“Bad enough to piss me off.” Chalton clamped a hand over the wound, fury sizzling along his hard face. “We’re pinned down.”
“There might be more coming,” Jared muttered, ducking again when more bullets pinged over his head. “I think a full frontal assault would be best. You stay here and cover Veronica.”
She grabbed his arm, her eyes widening. “What in the world? You’re not rushing a guy with a gun.”
But he wanted the fucker’s neck in his hands. Jared sighed. “Fine.” He grabbed a gun from his boot. “Then I’ll just shoot him.”
“Good plan,” Veronica sputtered, reaching down and removing a small caliber pistol from along her calf.
Jared’s mouth dropped open. “You’re packing?” he growled.
She rolled her eyes. “Somebody wants me dead. Of course I’m packing.”
He couldn’t help it. In the middle of a firefight, in the midst of a temper, he smiled. God, she was perfect. “Just keep your currently human head down, woman. A bullet could still kill you.”
“Understood,” she said, angling toward the front of the vehicle to aim her weapon.
She apparently didn’t understand shit. His grin widened, even as he jerked her back with his fingers curled into her waistband.
She slid toward him on her knees, her back to him, unable to fight him on the ice. “What are you doing?”
“Keeping you safe.” He pressed a hard kiss to the back of her head. “Let me.”
Did she just growl?
Another car slid into sight.
“Second gunman,” Chalton muttered, tugging a gun out from beneath his jacket.
Jared angled up and fired several times over the hood. The first driver ducked back behind his door, while the other slid out the far side of his vehicle to shoot over his own hood.
“Livy, stay down,” Chalton yelled as the back door of the building started to open.
It instantly closed.
Bullets came from Theo’s direction, as did a woman’s high-pitched scream.
“It’s okay, Ginny,” Jared hissed. The woman needed to stay quiet, damn it. She’d just given Theo’s location away.
“Can’t she throw fire or something?” Veronica muttered, crouching as more bullets cascaded above their heads.
All witches threw fire. It was too bad Ginny didn’t know how to fight. “Right now, she just needs to stop screaming so we can get rid of these guys. I need one of them alive,” he said.
Chalton nodded. “Affirmative.” He reared up and fired a volley of shots toward the attackers.
A human male screamed in pain.
Good enough. Jared launched himself over the hood of the car, zigzagging on the ice and firing toward the closest car.
The other car zoomed off with the smell of blood in its wake.
Bullets whizzed by his head, and he increased his speed. The rancid smell of fear hit him right before the asshole shooting at him dove into his car and slammed the accelerator down. The car fishtailed, zooming down the icy street.
Jared turned to make sure everyone was all right. Bullet holes lined the brick building behind them.
A quick survey showed everyone getting to their feet, nobody bleeding.
Fury swept through him to turn colder than the ice beneath his feet. “Stay here.” Turning, he barreled into the street, turning and launching into a run after the speeding car. It was icy, and the driver was sliding up ahead.
