gripped his head, slamming it hard into the ground. That’d give him a nice headache later. He’d always been annoying to work with anyway.
More shots rang out from the direction of the second SUV. One of them struck me in the back. I arched and gasped a breath. It had lodged about an inch from my spine. Not enough to immobilize me, but enough to hurt like hell. I staggered behind the first SUV, dragging O’Connell’s body with me. The bullet might have slowed me down, but not so much I was going to give up.
Keeping my head low and senses alert, I searched through my former co-worker’s pockets. In one I found two plastic vials of the same complacence potion they’d used on Yvonne and her family. Another pocket yielded a single freezing potion. Each one was about the size of my thumb—good for one use by my estimate. I’d take what I could get if it enabled me to hold off on drastic measures. Killing these guys was not an option I wanted to consider.
I ignored the pain and ramped up my enhanced hearing to find the nearby men. Their heavy breathing and heartbeats gave them away. At least three were hiding behind the other vehicle. I couldn’t hear anyone else, but the engine running nearby drowned out anything farther out.
I took a steadying breath before poking my head around the grill of the SUV. Two shots rang out. I jerked back when the bullets whizzed past my head. Shuffling noises came from their side as they maneuvered around their vehicle and worked their way to the front. I pulled my gun from its holster. As soon as the steps got close enough, I swiveled back around and fired low.
The bullet winged the guy’s knee. He went down on his side screaming and clutching at his wound. The other two guys scrambled back out of sight. I crawled over to their wounded partner between the two SUVs. He didn’t notice me until I was less than five feet away and by then it was too late. I unscrewed the cap on the complacence potion and splashed him with it. In seconds he was lying there staring up at the stars, eyes glazed over.
Damn. I needed to special order this stuff.
Ducking low, I saw two sets of feet on the other side of the SUV. I considered leaping on top of the vehicle and surprising them from above, but didn’t think I’d make it with the bullet grinding into my back. Instead I aimed my gun close to one of their feet and fired. It missed, as I’d intended, but it had them rushing to get behind the tires.
With a painful heave, I forced myself upright and dashed around the vehicle. I shot a few random rounds to keep the guys low and peered around the front of the SUV. The nearest commando was crouched next to the driver’s side wheel. Before he could fire his gun, I kicked it from his grip. He had his hands up when I splashed the second vial of complacence potion on him.
He fell back and lay on the ground in a daze.
His buddy fired at me from his kneeling position next to the rear wheel. The first round went too high, but the next nailed me in the shoulder just before I could duck away. Searing pain ran through me. I gritted my teeth and swung around to shoot back, aiming for his thigh. He jerked when the round hit him.
I grabbed the last bottle of potion, unscrewed the cap, and tossed it at his chest. He scrambled to knock it away, but froze in mid-swipe. That would keep him down for awhile, though he’d have a crick in his neck when the spell wore off later.
More shots rang out from the side of the house. I caught two men poking their heads out from behind the corner. Damn. Where had they come from? I ducked around the SUV, but not before a sting came across my neck. It was just a graze, but the number of places injured on my body was beginning to outnumber the ones that weren’t.
Once out of their line of sight, I reloaded a fresh magazine. These other guys were going to be even trickier to take out. No matter which way I moved they’d see me coming. I sensed Kerbasi nearby. He must have
More shots rang out from the direction of the second SUV. One of them struck me in the back. I arched and gasped a breath. It had lodged about an inch from my spine. Not enough to immobilize me, but enough to hurt like hell. I staggered behind the first SUV, dragging O’Connell’s body with me. The bullet might have slowed me down, but not so much I was going to give up.
Keeping my head low and senses alert, I searched through my former co-worker’s pockets. In one I found two plastic vials of the same complacence potion they’d used on Yvonne and her family. Another pocket yielded a single freezing potion. Each one was about the size of my thumb—good for one use by my estimate. I’d take what I could get if it enabled me to hold off on drastic measures. Killing these guys was not an option I wanted to consider.
I ignored the pain and ramped up my enhanced hearing to find the nearby men. Their heavy breathing and heartbeats gave them away. At least three were hiding behind the other vehicle. I couldn’t hear anyone else, but the engine running nearby drowned out anything farther out.
I took a steadying breath before poking my head around the grill of the SUV. Two shots rang out. I jerked back when the bullets whizzed past my head. Shuffling noises came from their side as they maneuvered around their vehicle and worked their way to the front. I pulled my gun from its holster. As soon as the steps got close enough, I swiveled back around and fired low.
The bullet winged the guy’s knee. He went down on his side screaming and clutching at his wound. The other two guys scrambled back out of sight. I crawled over to their wounded partner between the two SUVs. He didn’t notice me until I was less than five feet away and by then it was too late. I unscrewed the cap on the complacence potion and splashed him with it. In seconds he was lying there staring up at the stars, eyes glazed over.
Damn. I needed to special order this stuff.
Ducking low, I saw two sets of feet on the other side of the SUV. I considered leaping on top of the vehicle and surprising them from above, but didn’t think I’d make it with the bullet grinding into my back. Instead I aimed my gun close to one of their feet and fired. It missed, as I’d intended, but it had them rushing to get behind the tires.
With a painful heave, I forced myself upright and dashed around the vehicle. I shot a few random rounds to keep the guys low and peered around the front of the SUV. The nearest commando was crouched next to the driver’s side wheel. Before he could fire his gun, I kicked it from his grip. He had his hands up when I splashed the second vial of complacence potion on him.
He fell back and lay on the ground in a daze.
His buddy fired at me from his kneeling position next to the rear wheel. The first round went too high, but the next nailed me in the shoulder just before I could duck away. Searing pain ran through me. I gritted my teeth and swung around to shoot back, aiming for his thigh. He jerked when the round hit him.
I grabbed the last bottle of potion, unscrewed the cap, and tossed it at his chest. He scrambled to knock it away, but froze in mid-swipe. That would keep him down for awhile, though he’d have a crick in his neck when the spell wore off later.
More shots rang out from the side of the house. I caught two men poking their heads out from behind the corner. Damn. Where had they come from? I ducked around the SUV, but not before a sting came across my neck. It was just a graze, but the number of places injured on my body was beginning to outnumber the ones that weren’t.
Once out of their line of sight, I reloaded a fresh magazine. These other guys were going to be even trickier to take out. No matter which way I moved they’d see me coming. I sensed Kerbasi nearby. He must have
Similar Books
