An Eye For Danger (book 1)

Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Stone yanked me to my feet and Sam spilled out of my arms and hit the snowy ground with a grunt. Max barked so hard the glass on my truck seemed about to shatter.

“Like I told you on the phone, she’s not going anywhere now.” Reynolds aimed the gun at Stone. From fifty feet away and dusted with snow, he looked skinny and harmless. But I knew he'd created the safer distance to get a clear shot at Stone. “You both lied to me, said she hadn’t a clue about Goliath.” Reynolds laughed. "You thought you were so clever for stalling me, Miss Larson, when we were really waiting for the detective to join the party."

Stone stiffened. I had only a second to enjoy watching fear seep from his pores before my head got back to recalculating ways to save Sam from the hail of bullets about to encircle us. But with the toxic mix of hypothermia, shock, and complete terror, my mind was a blank. All I had was the truth.

“Stone kept the evidence for insurance," I said. "He’s going to bring you down, just like he framed—” Stone shut me up with a jerk of my arm, electrifying my injured shoulder, and I wailed and stumbled

Sam struggled to sit using his good arm and blanched as white at the bed of earth around him. I shook my head so he wouldn't try to help me. He needed to save his energies. My heart sank when his gaze locked on Stone's hip holster, an impossible feat in his condition or from his distance. Reynolds had been right: impotence was Sam's worst enemy. And mine.

“She goes with me.” Stone shoved me toward his car, and I remembered his hidden BUG between the seat and doorframe, the revolver he'd used to kill Burke. But he still held my wrist of my bad arm. “That was the deal, Reynolds.”

"That was the old deal. Now we're renegotiating.""Same girl, same deal. Don't fuck with me."

“Or you’ll do what? You work for Goliath now.”

“No, I don’t. And you don’t call the shots for this operation. But I know who does. He’s just waiting for you to blow this op too.” Stone stepped forward. I didn’t bother warning him about losing toes before two bullets punctured the snow near the tips of his damn perfect shoes.

“You have ten seconds to explain your little deal with the mayor,” said Reynolds.

“The mayor?” Stone glanced from Reynolds to Sam.

"Yes, the mayor, and this phone recording you held back from the evidence locker."

"You've been holding back on me, Sam. Not a good plan." As Stone shifted his body to glare at me, his forearm brushed his gun harness, releasing the snap. That's when I saw the Glock sitting in his holster. He'd retrieved the weapons of his Burke had discarded. Leave no trace.

Whether he was threatening me or Sam, or signaling us, I didn't care. My patience was waning. I didn’t have time to watch these two fools dance around each other’s egos.

"Don't bluff me, Stone," snapped Reynolds. "She already tried that tactic, which only made me start shooting. I see now why you feigned ignorance about that file; you knew the audio would implicate your double-cross. And no one double-crosses me."

"See what I mean," Sam mumbled to Stone. "Never know what you're getting with me."

Sam's curse was his unpredictability. A curse and a blessing. I could still learn a few tricks from Sam.

I ducked behind Stone’s back and ripped the gun from his holster, shooting wildly in Reynolds’ direction. Neither man expected the move, so they both hesitated.

My aim was off, but Stone guided my hand and squeezed, crushing my finger on the trigger, so I couldn’t stop firing.

Then Stone’s body slammed against me as Reynolds returned fire, and we stumbled. He’d survived Burke’s attack thanks to the thick Kevlar vest I could feel him wearing, and now he was serving as my shield. Luckily for Stone, those 22 caliber shots to his center mass weren't dropping him at this distance, let alone breaking any of his ribs.