Page 27

Daniel kept his eyes on the SUV. “Do you know who the mole is?”
“I have my suspicions, but no evidence.”
The SUV’s passenger side window began to lower.
Daniel’s heart rate spiked. “Get down!”
He grabbed Ellie and shoved her to the floor just as a hail of bullets shattered the front windows of the diner.
FOURTEEN
The sounds of shattering glass and screams filled the air.
Ellie’s heart thundered against her rib cage as adrenaline and fear heightened her senses. The floor was cool against her heated skin. Bullets thudded into the wall above her, perilously close. Daniel’s breath fluttered against her hair. His body covered her in a cocoon of safety, his arms cradling her against his broad chest. The world shrank as her vision narrowed to the assault rifle firing from the passenger side of a black SUV. She couldn’t see who was holding it.
The bullets stopped as suddenly as they began. Tires squealed as the SUV took off around the side of the building.
Daniel shifted away from her. Gun in hand, he stayed low. Screams and cries from the other patrons echoed around them. Ellie sat up, her stomach swirling with nausea and her limbs shaky. Her vision dimmed at the edges. She sucked in a steadying breath.
A hand gripped her shoulder. Slightly rough. Urgent. “Where are you hit?”
Ellie quickly assessed her body, but there was no pain. She tried to push Daniel’s hand away. “I’m fine. You?—”
“You’ve been shot.” Daniel’s voice was tinged with panic. “El, you’re bleeding.”
Confused, she looked down. Blood stained her shirt. Her jeans. It pooled around her on the floor, dark and glistening beneath the flickering fluorescent lights. People were still screaming. Their terror fueled her own anxiety as she patted frantically at her side, neck, and chest. No pain. No gunshot.
An awful realization hit her as she looked at Daniel properly. Blood spattered his face and neck. Peppered his white shirt. Her heart stuttered as her hands stretched toward him. “It’s not my blood, Daniel.” Dread surged. “Is it you? Are you hit?”
A groan broke the moment.
James was slumped against the wall, blood soaking his chest and streaming down his left arm. His chair had toppled, trapping one leg beneath. Melted ice cream, cobbler, and crimson mixed on the floor around him.
Ellie scrambled to his side, shoving the chair aside. “James!”
His eyes fluttered open. “Didn’t know… being shot… hurt this much.”
Her composure wavered, but training took over. She yanked an apron from the kitchen rack and pressed it hard against the gunshot wound near his shoulder. James cried out. “I’m sorry. I know it hurts.” Ellie didn’t lessen the pressure. If she didn’t slow the bleeding, he’d die right there.
Behind her, Daniel called for backup, his voice steady and clipped. The hysteria around them had dulled to a low murmur. Ellie didn’t know if anyone else was hurt. The wall behind James was riddled with bullet holes. Most were clustered where she had been sitting.
Their attackers had been shooting to kill.
“Hurts…” His eyelids drooped shut.
“James, stay awake.” Ellie’s tone was sharp and commanding. “Paramedics are on the way.”
A ghost of a smile touched his lips. “Bossy.”
“You got that right. Don’t you dare die on me, old man. You have people who depend on you, grandkids to spoil.”
Ellie's chest ached with emotion. James had spent his life dedicated to the Bureau. Nights, weekends, holidays. He’d sacrificed time with his family to keep their country safe. He deserved to enjoy his retirement. Tears blurred her vision. It wasn’t fair. An hour ago, he was attending his son’s birthday party and now he was bleeding out on a dirty diner floor.
All her fault. This was all her fault. She never should’ve come here.
James opened his eyes and focused on her. “Don’t trust anyone… find the flash drive… stop them…”
She nodded sharply. “I will. I promise.”