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“He never is.”
“This is different. Whatever he’s up to, you’ll fuck it up if you go your own way, and get everyone killed.”
I wasn’t sure I believed for a minute that Rafe was trying to keep me safe. The only thing Rafe ever cared about was the bigger picture, and damn anyone who got in his way. Still, Jack was certain about this and I had to trust him, even if he hadn’t worked with Rafe in a very long time.
“Alright, so what’s your plan?”
“First, we need to get the hell out of here.”
My eyes flicked to the door. “You’re kidding me.”
“Afraid not,” he said, a slight grin pulling at his lips.
“What are you thinking?”
His gaze slid over my shoulder to Jason. “Maybe a can opener.”
“We don’t have everyone for that.”
“We have enough. Besides, what’s a few casualties between friends?”
He was right. If they were waiting for us outside, there was no way we were walking away without casualties. “Fine, but I get the roof.”
“Sally is waiting for you in the back.” He handed me an earpiece and headed for the front. Johnny followed me to the back.
“You probably thought you wouldn’t have any fun on this trip,” he chuckled.
“Since when are you excited to get involved in this shit?”
“Since things have been a little dull lately.”
“I thought that was what you wanted,” I said over my shoulder as I headed to the kitchen.
Johnny nodded to the cook, who reached below the counter and supplied my rifle. I didn’t know how Rafe got his hands on Sally, and I had a feeling I didn’t really want to know. Where Rafe went, there was always trouble.
“Tahlia is more than enough to keep my life exciting, but she’s thrown herself into work.”
Now it all made sense. “Then let’s make sure this adventure is enough to keep you entertained for the foreseeable future.”
He grinned at me, tipping his hat as we went out the back and immediately climbed the metal ladder to the roof. Keeping as low as I could, I followed Johnny’s hand signals to the northwest corner of the building, overlooking the parking lot. The streets were busy tonight with cars lining the streets. Having a shootout at this hour was dangerous at best, but there was no other way to go.
“Three o’clock,” Johnny said as I set up Sally.
I got on my belly and swung the scope to three o’clock. Leaning against a car was a man smoking a cigarette. By all standards, he didn’t appear to be a threat, but the way his eyes kept flicking around the parking lot was the first clue that he wasn’t just having a smoke.
Suddenly, he stiffened, his gaze locking on something in the distance. I swung my scope around, catching sight of Jason and Jack stumbling out of the bar, laughing as they went.
“He’s on the move.”
“I see him,” I said, locking my sights on him. I slowed my breathing and gauged the wind as he maneuvered between the cars. With only so many routes to take, I chose the most likely scenario and took one final steadying breath. Pulling the trigger, I hit the target in the chest. He crumpled to the ground, and as expected, chaos erupted.
“Nine o’clock!” Johnny signaled.
I moved quickly as he called out the targets. One, I barely missed in the chaos of the men and women running. The target grabbed a woman, thrusting a knife to her neck as he backed away from the building. He didn’t know where I was, but he was smart enough to realize that he was trapped with no way out.
“Jason, we have a target at?—”
“I’ve got him.” I pulled the trigger, placing a bullet right between his eyes. The knife slipped from the woman’s throat and she ran screaming from the scene. As the sirens sounded in the distance, I scanned the area one last time for any tangos, but the police scared them away as planned. I packed up my rifle and slung it over my shoulder, running flat out for the ladder with Johnny hot on my heels. We made it to the ground in mere seconds, just in time as Jack pulled up with a pickup truck, skidding to a stop beside us. I got in the back, tucking my rifle under the seat as he hit the gas and took an alley away from the bar.
