Page 70 of Seven Deadly Sins

“The assassin,” Harper whispered.

The woman whirled and ducked out of sight. A gunshot rang out, kicking a piece of plaster from the wall.

“Who are you?” Liam returned fire.

“Your worst nightmare.” Stilettos flew over the railing and to the floor below her. She fired again and dashed down the stairs.

Liam and Harper gave chase. So much for catching Thompson. They’d have to make do with his hired killer.

The stairwell door slammed.

Liam yanked it open and barged out, almost knocking over a cleaning woman and her cart. “Sorry.” He continued his mad dash down a hall.

Swinging doors told him the direction the woman had gone. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Harper still followed, then entered the kitchen.

Work stopped. Mouths flew open. A young man pointed to the back door.

The door led to a storage room. A door sat open at the other end, framing the alley behind the hotel.

Liam peered outside in time to see the woman climb onto a dumpster and vault over a fence, the dress she wore hiked up to her thighs. Admiration for her athletic skill washed over him until he reminded himself that she was a cold-blooded killer who needed to be in good physical health.

Harper sprinted past him, also seeming to fly over the dumpster and the fence. Liam grinned. This woman he could freely admire.

As he dropped to the ground on the other side of the fence, a shot rang out. His gaze searched the area for Harper. Another shot rang out, and he increased his speed until he found her hunkered down behind a pony wall surrounding a smoker’s area behind a restaurant.

“I can’t see where she’s hiding,” she told him.

Where was their backup? Liam risked a peek over the wall.

A bullet kicked up dust near his face. “I couldn’t see her either.” The woman definitely had the upper hand. He placed another call to the office. “Where’s our backup?”

“Stuck on the highway. Multiple car pileup,” the receptionist said. “They’re trying to clear a way to get through. You’ll have to hang tight.”

“We’re being shot at!” He shoved his phone back into his pocket. “We’re on our own for a while.”

He glanced around them. “If we stay low, weaving in and out of the few cars out here, we might be able to get around her.” It was risky, but they couldn’t stay down and allow her to escape. This woman could get them Thompson. “Follow me. Nice vault over the wall by the way.”

“Thanks. If she could do it in a dress, I definitely could in pants.” She grinned.

They dashed to the nearest car. Another gunshot. Something repeated each time they went from one shield to another.

“She doesn’t want to kill us.” Liam stopped, back against a delivery van. “Thompson hasn’t given the order.” He stood and stepped into the open.

“What are you doing?” Harper reached for him.

“Trust me.” He held up his hands. “Why don’t you come out and talk to us? I have to admit that in my years of service, I’ve never met someone quite as skilled as you.”

“You flatter me, Agent.” A soft, seductive voice drifted from in front of him and slightly to his right.

“Then, at least give Thompson a message.”

“Which is?”

“That we’re tiring of this game and coming for him.”

Laughter erupted. “Such arrogance, Agent McConnell. My boss might not be the brain I am, but he’s too smart to be captured by the likes of you. No, only someone like me could take him down, and before you get any ideas, I am nothing more than a hired hand. I do not follow his beliefs that this world will ever be what he dreams of it being.”

“You’re only in it for the money.”