“Now!”
They both shot to their feet, keeping their bodies low as they sprinted across the room’s stained carpet. With her gun in her hand, Shadow followed his orders and ran straight into the bathroom.
Another shot rang out right as Slade crossed one foot over the narrow threshold. The bullet struck the doorframe to his left, and he immediately ducked his head with a string of deep curses.
He was tempted as hell to start returning fire, but managed to hold back the retaliatory urge. The shooter needed to think that Shadow was either alone or already dead.
His already churning stomach twisted inside out at the thought. But if the son of a bitch believed he’d hit his mark and she was down, it could buy them the time they needed to escape.
Slade watched as Shadow went to the closed toilet, wasting no time putting a sneakered foot on top. With a supportive hand on the tank’s porcelain lid, she quickly pushed herself up off the floor.
He stood behind her, blocking her elevated body as best he could with his. It wasn’t the same as slapping a Kevlar vest on her sexy ass but, it at least offered an added buffer between her and any bullets that may still come their way.
She pushed against the window with all her might, but the painted wooden frame still refused to budge.
“It’s…stuck,” she grunted, her frustration more than a little clear.
Without a word, Slade stepped into the small space separating the toilet from the sink. He framed her with his uplifted arms, inadvertently bringing the front of his body flush with the back of hers.
“Move,” he gave the one-word order.
Without hesitation, the sexy blonde let her hands fall back down to her sides before rotating her balanced stance enough to give him room to work. He used as much strength as he could muster to slam the heel of his free hand against the window’s stubborn frame.
Again…and again…and…
There!
Layers of thick, white paint cracked and chipped as the damn thing finally broke free. Seconds later, the window was fully open, and Slade was looking outside, scanning their immediate area to confirm no additional threats.
More shots were fired from out front, but he remained focused on helping Shadow keep her balance as she began making her way through the opened window. She swung one foot outside before immediately doing the same with the other while he stayed close to the brave woman in case she started to fall.
But Shadow didn’t lose her grip or tumble uncontrollably to the ground below. Instead, as if she’d made the move a thousand times before, she pushed herself free from the window and jumped.
More gunfire blasted as Slade joined his mysterious teammate in the broken and weeded back alley. The narrow strip of rough pavement separated the motel’s back wall with a line of thick trees a few feet in front of where they stood.
“This way.” Slade reached down and grabbed her free hand with his, ready to lead her far the hell away from any danger that might exist. His pulse quickened when she curled her fingers around his in what could only be described as a tight, trusted grip.
With him in the lead, they began running straight into the trees. He did all he could to prevent any limbs from smacking her as she followed.
If he’d been alone, there would have been no running, and he damn sure wouldn’t have hid. If it were just him, he’d have stayed for what he knew would be a satisfying retribution.
But Slade wasn’t alone, and the person with him was Shadow. Which meant setting aside his desire to kill for an even stronger need to protect.
Later. I’ll end the bastard later. For now, all that matters is getting her someplace safe.
He continued along the invisible path through the foliage he prayed would conceal their presence. When they’d gone about thirty yards, he came to a stop, and for a moment, he simply listened.
“What are you?—”
“Shhh.” He held up a hand to cut her off, giving the watch on his wrist a glance as he tilted his head slightly to the side.
Though Shadow looked as though she wanted to argue, the frustrated woman clamped her mouth shut and waited. Trusting her to remain quiet until he gave the all-clear, Slade kept his focus on determining their next course of action.
According to his watch, the gunfire had stopped two minutes before, leading him to believe one of two things. Either the would-be assassin felt confident he’d hit his mark or he’d gone into Shadow’s hotel room to confirm his kill.
Slade listened closely for the snapping of twigs or other signs of footfalls in the dense collection of trees. Instead, what he heard were sirens blaring to life in the distance, followed closely by the sound of tires squealing as a car quickly sped away.
“He’s gone,” he rumbled low to the woman still keeping a death grip on his hand.
