Page 64 of Brooks

“It wasn’t there when we left.”

“Was that gunfire?” she asked and rolled down the window.

It didn’t take long for another volley of shots to ring out.

I slammed on the brakes, the vehicle going from fifty to zero in seconds. We came to a sliding stop and before I could tell her not to move, Tatiana was out of the car running toward the condo.

Christ Almighty, she was going to be the death of me. No plan. No discussion. She just bolted. Not bothering to turn off the car, I jogged in the direction she’d gone. There’d been no gunfire in at least two minutes but that didn’t mean jack shit. Luckily, I found Tatiana crouched behind a cement wall, gun drawn, watching.

“I don’t see anyone,” she whispered.

Hyper-aware of our surroundings, I listened and watched. Not seeing any movement, I pointed forward and she nodded. Fortunately, she let me take the lead. I could feel her close, matching me stride for stride. We slowly approached the condo; no shots fired, no movement.

I heard three sharp whistles and turned to Tatiana. “We’re all clear.”

“How do you know?”

“We don’t always have the luxury of radio communication. Three fast, consecutive whistles is our code,” I explained. “Keep your eyes open.”

We continued to make our way to the front of the condo. Max turned his gun and pointed directly at Tatiana. In the dim light I could see his face was hard and he was pissed.

“What the fuck?” I muttered. “Lower your weapon.”

“You,” he spit out.

I glanced over at Tatiana and shockingly she was lowering her gun and holstering it even though Max had not done the same. I wouldn’t have blamed her if she’d continued to take aim.

“What. The. Fuck,” I repeated.

“You in on this bullshit?” he asked, nodding to his right. My gaze followed where he was gesturing and I saw two men covered in blood crumpled on the ground. Both very dead.

She hadn’t taken her eyes off Max. Hadn’t moved.

“I suggest you lower your gun.” There was no mistaking the anger in her voice.

“I suggest we all go inside before we get sniped.” I tried to calm the situation.

“And what happens if I don’t? You gonna send in another hit squad to try and take us all out?”

Her body jerked back like he’d physically struck her. “Is anyone injured?” she asked, before I could question Max.

“Lucky for you, no. It’s the only reason you’re still breathin’.”

“What the—”

“You think I did this? I sent them?” she cut me off.

Max continued, “Funny thing is, before today I was starting to trust you. But I don’t believe in coincidences. Before you showed up, no one was shooting at us. Before you, we had a clear-cut mission. Before you, it was a quick in and out. Now everywhere we go, we’re fucked and the only thing that has changed is you.”

“Are you fucking crazy?” She stepped toward Max. At that moment in time, I’d say they both were. He was making wild accusations and she was stepping closer to a very pissed off, deadly man pointing a gun at her. “I’m gonna ask you one more time to stop pointing your gun at me. I see you’re upset. But I’m unclear how you’ve drawn the conclusion I want any of you dead.”

“Upset? You haven’t seen upset, woman.”

I’d had enough. I moved between Max and Tatiana and held my friend’s stare. “She saved my life tonight. One of Al Issa’s men got the drop on me. Pointblank to the back of the head. If Tatiana had been one second later, I’d be dead. Tell me, does that play into whatever fucked-up scenario you have swirling around in your head? If she’d set this whole thing up, why’d she save me?”

Declan walked outside and entered our standoff. “I totally fucking get it now. I always thought Zane just liked being an asshole. Thought he got off on watching everyone scramble when he growled and barked orders. I was wrong. Really wrong. He’s an asshole because trying to keep all of you pricks straight is a feat unto itself. I need divine intervention.” Dec stopped by Max’s side and continued, “Put your fucking gun away. You’re not gonna shoot anyone. But I’m afraid Tatiana may kick you in the testicles the next time you’re not looking.”

“What happened here?” I asked.