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“Becca. It’s me, Maddox. We’re here to get you.” I set the jug of laundry detergent down so my hands will be free in case she’s already dropped her next assault weapon.

“Maddox?” Becca’s eyes finally land directly on me. “Oh, thank God.” She goes back to her task of getting as much of her body out of the window as possible. “Get out of the way. I’m coming down.”

I start to move in, but Luca body checks me, knocking me back a step as he positions himself directly under where Becca is sliding down the brick, her hands gripping the windowsill.

“Come on. I’ve got you.” Luca’s taller than me, so it makes sense that he should be the one catching her, but I wanted to be able to tell Audrey I did everything I could to help her friend.

Since Luca has taken over, I pull my weapon out. All our whispering—no matter how quiet we tried to be—was likely overheard. “We need to get moving.”

Luca grunts a little as Becca lets go and her small body connects with his. She’s tiny, but gravity is a bitch, and even a small person hitting you from a decent height feels like dead weight.

Thankfully he’s done this plenty of times and recovers quickly. Instead of putting Becca down, he hefts her over one shoulder—ignoring her soft gasp of surprise—knowing we’ll move faster if she’s not trying to keep up with us.

We reach the back fence and I hoist Owen over first. Luca then carefully passes Becca over before sending me right up behind her so I can help her down.

This time it’s Owen who catches her, and Owen putting her over his shoulder.

Reaching down, I grab Luca’s arm, offering the leverage he needs to fully scale the fence.

Once both of us hit the ground, we start moving again, this time with Luca and I providing coverage as Owen stays positioned between us.

We’ve probably already been discovered, so we have to move faster than before, and that results in accidentally setting off a motion activated light.

“Shit.” I turn as I hear voices yelling behind us. “Keep going. I’ll make sure they don’t get to you.”

I hang back as they continue on, tucking myself into the shadows as I watch, waiting for anyone who might be in pursuit.

It shouldn’t take Luca and Owen long to reach the car, so I count, waiting a full minute before I begin to move, quickly making my way toward where Audrey better still be safe and sound.

I’m not sure how the men at Becca’s didn’t find us, but thank God they didn’t. I’m not sure how I would’ve handled?—

Something whistles beside me. The sound is familiar. Means we didn’t get away as well as I thought.

And that I’m directing those pricks right at Audrey.

I turn as I pick up the pace, arm steady as I fire off a couple of silenced rounds in the direction the bullet aimed for me originated.

Pressing the mic on the earpiece we always wear during ops, I say, “I’m coming in and I have company. Shots fired.”

“Copy that. We’re almost at the car and we’ll be ready to move the second you’re in.”

I want to tell them to leave me, but I’m so fucking close and I don’t want to do that to Audrey. I promised I would be back, so I’m fucking coming back.

Three more shots sail past me, but this time they’re closer. They come in succession, so there’s likely only one shooter. If I can manage to take him out?—

The next shot doesn’t miss. It catches me directly in the center back of my vest, sending me stumbling forward. Getting hit hurts, whether there’s a vest to save you or not, and pain radiates down my spine.

I turn, knowing I’ve got to take him out and I’ve got to do it now.

But the fucker is too close, and another bullet hits me square in the center of my chest, sending me stumbling back, fighting to stay upright because if I go down, I’m as good as dead.

Getting hit in both the back and front so close together has me struggling to breathe, and my vision starts to blur as I straighten my arm, taking aim. I’ve got a split second to hit him before he realizes it’ll take a headshot to kill me.

Before I can get the first shot off, his head snaps back, a circular defect appearing just above his left eye. I blink, sure I’m seeing things, because I know I did not pull the trigger.

In my next breath, soft hands are pressing against my face, angling it down.

Audrey’s eyes are wide and watering as they search my face. “Are you okay? I saw him shoot you, and I know you said to stay in the car, but?—”

“We don’t have fucking time for this.” Owen grabs me and hooks one arm around Audrey, shoving my body and practically carrying hers in the direction of the car. Luca’s right behind him, collecting my sidearm from where Audrey dropped it on the ground.

Becca’s already loaded in the back seat, looking pale and in shock, when Owen shoves Audrey and me in beside her. I barely notice as the two men get in the front and we pull away, racing through the darkened streets of the neighborhood as Luca gets us the fuck out of here as fast as he can.

Audrey’s hands are back on me, moving over my body as she checks for the wounds she’s sure I have. Her voice is panicked and tears are streaming down her face as she pleads with me to tell her where I’m hit.

But the shots that hit me aren’t even registering at this point. Only the one that hit the man chasing me matters. “Are you the one who shot him?”

Audrey’s eyes come to my face, and her wandering hands still. “I know you told me not to get out of the car, but when I heard Owen and Luca talking about what was happening, I panicked. You were all alone, and no one was there to back you up, so I...”

“So you, what?” I need to hear her say it, because I have to be certain what just happened.

Audrey licks her lips, her eyes leaving my face to move back to my body. “I saw him shoot you. Where did he shoot you?”

I grab her hands as they continue moving over me, stalling their progress. “They hit me in the vest. I’m fine, I’ll just be bruised up tomorrow.” I squeeze her wrists, bringing her attention back to my face. “Did you shoot him?”

Audrey presses her lips together, mouth flattening as she gives me a small nod.

A small nod that turns my whole fucking world upside down.

And Audrey doesn’t seem to know it, because she keeps explaining, the words tumbling out of her mouth.

“You told me I could shoot as many people as I needed to, so I didn’t think it would be a big deal.

Honestly, I didn’t even really think I would hit him.

I don’t know how it happened. Maybe it’s like when mothers can lift up cars to save their kids, because I just aimed and pulled the trigger.

” Her brows pinch together. “He’s dead, right? ”

I can’t tell how she feels about that possibility, so I hedge. “The shot went in right above his eye.”

Audrey nods, taking a deep breath and blowing it back out. “Good.”

My brows lift. “That’s good?”

Audrey’s gaze is steady on mine, her words slow and serious. “It was either him or you, and I’ll pick you every time.”

I don’t know what to say to that. What to think about it.

I love hard. I know that. I always figured I would have to settle for someone who wouldn’t feel the same fierceness for me—the same all-encompassing-ness—that I do for them.

But the sweet, soft, gentle woman beside me just put a bullet into a man’s brain for me. And all she has to say about it is, good.

Audrey sits taller, looking almost proud, which fucks my head up almost as much as her killing for me. Her lips lift in a hint of a smile as she leans close, her voice low. “Since I call you Murder Maddox, does this mean I can be Assassin Audrey?”