Page 34 of A Rhapsody of Ravens and Revenge

Eden stumbled again and went to her knees this time. “Keep going,” she said. “I’ll be right behind you.”

Evie knelt down next to her and stripped off the tank top she wore, leaving her in nothing but her bra, but she figured it was no different than a bathing suit and life-or-death situations weren’t the time to be modest. Wet fabric wasn’t easy to work with, but she was at least able to put pressure on the wound. They stopped long enough for Evie to tie it around her shoulder and then she helped Eden get to her feet again.

“We’re almost there,” Evie said. “Keep moving.”

“Nate is going to be so pissed. He doesn’t like it when I get shot.”

“Better shot than dead.”

“Good point.”

Thank God for bad weather.

When the panic alarm sounded they were only halfway to the restaurant, despite the fact that well over ten minutes had passed.

The sound was loud and shrill and Nate didn’t hesitate. He spun the wheel and did a U-turn in the middle of an intersection. He pressed the pedal to the floor and sped back to the house.

They were both on their phones trying to contact Eden and Evie.

“No answer,” Nate said, banging his fist on the dashboard.

“The alarm sounds to all the agents in the area,” Cal said. “They’ll be setting up a perimeter to keep him from leaving.”

Cal couldn’t remember time stretching the way it did in the moments between when the alarm sounded and when they screeched to a stop outside the gates of the mansion.

“Look there,” Cal said, pointing to the two security guards that lay facedown in the water.

“The gate’s jammed open,” Nate said. “For an easy getaway. He wouldn’t want to get trapped.”

“That’s a good sign.” Cal took a breath of relief and tried to convince himself that everything was going to be all right. “It means he’s still here somewhere.”

Nate parked the SUV halfway down the drive, and they were both out with their weapons at the ready as they ran the rest of the way to the front of the house, using the palm trees for cover.

“Look there,” Nate said.

“Silver BMW,” Cal said, looking at the car parked under the side portico. “That takes some brass. He drove it right to the front of the house.”

“It would’ve been hard to see with the rain like it is,” Nate said. “But the good news is he’s either dead or he’s still here. I’ll disable the car.”

Once the BMW was missing a fuse to keep it from starting they made their way to the front door and the man who lay prone on the ground. He lay on his back, staring straight up, and there was a bullet hole in his throat and another in the chest.

“Eden’s work,” Nate said. “That’s not Taber. Who is it?”

Cal recognized the man’s face from the files he’d been poring over the last three days. “That’s Jenson Walker. Former CEO of Boulder Corp. I guess we know who was behind the hit in the first place. Let’s go. Taber is still unaccounted for. He got a shot off. There’s blood on the floor.”

“God,” Nate said.

They tried the door but it was bolted from the inside. So they ran back to the SUV and headed around the side of the house.

“Where are the freaking agents?” Cal said, his finger tapping on the side of his weapon. “This place should be swarming.”

“The closest neighbor is a mile down the road and they’re all crammed in that guesthouse because of the weather. They should be pulling up any minute.”

“Useless,” Cal said. “And stupid of us to be tricked into leaving. How’d he get my number?”

“They’ve probably got the house wired or intercepted one of your previous calls. There are any number of ways to get unlisted numbers. Nothing is private with technology. I’m going to be really pissed if Eden got shot again. That woman is going to be the death of me.”

Cal watched his friend as he sped toward the beach. His words and tone were calm, but his knuckles were white as he gripped the wheel and the pulse in the side of his throat was beating rapidly. They were both soaked to the skin, but the iciness of the rain was barely felt through the heat of their adrenaline.

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