Close Cover (Masters and Mercenaries #16)(92)

“I’ll have the coffee ready for you when you come down, chèrie.” He winked at her.

“Wait, I thought you were fighting us.” Porter stepped in closer.

Where the fuck was that Italian? Remy was honestly ready to kill both these fuckers and let Armie sort it out. “Nah. Look, you’re right. I don’t want any trouble.”

There was a loud banging as the front door came open. “Remy? Hey, did you know the door is wide open? Is everyone okay? Who the hell are you?”

His brother walked in and he was carrying. Too late. For the first time in his life, Zep had kept his promise and was here to check the marina before he headed home. It was dark out there and lots of critters came out at night. Which was precisely why Zep was carrying a rifle.

And Remy watched in complete horror as Porter reached for his pistol and shot his brother in the back.





Lisa froze as Zep walked in, a worried look on his face. He had a rifle in his hand, but then she’d been told she shouldn’t walk much past the parking lot without one at this time of night.

She was about to tell him they were all fine, about to lie through her teeth, when one of the marshals tensed and his hand went to his holster. He’d pulled that revolver and fired before she could shout out a warning.

Zep’s eyes flared as though he couldn’t quite understand what was happening to him. The rifle fell from his hands, clattering uselessly to the floor. “Remy? What was that? I can’t…”

He pitched forward, his body hitting the floor with an audible bang.

She didn’t think. She ran toward him, hearing Remy curse behind her.

Armie’s gun was out, too. “What the fuck was that? Remy, call a goddamn bus.”

She looked up and Remy already had his cell phone out. He dialed with one hand and gave short, sharp instructions.

“He came at me with a rifle,” Porter said, his voice shaking.

“It’s Southern Louisiana. We’ve all got a rifle, you ass.” Armie knelt down beside Zep. “And he was turned away from you. You shot him in the back.”

“Lisa, get back here right fucking now,” Remy yelled.

She stopped but she’d gotten too close. Porter reached out and grabbed her, shoving that same gun he’d used on Zep into her side.

“Put the fucking guns down,” Porter said. “Put ’em down or she’s dead.”

Remy immediately set his gun down and held his hands up. “Please let her go. You need to get out of here. I know you’re not a real marshal. There’s an ambulance coming. This is your chance to leave and disappear. I assume you’re being paid. You’ve already shot one civilian. Do you want to have to shoot me and the sheriff, too?”

“What do you mean they’re not cops?” Armie asked.

“I don’t know who sent them, but the real marshals are set to show up tomorrow,” Remy explained. “These two are going to kidnap Lisa.”

That was what Mitch had explained to her on the phone. He’d gone as quickly as he could, explaining something was wrong with those two and she needed to get to safety so Remy could do his job.

Mitch hadn’t counted on Zep showing up. God, he was perfectly still. Please let him be alive. Remy couldn’t come home after all this time only to lose his brother. He couldn’t.

She was still, so still she could feel how her heart pounded. “I’ll go with you. I’ll go quietly. It’s okay. Whatever you need, I’ll do it.”

She would do absolutely anything to make sure that ambulance got here and was allowed to work on Zep.

“We’re going to back out of here real easy,” Jones said. “I see either one of you move and my friend is going to kill her.”

“Lisa, you listen to me,” Remy said, his eyes focused on her. “You survive and I will come for you. Do you understand me? And if my friend is here, now would be an excellent time because I have a straight shot to the outside. That door isn’t locked yet.”

Because Zep hadn’t done the final walk-through of the marina.

Something pinged through the air and then she felt the body behind her go completely stiff and then perfectly soft.

Chaos erupted as Porter fell back, his arms loosening and setting her free. Remy tackled her. All the breath left her body as she hit the hardwoods. She glanced to her left and saw what she hadn’t before. Porter was on the floor, a neat hole through his forehead.

“Stay down,” Remy said. “I don’t know where the other guy went and I have to get you out of here.”

“But Zep,” she protested. They couldn’t leave Zep behind. Was he even alive?

“Armie’s got him.” Remy’s voice was solid but she could still hear the emotion. “I have to take care of you, love. I have to get you out of here. Can you run with me?”

She wasn’t sure she could move at all. The space had gone deadly quiet, eerily quiet, and then she heard the sound of a low groan.

Zep was still with them, but she had no idea how long that would last. What would happen if they got taken hostage? And who had fired at the man who’d had her in his clutches? It hadn’t been Remy. She’d been watching Remy, and Armie had been on the ground beside her, trying to help Zep.

“Lisa?” His voice was insistent.