When we came up the side of one of the warehouses, Tyler indicated he was going left.
So I went right. Weapon out, I was ready. Adrenaline poured through my veins in a steady, drumming flutter, heightening all my senses to the bitter acrid odor in the air. It smelled like dust and turpentine. I shifted on my feet, trying to stay calm and read the shift of the air around me.
There was a rustling noise on my left, and I immediately went that way, listening for the answering footfall. That was when I felt the whoosh of air to my right. I ducked easily, and came up with an uppercut, hitting the man right under his jaw. His head snapped back, and I tapped my mic. “I have him, north entrance.”
When I lunged for him, he jammed his elbow back, catching me on my cheekbone. I staggered back, wincing at the pain.
He swung again, and I blocked him and kneed him in the nuts. But the son of a bitch adjusted his leg to provide some cover for his nuts because he stayed upright.
He gave me a nasty grin and landed a kick straight in my midsection. I tightened my core, but it wasn’t enough, and all the air whooshed out of me as I went flying three feet backward.
I landed in a pile of boxes, and he took off.
Addie’s voice rang in my comms as she said, “He’s running. Headed east.”
Tyler’s voice followed hers. “I have an ID. Mads McLean. Weapons broker. Likely Stannis’s contact.” Why the fuck didn’t Tyler even sound winded?
You’re okay. Get the hell up.
But Christ, a kick to the sternum really knocked out your air. When I rolled over and jumped back on my feet, I started running again. Hobbling was more like it.
Mads threw things in my path, but Tyler came running in from the other direction, and behind me, I could hear Addie approaching from the left as well.
Mads was caught. There was no way out.
But suddenly he whirled around and came running right at me, forcing my steps to falter so I wouldn’t run right into him.
“You have nowhere to go. Give up. Work with us and we’ll go easy—”
He barreled for me, grabbing me, and taking me down. As we rolled, he tried to aim punches, which I blocked. One of them landed though, right above the cheek where he’d gotten me before with the elbow. Right outside the socket of my eye. And I knew, I knew that was going to be a black eye.
I blocked one hand, landing a punch of my own and snapping his head back again. But then he came back with a massive open-palmed clap over my ears and set them ringing. A wave of nausea hit me hard, and the world spun. The dingy warehouse concrete was so cold it felt like ice beneath my body. And someone was tilting it, shaking it about. My head lolled from side to side. I could only watch in horror as Mads pulled a gun, aimed at one of my team members, and fired.
Tyler and Addie dove for cover. I could hear Addie yelling, “Fuck. Is she shot Tyler?”
Tyler’s voice was uneven. Why did he sound like that? “I can’t see her.”
And then Mads McLean’s weight was gone, and suddenly I could breathe. Sort of. God, when I tried to lift my head, that loud clanging sound rolled through me again.
I heard more gunfire, but not as close this time. And then all I heard were Tyler’s shouted commands. “You stay there, I’m going after him.”
Several seconds later, there were fingers palpating all over my body. I winced as they came near my sternum and then my face.
Addie said, “I want to do a quick check to make sure he didn’t hit anything vitally important internally. You’re going to be okay. You’re going to have a nasty bruise though.”
“Fuck, please God, tell me he didn’t get away.”
But Tyler’s singular footsteps coming back told me what I already knew. Mads was gone. I leaned my head back on the cool concrete. “Fuck.”
Tyler knelt down next to me. “She okay?”
Addie’s voice was tense. “We’re going to have to get her checked out when we’re back. But yeah, I think she’s fine.”
His voice was soft as he spoke to me. “I’m sorry, Lyra. I didn’t catch him. But he did drop this.”
Why did his voice sound gentle? That wasn’t what I needed. I needed this mission wrapped up so my life could return back to some normalcy. Because with Stannis Prochenko and his cronies gone, Tyler would be gone. And then my life would be my own again.
“What did he drop?”
He held up a heavy metallic card of some sort. On the back was a time scrawled in gold metallic ink and the initials, S. P.
I pushed to my feet and took the charcoal-colored metal card from him. It was a calling card for the Venice in the City Bacchanal. “We need an invite to this.” The Bacchanal was one of the most exclusive parties in all of Los Angeles. Mads was our ticket to that weapon and our ticket to Stannis. If they were going to be there, so were we. We could get a two for one.
Chapter 7
Marcus
I was watching as Lyra climbed out of a cab. She was moving gingerly. As if she’d been hurt. I focused the camera lens on her face, and that’s when I saw it… the bruising along the left side of her cheek. Like she’d been hit. Son of a bloody bitch. I put my binoculars away and marched to my door. I yanked it open just as she climbed the stairs to the landing. “Hey.”
She startled and blinked rapidly. “Oh, Marcus. Hi.”
I frowned at her, then indicated her eye. “What happened?”
“It’s nothing. I was taking a kickboxing class with
