Chapter Six

Jemma automatically drew her gun when she heard what Aiden had just said. Hayes did the same, and they didn’t have to wait long to hear the shouts from outside.

“Get down,” someone yelled.

That got Duane’s attention, too, and he whirled around to face her. “What the hell’s going on?”

She didn’t know yet, but Jemma saw the thick white smoke rushing past the front window. There was a lot of it, and she doubted this was some kind of accidental fire or sudden fog.

“Aiden, is it tear gas or smoke bombs?” Hayes asked.

“Smoke bombs,” Aiden supplied through the earpiece. “It’s coming from the east, in that area by the trees.”

The very place that Hayes had pointed out as prime for an attack. But what kind of attack was this?

Jemma didn’t have to wait long for that answer.

A series of gunshots tore through the air, and from the sound of the blasts, at least one of the bullets hit something outside. She prayed it wasn’t one of Hayes’ brothers or one of the workers installing security.

“Aiden?” Hayes asked.

“I’m pinned down,” was his brother’s reply. “My guess is this asshole had Declan and me in his sights before he launched the smoke bombs. I’m at the base of one of those creepy statues, and the last I saw Declan, he was by his SUV.”

Jemma hoped that meant they would stay out of the line of fire.

“What about the workers?” she pressed.

“Not sure. I’ll try to get to them now,” Aiden assured her.

“You had me come to an unsecure scene?” Duane snarled. He didn’t wait for a response. Good thing because Jemma wasn’t giving him one. “And that thug outside took my weapons. I have no way to defend myself.”

“Shut up and get down on the floor,” Hayes ordered. “Molly, you get down, too,” he added in a less gruff tone. “Are you armed?” he asked her.

The tech gave a shaky nod and drew a snub-nosed .38 from the back waist of her jeans. It wasn’t a lot of firepower, but Hayes and she both had Glocks. So did Reed as he came running out from the dining room.

There was another spray of gunfire, the bullets pelting the east side of the inn. She heard the sound of breaking glass and figured at least one of the windows had been broken.

And she realized something else.

“The shooter could be using the smoke screen to move closer. To come in here after us,” she muttered.

Hayes made a quick sound of agreement and snatched up the helmets that they’d left on the floor next to the desk. “Put this on and get down. I’m going out to take a look.”

“No,” Jemma couldn’t say fast enough. She didn’t want him out there in the line of fire.

But he was going there anyway despite her objections. Hayes yanked on the helmet and headed for the door.

She put on her helmet as well and looked at Reed and Molly. “Can you make sure Duane stays put and doesn’t assist whoever’s trying to kill us?”

Reed didn’t immediately comply. He looked at Hayes, maybe wanting to see if that plan worked for his fellow operative. It didn’t. Hayes’ scowl conveyed that. But Jemma tapped her badge again.

“I can’t take the safe route here,” she reminded him. “And I can’t allow everyone outside to be at risk because someone is gunning for me.”

Hayes looked more than ready to argue about that, but Aiden spoke through the earpiece again.

“We’ve got a man down, one of the workers,” Aiden blurted, coughing from the smoke. “I can’t see shit out here, but he’s alive and bleeding. He needs help now.”

Oh, mercy. Not again. Not another life at stake.

“Take cover as best you can,” Jemma managed to respond. “And tell everyone to hold their fire.”

She heard Aiden shout out her orders, and she thought of the woods. Of the proximity to town and any other residences. Thankfully, there wasn’t anything nearby those thick oaks, but it would still be a risk to return fire by shooting low. She had to hope that the sniper was still up in one of the trees. Hayes and she could direct her shots there, and the stray bullets would hopefully be far away from any innocent bystanders.

“Stay low and get in front of the cruiser,” Hayes snarled, clearly not pleased that she was going with him. “The cruiser’s bullet resistant, and we’ll use it for cover. Aim high and keep firing.” He looked at Reed, who was in the process of putting in an earpiece. “Get the drone to fire some laser lights into the trees.”

Jemma had no idea that a drone could do that, but she hoped it would distract the shooter or better yet, temporarily blind the sonofabitch so he couldn’t fire. She didn’t want anyone else shot.

“Move fast,” Hayes ordered just as he threw open the front door.

Of course, he put his body in front of hers. Protecting her, again. That got her hurrying even more because the sooner she got out of the line of fire, the sooner Hayes could as well.

