Act of Mercy (PSI-Ops / Immortal Ops) by Mandy M. Roth Page A

you here to fix the sink?” she asked, eyeing him carefully. “You’re not the normal fix-it guy.”
    He waited for her to freak out about a gunman in her bedroom. Granted, he was the gunman, but still he wanted to know she had at least minimal basic survival instincts. Apparently, the woman had none to speak of whatsoever. “What?”
    “ The sink. It’s been acting up. You’re here to fix it, right?”
    “ No,” he said, doing his best not to shout at her for being so clueless. “I’m not.”
    She wrinkled her nose , glancing over him slowly. “You’re incredibly fit. Has anyone ever told you that before? You have great bone structure.” Her gaze slid to a framed picture on her wall. “Have we met before?”
    Duke couldn ’t make heads or tails of the picture on the wall. The thing looked like badly done modern art. She seemed pretty focused on it, before looking at him again.
    She sucked in a large breath. “Oh, you have a gun.”
    Finally.
    “Listen, Doc, we need to get you to safety.”
    Something in her expression changed. “You’re not with the Corporation, are you?”
    He shook his head. He didn’t know who the hell the Corporation was.
    She took a tiny step back. “You’re Jimmy’s friends and you want to kill me, right?”
    He lifted his arms to signal he wasn ’t a threat. He wasn’t sure it actually worked. She seemed very engrossed by his sidearm. He offered as soft a look as he could muster. “Here. All gone, okay?” He slipped the handgun into his waistband. “My name is Duke and I come in peace. Listen, a group of men are gunning for you. I need to get you to safety. Are you okay with that?”

Chapter Nine
     
    Mercy thought about Jimmy’s warning and glanced around the room, trying to figure out the best escape plan. One minute she’d been packing a bag to be able to run once she freed Jimmy, and the next, she had a hunky guy standing in her bedroom, holding a gun.
    The more she looked at him, the more she thought about the men from the side street, near the café . The ones who had lifted the car.
    The ones who weren ’t human.
    She gasped.
    Duke sighed loudly. “Darlin’, don’t try it. I’m faster than you can hope to be and I’m not about to let you get yourself killed today. So, grab that bag you’re packin’ and let’s get the hell out of here before it’s too late.”
    There was a loud crash and Mercy knew they’d run out of time.
    A man with a black ski mask rushed up behind Duke. Mercy pointed , suddenly wanting to protect the man she’d just entertained trying to run from. Duke spun, kicking with precision and hitting the masked man. Duke aimed his weapon and fired, finding his mark with ease.
    She ’d never seen anyone get shot before. Her mind couldn’t seem to pull away from all the blood. There was another crash. Mercy jolted, her eyes wide. Everything seemed to happen so fast. Within seconds the room around her seemed alive with explosions.
    Not explosions , she thought. Gunfire.
    She couldn ’t seem to get her body on board with hitting the floor. Instead, she stood upright, staring in wonder as Duke snatched hold of another man with a ski mask and twisted the man’s neck. There was a loud snap and Mercy knew the man was dead.
    “ We need to go!” he shouted, coming for her.
    She backed up and hit the wall. The framed DNA sequence she’d masturbated to fell and crashed to the floor. Her idea of the perfect man was shattering before her yet she couldn’t help but look back in Duke’s direction. A strange knowing came over her as she looked from him to the broken pieces of the frame.
    Ohmygod , it’s him! Perfect-Male-DNA is standing in my living room with a gun.
    She was sure of it. Nothing made sense anymore. Everything in her world was turned on its head.
    “Are you able to shift into a wolf?” she asked, ignoring the gunfire around them as it cracked and popped, the room filling with smoke. Her mind was in science mode. Anything else