The enemy bore down on them in a suicidal rush, yelling their war cry. They began shooting in that weird haphazard way they had, from the hip, spraying rounds all over the place in the hopes of hitting something. A few rounds plowed into the cinderblock wall at the front of the school, sending up tiny sprays of white. He stayed off the radio, letting his men do their jobs. They’d gone over this plan before and each man knew what to do.
His finger tightened on the trigger. Another ounce of pressure was all he needed to fire. His gaze locked on the man at the front of the center column. He was running flat out toward the school, mouth wide open in his bearded face as he hollered, his AK spewing rounds. Some of the shots thudded into the ground yards ahead of where Alex lay.He held his fire, waiting for the enemy to come into the kill zone. Five seconds. Four. Three. Two. One.He squeezed the trigger, firing two shots that hit the man’s chest.Hernandez left work that evening in a cheerful mood and opted to walk over to one of his favorite cafés for a hot cup of tea before catching the bus home. The entire day had gone by without a single call from the boss and he’d made good headway on the next project in his queue. On top of that, he was looking forward to finding out if there’d been an attack on the site today.He took a shortcut down some side streets on the way from his office to avoid the crowds. The sun was just starting to set, casting a rosy glow over everything its rays touched. calls for customers to purchase the wares rang out from the traders in the market. Being near the end of the year, everyone was in high spirits about the approach of the new year celebration and looking to fill up on a good meal before the holiday price hike of goods began after the holiday. When he arrived, his favorite coffee shop was much busier than usual.After standing in line for almost fiftee
The sound of the gunfire was terrifying, but it was the sudden silence that filled Joanne’s veins with ice. A deathly stillness now engulfed the underground shelter as everyone held their breath. Only a single dim emergency light shone in the far corner, casting shadows on the rear walls. The front half of the enclosure was swallowed in blackness, increasing the sense of claustrophobia.Joanne clutched the little boy, Pablo, to her chest, struggling to stay calm in the suffocating tension. Everyone was totally still, afraid to move. She cut a glance ahead at Ray, who stared up at the trap door that led to the emergency shelter that had been built at her father’s insistence. The end of the firefight meant one of two things. Either Alex and the others had eradicated the threat, or the attackers had overwhelmed them and were coming to kill them next.Joanne swallowed hard. There was no place for them to go. Nowhere to hide but here.Hold it tog
She was panting by the time they reached the roadblock, her back and face soaked in sweat despite the cool air. Someone screamed Pablo’s name. The boy’s head snapped up and Joanne spun around. A young woman was racing toward them, her face crumpled with fear and grief. Pablo shoved at Joanne so she let him go and watched the little boy run into the woman’s waiting arms. Joanne swallowed back tears when the woman caught her son and fell to her knees there on the dirt road, sobbing as she rocked him.“We’ve gotta go,” Alex said impatiently, dragging her forward.Joanne resisted, reluctant to leave them until she was sure they would be okay. “How will they get home? How do we know they’ll be safe?”“The military and police will handle it. We have to go,” he repeated. This time he jerked her forward hard enough that she had no choice but to follow. The sound of Pablo and his mother crying followed them down the hill to where a familiar black SUV was roaring toward them.
He shifted his attention back to his sidearm as though uncomfortable with the idea of her singing his praises to her boss. “That’s not necessary.”“I think it is.”This time when he glanced up his eyes strayed from her face down the length of her robe-covered body and suddenly the room felt way too small. Every place his eyes touched, her skin started to tingle, her body coming to life as if waking from a long sleep. Since that could go nowhere, she turned away and pulled the robe over her head, leaving her in her pants and T-shirt. When she continued to feel Alex’s gaze on her, she told herself she was imagining things.Marshall showed up a few minutes later with some takeout and their bags and left, saying he had things to take care of. Without pause, Alex grabbed a small kit from his duffel and glanced at her over his shoulder. “Mind if I grab a shower first?”“No, go ahead.” When he disappeared behind the bathroom
Alex saw the kiss coming in plenty of time to avoid it if he’d wanted to.He didn’t and it was impossible for him to keep his professional distance any longer.Still jacked up from the battle, seeing that hungry, hopeful look in Joanne’s eyes sealed the deal. He settled his hands on her waist, his attention narrowing to the way her lashes fluttered closed as she leaned up on tiptoe, the tempting curve of her lips rising to meet his and the arc of raw sexual energy leaping between them. The tentative weight of her hands on his shoulders sent a ripple of heat across his skin and made his cock harden. That she was leaving in the morning made it easier to ignore just how bad an idea this was. But he wanted her too badly to stop it.Threading his fingers into the curly mass of her hair, he squeezed, bringing her head back before their lips touched and eliciting a tiny gasp that made the sexual fire inside him burn hotter. His way, the grip told h
At his knock Marshall opened the door and stepped back to let him in with an expectant look on his face. “What’s up?”Alex stopped in the middle of the room and met his gaze, deciding it best just to put it out there. “Pam needs a favor.”Because he was a smart sonofabitch, Marshall’s expression immediately turned wary. “And apparently she needs a messenger, too.” He eyed Alex with a raised brow, his southern boy drawl laced with a hard edge.Yeah, this wasn’t going to go well. “She thinks there’s an Intel leak somewhere in the chain and she wants us to look into it. Starting with you contacting Claire.”At the mention of that name, Marshall’s face went eerily blank. “You’re shittin’ me.”Alex shook his head. “No, man, I’m not.” He held up his phone, screen out to show the ignored text message if he wanted to read it.Marshall’s eyebrows crashed together in a glower as he set his hands on h
When Alex opened the door Joanne came up onto one elbow on the bed and pushed the hair out of her face. He slipped inside, flashed a smile.“Everything okay?” she asked, not fooled by the smile.“Yeah. Marshall was looking into something for us. It’s all good.” He nodded at her phone on the nightstand. “You talk to your investors?”“yeah. they were really upset.” Joanne was thankful her Investors wasn’t involved in this side of the project so they wouldn't know she had been subjected to any of this.“Understandable.”She nodded, wishing she’d taken the time to have a shower instead of just changing into her sleep shirt and yoga pants. “I texted my secretary too. I told them I’d let them know when my flight is leaving.”“Eleven hundred tomorrow.”Oh. She frowned, confused by her conflicting reactions. She wanted to go home more than anything, but she couldn’t help feeling responsible for those young workers and the thought of never seeing Alex again s
Sleep wouldn’t come. She’d known it wouldn’t. Not with images of the shootings and the men's frightened faces flickering through her head. Alex’s quiet breathing reassured her she at least wasn’t alone, yet somehow she felt lonelier with him stretched out on that couch across the room. She turned from one side to the other, even pulled the pillow over her head to block out the tiny bit of light coming from the bathroom. No matter what she did she couldn’t relax.“That mattress have lumps in it or something?” Alex asked finally after an unknown amount of time had passed.She rolled to her back with a sigh. “Sorry. Am I keeping you awake?”He gave a half chuckle. “No. I’m not much of a sleeper these days.”“I used to be up until a few weeks ago. I miss it.”In the dim light from the bathroom, she watched Alex sit up and set his elbows on his knees. “I’m not gonna lie to you, sweetheart.”The