Close Cover (Masters and Mercenaries #16)(93)

“Yes, I can run.” It was time to do anything he asked of her. He was the expert here. He’d been a SEAL and a bodyguard. She was an accountant and this was only her second time in the line of fire. She hadn’t fared spectacularly well the first time. “Where are we going?”

“Hold on to me. Hold on tight.” Remy wrapped his arms around her and started to twist and turn them toward the back of the house where they could get to the marina.

Boats. He wanted to go for the boats.

“Don’t do this, Guidry.” Jones’s voice rang out. “I don’t want to kill you, but I will if I have to. Your sheriff took some fire. Your brother is down. Give up the girl and it all stops.”

“You go, Remy,” Armie yelled.

Lisa looked back and the sheriff had somehow managed to push a table on its side, giving him and Zep’s body some cover. He’d also pulled a secondary weapon and looked perfectly ready for a firefight. The only thing marring the sight was the dark stain on Armie’s left arm. He’d been hit in the crossfire.

Jones stepped out from behind the hostess station where he’d been hiding and took another shot at Armie. It wasn’t the only bullet that went flying. From somewhere above, a bullet slammed into the wall right behind Jones’s head. He cursed and disappeared again.

And Remy was up on his feet, hauling her with him. “Run. You keep running. Even if I’m not behind you anymore. Get to the airboat in mooring five. The keys are always in there. Fire it up and get into that bayou. I’ll join you if I can. Go.”

She didn’t hesitate. She ran toward the door. Her heart thundered, hands shaking as she opened the door. Remy was behind her, but the bullets were flying again. They resounded through the space, though she couldn’t tell where they were coming from except behind her. In the distance she could hear the sounds of sirens coming up the road. Surely that would scare off the pretend cop.

She pressed through the door and her feet hit the boards of the pier. Number five. Was it on the right or the left? Oh god, how could she run when Zep was dying?

Five. She turned to the left. Please let Remy be behind her. She wouldn’t, couldn’t leave without Remy. She would find a weapon and go back after him.

The boat in five was an airboat, the kind they would use to take people into the bayou. It was a flat-bottomed boat with a massive fan on the back. That fan might be a bit of cover from someone who was firing on the boat.

The boat swayed as she scrambled in. The keys. She had to find the keys.

And then the whole world seemed to sway as the boat rocked hard back and forth. Something heavy tackled her from behind and every bit of breath she had in her body fled. Remy. He was on top of her and that was when she felt something warm hit her cheek. The bottom of the boat was cool against her skin, but this was hot, and the coppery smell couldn’t be denied.

Blood.

“What happened?” She breathed the words, shocked.

“He’s coming. I took one to the shoulder, but we’ll never get the boat started before he catches up. You stay down,” he said. “Stay under me. Ambulance will be here in minutes. Don’t underestimate those boys. Biondo will come, too.”

The assassin?

“Love you, Lisa.” His mouth was against her ear. “Reach into my pocket. Don’t use it until you see his face. Not until then. I’m your shield.”

He was willing to lie there and take every bullet that came her way.

She reached into his pocket and felt cold metal. She flicked off the safety. “Please, let me up. I can shoot. I can save you. I don’t want to lose you.”

Not when she’d just found him. Not when everything they’d ever wanted was right there, ready for the taking.

She felt his body shudder above hers.

“Not on your life, ma crevette. I’m your cover. Now and always. Never going to let you down again. Love you. Not until you see his face.” He went still.

So heavy. His dead weight held her down, but the boat still rocked gently. It was dark. The lights had been turned off and only the moon illuminated the deep gloom of night.

Please. Please. Please. Let him live or let me go with him.

She would fight, but she couldn’t see a life without him. What the hell had she been thinking? She couldn’t leave him, couldn’t leave her home.

The sound of hard-soled shoes hitting the wooden planks thudded along, getting closer and closer.

“Time to go, bitch,” a deep voice said. “Fucking job wasn’t supposed to get bloody. Scarsdale is going to pay. Come on. We have to get out of here now or I’ll have to kill the EMTs. You don’t want that on your conscience, do you? Not after you got all these other assholes killed.”

She waited. Waited until the footsteps stopped. Waited until his voice was close. Waited until he leaned over as though trying to figure out exactly what he was seeing.

His face came into view and she swung the gun up, pulling the trigger.

Jones’s head snapped back as the boat swayed again and he was gone from her vision.

What was happening? Had she hit him? “Remy? Remy, babe, please talk to me.”

“Can’t. My ear’s ringing. So damn loud,” he complained.

Yeah, that shot had cracked the air around them.

“Come, mio amico,” a deep voice said. “Please don’t shoot me, bella. I have very little time and I need to use this boat to disappear. Your man is going to be fine.”