Page 88 of Lion & Lamb

“Possibly,” Cooper said. “If we knew for sure, we’d be that much closer to finding his killer.”

“I’ll get that water now. And a drink for myself.”

Cooper followed her into the kitchenette. She opened the tap to fill a tumbler, then turned around to find Cooper very close.

“There’s no one else here,” Cooper said. “It’s just the two of us now. If you tell me what you know, I’ll do everything in my power to protect you.”

“I’m not the one who needs protecting.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Maya sighed. “Archie had enemies on and off the field. You don’t want to provoke them.”

“What, you don’t think I can handle myself?”

“Clearly that’s what you think about me.”

Cooper had to admit she had a point.

“Listen,” he said. “All I’m saying is, if you let people like Bernstein and the Sables into your life, they’re going to want something in return. They always do. Maybe it’s something as simple as sex. But sometimes it’s more. A lot more. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Maya smiled. “Look, I have my eyes open. Mickey is just…we’re having fun. We both know what this is. And the Sables, yeah, they’re sleazebags, but they’re mostly full of bluster. They’re harmless. I’ve had to deal with guys like them all my life. I know how to handle them.”

“The same words have been spoken by every victim,” Cooper said, “right before she realizes shecan’thandle them.”

“Do I look like a victim to you?”

Maya Rain filled the tumbler with water and gave it to him. And in that instant, Cooper saw her mask slip a little. He saw a fierceness in her eyes, and it caught him by surprise. Maybe it was anger, maybe it was lust, maybe it was something else. Cooper could have responded with another question. Or a kiss…

But his instincts told him to go in the opposite direction. So he dumped the water into the sink, walked out of the apartment, took the elevator down, and left the building.

Chapter93

THE WALLexploded just to the left of Cooper Lamb’s face. Hot fragments stung his cheeks as he dived to the sidewalk. Without even thinking, he pulled his Browning from his underarm holster and returned fire.

The shots came from the service driveway next to Maya’s building. The same driveway where Bernstein had picked her up the other day.

That you, Mickey? You jealous bastard.

Cooper kept firing at the shadows as he ran, hoping his would-be killer would seek cover and allow Cooper to reach his car on Eighteenth Street. And Cooper almost did. But the assassin was quick and clearly unafraid. Return fire chewed up the asphalt under Cooper’s feet. He was already moving fast, but he dug deep and found the fuel to move faster. Cooper’s wartime responses kicked in—he made it to the other side of his car without being hit. Bullets shattered the window over his head. Beads of glass rained down into his hair. This assassin meant it.

Yeah, but so did Cooper.

He reloaded quickly and returned fire over the hood of his car. Six shots, all aimed at the killer’s center of gravity—based on his best guess of where that was, of course. The killer was still hidden in the shadows. But Cooper had had plenty of experience in the army firing into the shadows at people who wanted him to die.

Cooper crouched down and listened closely. Total silence except for the far-off wail of a siren. Gunfire in this part of Philadelphia was rare; someone had called it in.

Either he’d hit the gunman or the gunman had fled the scene.

That meant that with every second, the shooter—and potential witness—was either slipping farther into the afterlife or putting more distance between himself and Cooper.

Do you think you hit him, Cooper?There was a third possibility: the shooter was waiting for him to stick his head up so he could blow it away.

Nobody lives forever,Cooper told himself. He darted out from behind the car and ran toward the service driveway. At the other end, he spied a vague form running away, pumping his arms and legs and moving with preternatural speed.

Damn it.

Chapter94

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