“Stay with me, Taylor,” Cassidy said, drawing Taylor off the sofa. Taylor glanced at him with fear in her eyes. “We’ll cover you on the way outside.”
“I’ll go first,” Doug said. “Brady, you bring Taylor, Flynn, and Cassidy. Rhy, you cover us from behind. All good?”
“Yep. Let’s blow this pop stand,” Brady said.
Doug opened the door, looked up and down the hall, then stepped out of the room. Brady went next. Flynn followed, indicating Taylor should stay behind him. Cassidy hovered behind her, leaving Rhy to cover their backs.
In single file, they made their way to the rear exit. Doug indicated they should stay back as he pushed open the door.
The sound of gunfire sent Doug and the rest of them down to the ground.
The movement passing their suite window hadn’t been his imagination after all.
ChapterTwelve
For the second time in less than three hours, Taylor dropped to the ground at the sound of gunfire. There were three pops, sounding much like the night of the original murders. From what she could tell, the gunfire came from outside the hotel.
How had the gunman known they were leaving? Or had he simply been sitting out there waiting for them to show?
Despite the danger, an odd sense of calmness washed over her. Maybe she was getting used to the sound of gunfire and being targeted by this guy because she wasn’t worried.
Flynn and the others would get her out of there.
“Anyone hit?” Rhy asked. “Doug? Are you okay?”
“I’m good. But we need to move. I think the shooter is in the parking structure across the street. Flynn, get Taylor back in the room,” Doug said in a terse tone. “Cassidy and Rhy, you go with them. Brady, come with me. We need to find this guy once and for all.”
“I’ll help you and Brady,” Rhy said. “Flynn and Cassidy are more than capable of watching over Taylor.”
She wanted to protest that none of them should leave the shelter of the building, but she wasn’t the one in charge. She took a moment to thank God for His protection in watching over them as Flynn rose to a crouch and turned to look at her.
“You heard him. Let’s go.” Flynn’s green eyes were sharp with anger.
After pushing herself up onto her hands and knees, she rose. Flynn and Cassidy shielded her exactly the way they had outside the FBI building. Sandwiched between them, they made their way back to the suite.
Flynn had a key card and used it to open the door. He brought his weapon up in a two-handed grip, the key card back in his pocket as he scanned the room. Then he glanced at Cassidy. “We need to sweep the place in case this was nothing more than a diversion.”
“Agree.” Cassidy gently nudged her across the threshold behind Flynn.
Once inside the room, Flynn gestured to the kitchenette. “Stay there, Taylor. This won’t take long.”
She nodded without saying anything. Some of her earlier calmness faded as she watched Cassidy and Flynn split up to search the two bedrooms.
It bothered her to watch Flynn face danger. She didn’t like that for Cassidy either, but her gaze clung to Flynn as he flattened himself against the wall, peeked around the corner to scan the interior, then stepped inside the bedroom.
The room where they’d kissed less than an hour ago.
A wave of despair hit hard. What if Doug, Brady, and Rhy didn’t find Nickoli Yurgis in the parking structure across the street?
If the gunman escaped, she felt certain he’d track her down and fire at her again. Over and over until she was dead.
“Clear,” Cassidy called.
“Clear,” Flynn echoed.
Moments later, the two tactical team members returned to the main suite. Flynn walked to the window, peering outside.
“Have a seat on the sofa.” Cassidy drew her over to it. “Better for you to sit here while keeping your head down.”