Then, as Kurt approaches, she replies quietly, “If you don’t mind taking the afternoon off, I’d like to spend it with you.” Her lips quirk. “As long as you don’t hide the last piece of the puzzle again.”
Lightness fills my chest. “No hiding the last puzzle piece. I promise.”
“Okay,” Kurt says once he joins us. “Are we ready?” He tosses the car fob and does a quick spin before catching it.
Sofia laughs. “Very impressive.”
“He’s just a showoff,” I remark while we walk through the door.
“I played basketball,” he corrects. “And before I enlisted, I was on one of those trick shot teams. You know, the ones where you leap off a trampoline to make a jump shot?”
“Oh, that’s cool,” Sofia replies with a smile.
And suddenly, for the first time in my life, I wishIplayed basketball, too.
Outside, Kurt takes point, scanning the alley before waving for us to join him. I keep Sofia close to my side, wrapping my arm around her. Ostensibly for safety, but I can’t deny thefeeling of rightness that comes from having her body pressed against mine.
Don’t think about it right now,I remind myself.Sofia’s protection is the important thing. Not my conflicted feelings about her.
Except they’re not conflicted, are they? Deep down, I know what I want.
Kurt opens the back door of the company SUV, then gives me a quick nod.
With only a few feet to go, I lead Sofia forward while scanning the alley again.
It all looks safe. Quiet. But one of the things I learned in Delta was how even the most innocuous of settings could be dangerous. How evil can lurk anywhere—an empty building, a school, or even a worn toy in the arms of a child.
The alley looks fine. But instinct makes me look up to the buildings surrounding us.
And that’s when I see it.
Just a glint of light on the roof of the building to our left.
A glint I wouldn’t recognize if not for my time spent overseas.
A glint many rifles conceal these days, with special glare-preventing devices and camouflage.
I’m moving even as the thought is registering.
Sniper!
Wrapping my arms around Sofia, I drop her to the ground, covering her body with mine.
A second later, a bullet strikes the side of the car.
“Sniper!” I shout. “Fifty degrees northeast. The roof. Cover me, now!”
Kurt’s already in position, his Sig at high ready. He spins in the direction the shot came from.
From beneath me, Sofia makes a small, scared sound.
My racing heart leaps to triple speed.
What if she’s hurt? What if I injured her as I knocked her to the ground? Or what if she was hit, what if the gunman took a shot and I somehow didn’t notice, what if?—
Fuck.
Fear is overwhelming everything else. Logic. Training. Procedure.
