Page 5 of Shadow

Gone.

No, no⁠—

Sirens, and then EMTs, and still Asher’s hand pressed the wound.

“Sir—” The EMT touched his shoulder gently. “Sir, she’s gone.”

“I know.”

But he couldn’t make his hands move. Couldn’t make himself let go.

Hank and Diego—courthouse security, weapons drawn, completely useless—arrived at the scene.

Too late. Always too late.

“Secure the exits!” The lead marshal was coordinating the response now, voice crisp despite the chaos. “Shooter down near the entrance⁠—”

“He’s dead.” Michael’s voice.

Asher glanced over at the man, the pool of blood widening.

Dani approached, her FBI credentials in hand. “You okay?”

He didn’t know how to answer her. Looked at Martha’s whitened face.

He should have done more.

“You tried to save her.” Michael. Not a question.

Asher looked up at him, at Dani. Then frowned.

“I saw you knock into the shooter. Right before he fired.”

Asher blew out a breath. “I saw the weapon and just reacted.”

“You might have reacted by pulling your weapon,” Dani said, her mouth tight.

Around them, crime scene techs were already activating. Yellow tape going up. Photographers arriving. Evidence markers.

Asher nodded and got up, backed away from Martha. “Yeah.”

He scanned the lobby through the chaos. Dmitri’s bench near the coffee cart—empty. Newspaper abandoned.

The syndicate’s observer had vanished.

Which meant he’d seen everything. Asher stumbling into Carlo. Martha dying anyway, despite the interference.

And now Dmitri would report back to Draven Frost.

Their corrupt FBI agent had tried to save the witness.

Failed spectacularly.

But tried.

Yeah. That was going to be a fun conversation.

The EMT assessing Martha motioned for a black bag. Asher watched them lift her carefully onto the gurney, watched them cover her face⁠—