She ran to the front of the cruiser, dropping down as the bullets pelted the roof of the vehicle. Seconds later, Hayes dropped down beside her, and they both began to cough and curse both the smoke and the gunfire. Jemma cursed the visibility problems with the helmet, too. She couldn’t see nearly well enough to do what she needed to do. Still, she had to work with what she had.

“Fire,” Hayes told her a split second after he levered himself up and began shooting into the trees.

The sound was deafening, vibrating through every inch of her body. Combined with the smoke and the tightness in her chest, it created a smothering effect. She couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, couldn’t breathe. But she could certainly feel, and one of those feelings was the sickening dread that someone wanted her dead. Someone willing to kill lots of people to get to her.

Jemma had to stop firing to reload, and without the blasts from her own gun, she could hear Reed through the earpiece. “The drone had located two gunmen,” he said. “Both wearing ski masks. One is in a tree at your two o’clock. The other is on foot, threading his way toward the trees and shrubs to the inn.”

Jemma cursed because that meant the one on the move would be able to take out more of the workers. She recalled there were at least a half dozen on them, and they were on every side of the building.

“What’s the location of the one on the move?” Hayes asked in between sending gunfire into the trees.

“He’s at the edge of the garden, by a hedge shaped like a rearing horse,” Reed replied.

She knew the exact spot since she’d noticed that one. There was plenty of cover around it, what with more hedges and some of those statues.

“Aiden and Declan, deal with the sniper in the trees,” Hayes instructed through the earpiece. “Keep him occupied. Blind the bastard with the lasers from the drone. Jemma and I are going after the one on foot.”

She knew that Hayes would have preferred her to stay put. Or go back inside. But he was also aware that wasn’t going to happen so he probably figured the safest option was to keep her near him.

“Stay behind me and move fast,” Hayes told her, and the smoke was dissipating just enough that she could see the fierce focus in his eyes.

Good. She wanted that focus because she wanted this snake stopped. And caught. Then, they could find out why the hell he was trying to kill her.

Jemma moved when Hayes did, following right along in his path. Unfortunately, the smoke didn’t cooperate. It swarmed right at them, bringing that smothering sensation right along with it. She tried not to cough since it would give away their location.

“Gunman has moved to one of the statues,” Reed relayed. “You’re on a direct course with him.”

Hayes didn’t respond, but he kept moving, their boots crunching on the broken glass from the windows. They stopped by a marble statue of what appeared to be some Greek goddess in a drapey garment. And he waited, lifting his head and listening. Or rather trying to do that. Hard to hear with Aiden and Declan firing nonstop at the sniper.

“The one on foot is at your one o’clock,” Reed said. “About twenty feet away, and he’s still on the move.”

Mercy, that was close. Too close.

Hayes continued to wait. And the ticking off seconds seemed to have both stopped and sped up at the same time.

“Stay put,” Hayes whispered to her, right before he leaned out and fired a shot.

In a blink, the gunman returned fire, the bullet slamming into the statue. Bits of marble flew like little missiles through the air.

Hayes didn’t pull back. He immediately adjusted his stance and aim.

And he fired three more shots.

Jemma heard the sickening sound of the bullets slamming into a body. Heard the sharp groan of pain. Then, of someone falling.

“Shooter is down,” Reed verified. “Not sure if he’s dead though.”

“Cover me,” Hayes told her.

That was all the warning she got before he stepped out from the statue, moving straight toward the downed gunman.

A gunman who could still be very much alive and ready to kill.

Jemma latched onto that reminder and relied on her training, her instincts. And she kept her Glock ready as they approached the man.

He was in a heap on the ground. Not moving, no signs of life. The smoke cleared enough around him for her to see the blood. Lots of it, pooling around him on the limestone stepping stones.

Jemma kept her gun trained on him as Hayes leaned down and touched his fingers to the man’s neck.

“Dead,” Hayes muttered.

“Sniper is on the move,” Reed said, the urgency in his voice. “He’s out of the tree and running.”

Hayes seemed to have a debate as to what to do about that. He was no doubt considering sending Aiden and Declan to try to chase the shooter down. But that was a risk. Because if there was a third attacker, he could move in once the two operatives were out of the way.

“Come on,” Hayes snarled to Jemma. “We’re going after him.”