the back window of the car.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I just I thought I saw someone,” Liam said, a hint of uncertainty in his voice as he answered without looking back.
“Who?”
“One of the Vipers—in a car back there. But it doesn’t look like they’re following us.”
Eve glanced at Hawk, and he had the same worried expression on his face that Eve knew she wore.
“We can’t leave,” Eve told him. “He has to testify.”
“I know, but I don’t like this,” Hawk replied. “Where are the rest of the team? Flint said they’d be here.”
Eve checked the display of her cellphone just as a message popped up on the screen. It read,
Held up. Proceed to the courthouse if it’s safe to do so.
“Shit. They’re running late.”
“Dammit,” Hawk muttered.
Eve stared at her cell as if she could force another message to come through telling her that the team were in place through force of will alone, but the message never came, and all too soon, they arrived at the courthouse.
“Double park,” Eve said, gesturing to the occupied parking spaces right outside the entrance. “Let’s just get in there.”
Hawk screeched the car to a stop and jammed on the brakes. Liam was still looking out the back window, but they’d already filled him in on what they would when they reached the courthouse. It was park, a quick glance around to ensure there were no Vipers lying in wait, then make a run for the entrance to the building as quickly as possible. It sounded simple, but Eve knew from experience that a dozen things could go wrong, and she wouldn’t be able to breathe properly again until they were safely inside. Not even the Vipers would attempt anything in there.
“Let’s go,” Hawk said.
Eve unclicked her belt and was aware of all three of them opening their doors at the exact same time—just as they’d planned—and exiting the vehicle. So far, so good. Eve sprinted towards the entrance, but she’d only made it a few feet before the screech of tires reached her ears.
“Liam, run!” Eve yelled, glancing over her shoulder to where her mate was bounding along the sidewalk behind her.
She drew her weapon and unclicked the safety. They hadn’t even reached the steps that led up to the entrance of the building before the first shots rang out.
“Take cover!” Hawk shouted.
Panic unlike anything Eve had experienced rushed through her, but it wasn’t for her own safety, she couldn’t have cared left about that. She was too busy worrying about the safety of her mate. Liam grabbed her from behind and practically threw them both to the ground behind a row of parked cars. Hawk had already ducked down too, and had his own weapon in his hand, trained on a spot over Eve’s shoulder.
She leaned around the trunk of the car to try to see what they were facing and horror bloomed in her chest as she spotted the three cars that had screeched to a stop just feet from the escalade. All three vehicles were full—they were heavily outnumbered. Only the front passenger of the first car had a weapon aimed out of his window, but as she watched, more of them brought out guns and started to fire them.
“We’re outnumbered, Hawk,” Eve said.
The agent had his cellphone pressed against his ear and spoke into it in rapid tones as he called for backup, filling dispatch in on their location and situation. After a second, he acknowledged the reply and ended the call.
