They followed him around the corner. There was no one behind the house.
“If they’re not here, where are they?” Stone whispered.
“Could they have gotten inside?” Dino asked.
“Only if they could pick the locks,” Stone said. “Which I have been assured would be near impossible.”
Ed headed along the back until he reached the door to a mudroom that led into the laundry and linen storage room. It was a vestige of days gone by, when it had provided quick access to where clotheslines used to be.
Ed gave the door a gentle push, and it swung open.
“Nearimpossible, but not completely,” Dino said.
“I think I should check my warranty,” Stone said.
From inside came theboomof a pistol, followed a few seconds later by the unmistakable spits of silenced gunfire.
The trio hurried through the doorway.
Felicity and Jillian had justreached the second floor when Felicity paused, her senses telling her something had changed.
She motioned for Jillian to move out of direct sight of the first floor, then pressed herself against the wall where she still had a view all the way to the bottom of the staircase. If the lights had been on, she would have been easily seen, but in the darkness, she hoped she blended into the wall.
For several seconds, she neither saw nor heard anything that should have triggered her internal alarms.
But then came a hushed whisper, so low that if she hadn’t been paying attention, she would have missed it.
A moment later, a leg appeared at the edge of the area in her view, then disappeared just as quickly.
More whispers, louder this time, but still not loud enough to be understood.
The meaning of what had been said became clear enough a few moments later, however, when a man appeared at the bottom of the stairs and started coming up, gun at the ready.
The shadows Felicity was hiding in would become less effective the closer the man came. But if she tried to move, he would notice her right away.
Which left her with only one option.
He was three steps up when his gaze stopped on her position, his brow furrowing as if he were unsure whether or not he was seeing things.
His eyes suddenly widened in recognition, but before he could aim his gun, she shot him center mass.
Parker was heading toward thekitchen when the gunshot went off. He turned back just in time to see Frank tumbling into an unmoving heap at the base of the stairs.
“Shit!” he muttered, then fired two shots up the stairwell to prevent the shooter from coming down.
“That has to be Felicity,” the client whispered.
Parker wanted to tell him to go after her himself if he was so sure, but he held his tongue.
Unfortunately, his nonresponse didn’t seem to satisfy the client.
Looking exasperated, the Russian turned to the stairwell and said in a loud voice, “Is that you, Dame Felicity?”
Parker gawked at him. What the hell did this idiot think he was doing?
From above, a voice Parker assumed was the target’s said, “Hello, Leonid.”
The client looked surprised that she knew who he was, but he kept his voice controlled when he said, “It’s been a long time.”
