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“Let go of me, please,” Riss said as she tried to step out of his reach.
He tightened his grip. “I don’t think so.”
She frowned at him as he propelled her down the narrow street. She almost had to jog to keep up. “Why? We left the shop. Umberti is still back there. It’s fine.”
Cash ground his teeth as he dropped his arm from her waist and grabbed her hand. He scowled. “You just declared open season on yourself. You are not going to be out of my sight from now on.”
“What?” she barked and then stopped dead. “What are you talking about?”
He pulled her so she fell into him as he said, “Not here.” Then without a warning, he took off again. She stumbled along beside him. Shit, it wouldn’t do to have it look like he was abducting her. He slowed but kept his head on a swivel. Umberti was not to be trusted and it would take no time at all for word to get out that Riss was Alicia’s sister and she was looking for the bible. Whoever had killed Alicia would come for Riss.
This was a fucking nightmare. He did not have time to deal with this mess. He was supposed to be preparing for the meeting between Derek Davenport and Chang Li, two of the tech world’s most powerful men. They were archrivals. The fact that Li was also the head of one of the biggest triads just layered more trouble on this fucked up situation. The last thing Cash needed was Riss crashing through his life.
They were moving swiftly along a main street when something caught his eye. Speak of the devil. Derek Davenport was standing on the corner with a small man in a long charcoal coat. The man had a scar on his cheek. They appeared to be arguing.
Another large man stood off to the right. The dark jeans and a black jacket with a bulge under one arm made him easy to peg as Davenport’s security. He only spied the single man, but he might as well believe in Santa as believe there weren’t more around. Davenport didn’t travel with just one guy because there wasn’t a strong display of power with only one guard. And Davenport was all about appearances.
Cash searched his personal memory bank. Did he know the guy? He kind of looked familiar. Davenport's arrival was earlier than Cash had planned on, and he certainly didn’t expect to see the man in public. That was unsettling, jarring. Too bad he didn’t have time to ponder that now. His top priority has shifted to getting Riss off the street.
Riss glanced over at the group. “Where do I know him from? He looks familiar.”
“Never mind.” Cash tugged her along the street for another couple of blocks. Then the base of his spine tingled, a sure sign of trouble. “Run!”
The brick above Riss’s head exploded as he dragged her into an alley. She let out a scream, but Cash just kept running. He pulled out his gun and glanced behind them. The alley was empty. Ahead, the narrow space curved to the left and he slowed and raised his gun. When Riss started to speak, he scowled to still her words. Eyes wide, she stayed silent. Thankfully.
They hugged the wall as they approached the curve. He took a quick peek and then nodded at Riss. The alley was empty and quiet except for Riss’s gasps for breath as they moved. They needed to get clear fast or they’d be sitting ducks. He pulled her along at a run until they reached the end of the alley.
“Shit,” he swore as he realized it ended in a canal. He quickly looked both ways. There was no one in sight.
“What do we do now? Why is someone shooting at us? What the hell is going on?” she demanded.
Cash ignored her and pulled out his phone. He hit a few buttons and then snarled into the phone. “I need an extraction now.”
“Where are you?” the voice on the other end demanded.
“Not entirely sure. Track this phone and get here ASAP. Someone took a shot at us.” He glanced up and down the canal but there was nothing to tell him exactly where they were and he didn’t know Venice well enough. He could look at his phone but it was easier if they did it.
“Roger that. On the way.” The call ended as abruptly as it started.
“Who are you talking to? What the hell is going on?” Riss’s eyes were huge and she’d started to shake. She was in shock. Didn’t blame her. Cash’s own adrenaline was pumping hard. Civilian or military, it sucked to be shot at.
Behind them, there was a sudden clatter. Cash immediately pushed Riss to the wall and covered her body with his, her front to his back. He thumbed the safety on his gun and kept it at his side. It was hard to tell what the sound was and where exactly it was coming from. With the water and the alleyways, sounds bounced around a lot.
“Cash, what the hell is going on?” Riss’s voice echoed like a claxon.
He pressed harder against her, hoping to silence her. He hissed quietly, “Someone is shooting at you. That’s what’s going on. You said you wanted the bible and now someone wants you dead. It’s what happened to your sister. She went after the bible and someone killed her over it. Now it’s your turn.”
Her chest heaved as all the breath whooshed out of her lungs. She was scared. Too bad. He’d told her to go home. She didn’t listen and now here they were. The sound of footsteps heading their way down the alley reached them. Riss clutched at the back of his jacket. Cash glanced at the canal. Where the fuck was their ride? The footsteps grew louder, closer.
“Cash,” she said just above a whisper. The fear in her voice was almost his undoing. Goddammit. He was not going to lose her. Riss was special. She was his. The sound of a boat approaching made him turn and look. Relief surged through him as he spied Dante and Antonio pulling up. He jerked Riss away from the wall and pushed her towards the boat. He stood facing the alley gun at this side. Antonio would drive the boat and Dante would keep an eye out for any trouble. All he had to do was protect Riss from whoever was in the alley.
“Cash,” Dante called.
That was the signal. Cash started backing up towards the boat. He was turning to board the low-slung old-fashioned speed boat when he saw a flash out of the corner of his eye. He launched himself at Riss and the two of them landed hard on the bottom of the boat. Antonio hit the gas and the old boat leaped forward.
“Are you okay?” He wiped the hair out of her face. Her eyelids fluttered and she looked up at him. “Are you okay?” he asked again.
“Yes,” she breathed. “Just had the wind knocked out of me. You’re heavy,” she grunted as she shifted the bag of her sister’s stuff out from between them.
