Drew turned in place and took in the cabin. It was rough but solid. Open-plan, with weathered wooden walls and exposed beams. A small kitchenette in one corner. A battered leather couch. A narrow hallway that probably led to a bedroom and bath.
“What are you doing here, Drew?” Cross asked as he checked another window. “Did anyone follow you?”
She snorted. “Give me some credit. I know how to check for a tail. I wasn’t followed. And I know you’re hard to track down, but honestly? Not as hard as you think.”
“You said that before. What’s that supposed to mean?” Cross growled.
“It means there’s a bounty on your head.”
Cross froze. Turned to face her. “A bounty?”
“As in someone wants you caught. Preferably alive. But he’d probably take dead.”
“Who?”
“Octavio Rodríguez. Ring a bell?”
Cross opened his mouth?—
And then the first bullet tore through the front door. A pitcher on the counter exploded.
“Get down!” Cross shouted, lunging across the room and slamming into Drew, bringing her down with him.
CHAPTER 5
Bullets torethrough the cabin wall like it was made of paper. Cross sheltered his head from splintering wood and cursed. “What the fuck?” Shards rained down as he yanked Drew behind the couch. Another round punched through the window, shattering glass across the floor.
“Well,” Drew muttered, shaking a sliver off her arm, “you sure know how to make a girl feel welcome.”
Cross gave her a look. “Didn’t know I was expecting company. You invite the welcoming committee?”
She snorted. “Not exactly.”
Another burst of gunfire slammed into the side of the cabin, louder this time—closer. “Stay down,” Cross growled as he commando-crawled to the edge of the window, sticking his head up just enough to get a look.
“Wasn’t like I was going to stand up or anything,” Drew retorted, then covered her head as more wood splintered above her.
Cross couldn’t make out much, but there were at least two shooters, maybe more. A burst of light from a shooter lit up Octavio Rodriguez’s face. “Fuck. Rodriguez.”
“Yeah, I hear you helped his girlfriend run, and now he wants your ass. He’s a bit clingy, apparently,” Drew called with a smirk.
Cross shook his head. “No, I mean Rodriguez is here. He’s outside. The goons shooting at us are his.”
“At you,” Drew corrected. “He doesn’t know I’m here, and I’d like to keep it that way.”
Another volley of gunfire ripped through the cabin. It was high but the wood still splintered and rained down on them. “Why is Rodriguez here?”
Cross ducked back down. “You seem to know more than I do about the whole situation. You tell me?”
Drew shook her head. “No, I mean I was told he hired people to get you and bring you back dead or alive, preferably alive. So why is he here?”
“Octavio Rodriguez is not known for his patience. My guess is he wants to pull the trigger himself.”
“Hm, Dunlop got it wrong. Why am I not surprised?” She let out a tiny yelp as another volley of shots hit the cabin.
Cross crawled back toward Drew, keeping low to avoid getting his ass shot off. “Who the hell is Dunlop?”
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later. Now, it might be a good time for a plan. They won’t stay out there forever.”
