Beware Of Me(59)

Before anything else happened, Victor had wanted Carly to have the chance to speak with his superiors. By going in—willingly—he’d said that she had a greater shot at getting folks to believe her because it would look as if she were cooperating.

Hell, she wasn’t even sure if Victor believed her. He’d certainly been suspicious enough when he first stormed in the suite. But now…now he at least seemed to be giving her the benefit of the doubt, softening some.

She hurried down the hotel’s back steps and saw Victor’s SUV waiting. The windows were dark, tinted.

He opened the passenger side door for her.

The bullets didn’t make a sound when they fired. They erupted out of the gun and slammed into Victor, jerking his body back, one hitting after the other, and Carly heard herself scream when he fell.

But then she was staring down at that gun—a gun equipped with a silencer. A gun pointed straight at her as Dr. Keith Nelson smiled at her. “Get into the vehicle. Fucking now.”

No, if she got into the vehicle…

“You can die right here. I will shoot you now and still get paid just as much money.”

She’d screamed, but no one had come to her aid—it was too early, no one was out on the streets—and his finger was already starting to squeeze the trigger. She couldn’t get in that SUV, and she couldn’t let Victor die. He was still breathing. Carly could see the rise and fall of his chest. She had to get help for him.

Turning, she started to run away—

And a bullet hit her, slamming into Carly and sending her tumbling right into the cement. For a moment, she lay there, stunned, the pavement biting into her palms, her shoulder burning. She heard the rush of footsteps coming toward her. Carly pushed up to her knees, needing to run, but there wasn’t time.

Hard arms grabbed her, wrenching her shoulder and making the white-hot pain flare even hotter. She cried out and tried to fight, but Dr. Keith Nelson was much stronger than he’d appeared to be. He dragged her toward the SUV, stumbling over Victor’s sprawled body. She screamed, but no one was there. Still, no one. Victor had taken her out of building’s back entrance, and no one could see, no one—

“Carly!” That roar was Ethan’s. Her head wrenched toward his roar.

He was running toward her. But Keith had tossed her into back of the vehicle. Keith slammed the door, and she tried frantically to open it, but something was wrong. The handle was jammed.

She stared through the glass. Saw Ethan running toward her, with Sophie steps behind him. That had been the plan. Ethan and Sophie were going to follow us to the Bureau. They were coming down on the next elevator. Everyone should have been safe.

There was no safety. Because she saw—

She saw…she saw Keith lift his gun. He fired. Once. Twice. Three times.

She screamed again as both Ethan and Sophie hit the cement.

Then Keith ran around to the front of the SUV. He jumped into the driver’s seat. She lunged for him, determined to stop him before he could start that vehicle and take her away.

Her nails scratched across his face.

“Dammit, you bitch, stop!” He whirled and brought the butt of the gun down against her temple. For an instant, the world dimmed. “You’d better be worth this fucking pay-off…”

She pushed up, ready to attack him again.

But the butt of the gun hit her once more. Even harder this time. The world didn’t dim.

It went black.

***

As soon as the bullets stopped flying, Ethan jumped to his feet. He reached for Sophie, checking her out.

“I’m all right! I hit the ground as soon as he aimed the gun at me,” she said. Then, before she could add anything else, Lex was running around the side of the hotel and charging right toward them.

Lex grabbed Sophie, pulled her close—

Right. She’s good. I need Carly. Ignoring the pain in his arm—a damn bullet had grazed him—Ethan ran after the SUV. The bastard was driving it hell fast, careening down the street. Taking Carly away with him.

He’d been waiting. The freak must have followed Victor here, then he just slipped in Victor’s vehicle and waited for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Keith Nelson’s attack made sense if…fucking hell. Maybe Keith had never been attacked by Curtis Thatch. Maybe the two men had been working together all along.

Sonofabitch.

Hard fingers locked around Ethan’s ankle, jerking his attention down and to the injured agent.

Victor looked like hell, his skin ashen, but he had a determined glare on his face as he said… “SUV…equipped with…GPS locator…”

Ethan smiled down at him. Hell, yes.

“Get…bastard…” Victor gasped. “Get…him…”