Page 19 of Covert Past

“Call me if you need anything.” Hank pointed to a card she had next to the register. “My cell’s the first there.”

“I will.”

Hank grabbed the deposit bag and her purse and headed out the back entrance.

Ellie finished cleaning the dishes and wiping down tables, then made herself a Rocky Caramel.

A noise at the back of the shop had her wondering if Hank had forgotten something.

“What’d you forget?” Ellie set her coffee on the counter and headed to the back. Only it wasn’t Hank who greeted her. A man with dark hair glistening with rain and dressed entirely in black stepped through from the back entrance. Right away, Ellie knew she was looking in the face of the enemy.

She had to get to Boone. Ellie ran toward the front entrance, snatching up her phone as she did. Before she’d taken more than a handful of steps the man grabbed her from behind.

“You aren’t going anywhere,” he said in Arabic. “Where is it?”

Ellie slammed her foot against his as hard as possible. The man reacted in pain, loosening his hold slightly and giving her the space to jab her elbow into his midsection.

A string of curse words followed, but she was free. She ran for the front. Another man she hadn’t seen enter came up from behind her and snatched hold of her hair, dragging her back away from the windows. She screamed in pain.

Ellie tried to call Boone. The phone was yanked from her hand and tossed across the room. Her only means of communicating with Boone gone, she was in a fight for her life, and it was her against at least two armed men.

She reached up and behind her, jamming her finger into her captor’s eye. The move gave her a moment of reprieve. She managed to twist around in his grasp and slammed her fist hard against his jaw, immediately freeing herself.

Ellie grabbed the weapon she kept in her boot and pulled it on him. Holding his bad eye, he aimed his handgun on her. They were in a standoff to see who would back down first.

The second man charged her.

Ellie hated that she would have to shoot up Hank’s coffeehouse, but her life was in danger. She fired once. He grunted and grabbed for his shoulder, the force of the bullet knocking him backwards.

The man with the gun turned slightly. Ellie fired, grazing his side. He yelped.

“I’m calling the police,” Ellie said in Arabic, hoping to scare them both off.

His lips curled back. Teeth barred. “You won’t. You’re a wanted woman. They’ll arrest you. You’ll be dead before nightfall.”

Those chilling words washed over her. Out of the corner of her eye, Ellie spotted Boone running toward the coffeehouse.

The mouthy man noticed as well. Holding his side, he stumbled toward the back, telling his friend they had to leave. The man on the floor jumped to his feet and ran after his partner as Boone enteredthe building.

“What happened? I heard shots.” He scanned the disheveled dining space.

“They were here. Two men. They left through the back. Boone, they’re both armed.” Ellie sank down to the floor while Boone raced after the men.

Outside, sounds of car doors shutting were followed by tires squealing down the alley.

Seconds later, Boone came back. “They got away. I did get a license plate number, though.I’m so sorry I wasn’t here.” He lifted her to her feet and held her close.

Ellie clung to him. It had been just her for so long. Having someone to lean on didn’t change the truth. They’d found her.

And she couldn’t stay.

She pulled free. “I have to get out of here. They’ll keep coming.” Ellie looked around at the chaos left behind by the attack. The blood spattered on the floor, the wall. The overturned chairs. “This place is a mess.” She absently began straightening tables when Boone stopped her.

She closed her eyes. “I can’t stay, Boone.”

He tugged her closer. “You can. Let me help you. Let my team.”

She immediately rejected the idea. “No. No one else can know.”

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