The sand turned to stone tiles, and she hustled around an oval swimming pool and across a wide deck into the much cooler house. Tan hues, stunning oil paintings, and crystal everywhere. Tace moved gracefully as if he was back in control, but she hadn’t seen any weakness in him before he passed out.
What had happened?
She’d have to find out later, because he ripped through the living room and to the front door, gingerly opening it and looking out. He held up a hand to stop her.
She halted, leaning over to breathe, her gun clutched in her hand. Point and squeeze. No pulling the trigger. Aim and squeeze. Tace’s lessons rippled through her mind. She could do this.
He slid the door open more and stepped outside.
Sunlight cascaded inside.
She moved behind him, staying low.
Several quiet fountains shaped like cherubs were visible in the front, which was also gated. An empty driveway made of oval pavers led to an intricate gate facing the quiet street. Tace jogged silently across the driveway to the rock wall serving as a property division. He leaned against it as gunfire continued in the rear of the house.
Sami moved toward him, reaching him, blinking against the blinding sun. The wall was about six feet tall, and she couldn’t see over it. A wide maple tree provided some shade from the other side. “Well?” she whispered.
Tace slowly lifted himself up and looked over the fence. He was quiet for a moment and then ducked down, his back against the wall. “Big house, empty circular driveway, another rock wall on the other side. I think the shooters are one over.”
She calculated the distance and remembered a similar scene in the newestBloody Hell Suburban Fightgame that had come out right before Scorpius had hit. She’d solved the game in less than a week by not taking the easiest route. “We go over the fence?”
His eyebrows drew down. “They could be in the next house. We don’t know.”
“Then we sweep and go fast,” she returned, adrenaline flowing through her veins.
He studied her. “You been studying shooting more than just what I taught you?”
A man screamed in the distance, the shriek full of pain.
She gulped. “Yeah. I can hit somebody.” Although she’d never actually shot anybody. Her talents lay in strategy and not true action, like any good street fighter. Oh, the punch mattered, but placing it just right mattered more. “LAPD, remember?”
His gaze narrowed. “Right.”
“What happened to you back there?” she asked, checking his eyes. Clear and focused.
He shook his head.
Another explosion boomed from the beach area.
“Let’s go.” Sami tucked her gun in her waist. “You need to boost me.”
He grimaced but set his gun down. Grabbing her hips, he breathed out. “Stay behind the tree.”
She nodded.
He lifted her as if she weighed nothing, giving her a girly moment she quickly banished. She slapped both hands on the top of the wall, pivoted, and dropped silently to the other side. A second later he’d landed next to her, his big body in a crouch.
She peered around the maple tree. Gunfire continued in the back. “I think they’re concentrated near the beach.”
“Maybe.” Tace eyed the silent windows of the newest mansion.
Sami angled her neck. The sun reflected off the windows, so she couldn’t see inside. The massive wooden door was closed, and the place actually felt abandoned. Smoke and debris drifted down, and her eyes stung. “I’ll go first. Stay low and watch those windows.”
Tace nodded and pointed across the rather plush front lawn to a garden area with a multitude of flowers and weeds. “Go right over the hydrangeas and straight for the fence. Aim for next to the garage, because the windows face away.”
“Hydrangeas?” she asked.
“The big purple ones.”
