Page 60 of Hunted to Be Mine

Specter’s hand closed around mine, strong enough to hurt. “He won’t have her,” he said, voice going quiet and sharp. “I won’t let him.”

The force behind it hit me low and fast. Not a shiver. More like a brace I hadn’t realized I’d needed.

“If I help you cross the border,” Specter said to Kruger, “you give us everything. Names, locations, access points, handler protocols. Everything on Dresner.”

Kruger’s shoulders eased. “Agreed.”

“Why turn now?” I asked. “After all these years.”

“Self-preservation, mostly,” Kruger said. “And maybe a late attempt to even the scales.”

“Handlers know more than Dresner thinks, don’t they?” Specter asked.

“Yes.” Kruger nodded. “We had to. Working with conditioned operatives meant understanding the programming better than the subjects. Some of us kept our own records. Insurance. Let me show you an example—”

Glass snapped. A brutal crack. Kruger jerked. A fine red spray hung in the air. He folded to the floor, a neat hole in his forehead, eyes still open on the thought he hadn’t finished.

Dead before he hit the ground.

Chapter 14

Specter

I was moving before Kruger’s body hit the floor.

Blood hit my nose as I lunged and took Selina off her chair. We slammed down, my body covering hers. A second round punched through the window and blew apart the table where she’d been sitting.

“Stay down.” I dragged us behind the kitchen counter.

Her breath came quick against my neck. Her pulse thudded where our chests pressed together, her fingers locked on my arms. The apartment became a box: every window a target, every shadow a risk.

“Sniper. Thermal scope. He can see heat through the curtains.”

“Kruger…”

“Dead. Nothing we can do.”

The clean hit had said enough, through a blacked-out curtain and centered on the forehead. Professional. Blackout’s kind of clean.

I inched backward, keeping us low, scanning for options. Front door: covered. Hall: same. Fire escape…

“Listen.” My mouth was at her ear. “When I say move, we hit the bathroom. Low. Step where I step. Got it?”

She nodded, face inches from mine. Even with death close, there was gold in her hazel eyes and a firm set to her mouth. Most people break. Some fight. Few hold steady.

Another shot cracked and bit a chunk out of the refrigerator. He was walking the fire to flush us.

“Now.”

We crawled, keeping below the window line. I guided her with a hand at her back and pushed toward the bathroom door. Before we reached it, I snagged Kruger’s signal jammer off the floor. Might matter later.

The bathroom barely fit one person, let alone two. I shoved Selina inside and wedged in after her, then kicked the door. Flimsy lock. A stalling tactic.

“What’s the plan?” Her voice stayed steady.

“We’re leaving. Not through the front.”

I moved to the small window above the toilet and cleared the frame with my elbow. Cold air rushed in, bringing city stink, exhaust, smoke, and snow on the way.