partner.”
The man closest to Mallory glanced at her, drawing a knife from his pocket before lunging towards her. She countered his attack, dodging to the side when another shot echoed down the alley. The guy jerked forward then dropped into a crumpled heap on the ground.
Sawyer took a step closer. “What part of FBI don’t you gentlemen understand? And the next bastard to touch the lady gets a bullet in his dick. Now get the hell down on the ground before I decide to shoot you anyway.”
Mallory stumbled backwards, bracing her weight on the wall as Sawyer growled out more orders, snapping cuffs on the men still moving. She searched the area again, but knew Davies was long gone. She muttered a hushed curse, knowing there was nothing left to chase but her pride. A beam of light broke the darkness as her Jeep rumbled to a halt at the adjoining road and Cole jumped out, gun drawn, face twisted into a scowl. He looked from her to Sawyer and back again, shaking his head as he knelt beside the guy on the ground, checking his pulse.
He pulled out his cell, calling for paramedics as he met her gaze. The look on his face made her turn away. She closed her eyes, wishing she was anywhere but there, when a hand curled around her arm. She opened her eyes to Sawyer’s deadly expression. He didn’t say a word, just handed over her weapon before turning around and heading to the mouth of the alley as sirens called in the distance. She let her head fall back against the building, feeling every bruise and cut. Davies’ face wavered in the darkness, mocking her. He’d won again. Only this time, she had a bad feeling he’d beaten more than just a brush with death.
* * * *
Mallory sat at the bar, a pack of ice in her left hand, a shot of whisky in her right. She’d already had four rounds, and had no intentions of stopping until she’d drained the rest of the bottle. The stool beside her scraped back, and she shifted her gaze just enough to see Cole slide in next to her, a bottle of beer fisted in one hand. She cursed. She’d already made it clear to both men she wasn’t in the mood for company, though they’d ignored her for the most part and had accompanied her to the bar just the same. But that didn’t mean she had to like it.
He took a long pull, staring at the label for what felt like forever before finally acknowledging her. “How’s your jaw?”
She stared at her own glass, trying to ignore the way her face pulsed to the beat of her heart. That first punch had split her lower lip and bruised her cheek, turning her skin a deep shade of purple. It’d started to swell before the paramedics had left the scene and not even an hour’s worth of icing it had been enough to lessen the pain.
She shrugged, finishing the rest of her shot. “Fine.”
Cole scoffed, banging his beer down on the table. “Fuck, Mallory! Pulling off a dumbass move is one thing. Brushing off the fact you damn near got your ass kicked, let alone raped, is another.”
Mallory glared at him, not willing to back down. “I didn’t get my ass kicked, Cole. I was chasing down a suspect when that bastard popped out of nowhere and caught me by surprise. The creep landed a lucky punch, nothing more. And in case you didn’t notice, I sent all four of those thugs to the hospital, so don’t even start with me.”
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot. You went all Jackie Chan on them, so that makes it okay.”
Anger burned through the hurt and she turned, groaning when a sharp pain stabbed through her jaw. “There’s another body lying in the morgue bearing all the markings of John Davies.” She waved at her face. “So this is getting off easy.” She raised the ice pack to her cheek, staring back at her empty drink. “If you only sat down to lecture me, you can find somewhere else to sit. As I already told you, I’m not really in the mood.”
Cole cursed beside her, shuffling around as if he couldn’t sit still. When she chanced a look his
The man closest to Mallory glanced at her, drawing a knife from his pocket before lunging towards her. She countered his attack, dodging to the side when another shot echoed down the alley. The guy jerked forward then dropped into a crumpled heap on the ground.
Sawyer took a step closer. “What part of FBI don’t you gentlemen understand? And the next bastard to touch the lady gets a bullet in his dick. Now get the hell down on the ground before I decide to shoot you anyway.”
Mallory stumbled backwards, bracing her weight on the wall as Sawyer growled out more orders, snapping cuffs on the men still moving. She searched the area again, but knew Davies was long gone. She muttered a hushed curse, knowing there was nothing left to chase but her pride. A beam of light broke the darkness as her Jeep rumbled to a halt at the adjoining road and Cole jumped out, gun drawn, face twisted into a scowl. He looked from her to Sawyer and back again, shaking his head as he knelt beside the guy on the ground, checking his pulse.
He pulled out his cell, calling for paramedics as he met her gaze. The look on his face made her turn away. She closed her eyes, wishing she was anywhere but there, when a hand curled around her arm. She opened her eyes to Sawyer’s deadly expression. He didn’t say a word, just handed over her weapon before turning around and heading to the mouth of the alley as sirens called in the distance. She let her head fall back against the building, feeling every bruise and cut. Davies’ face wavered in the darkness, mocking her. He’d won again. Only this time, she had a bad feeling he’d beaten more than just a brush with death.
* * * *
Mallory sat at the bar, a pack of ice in her left hand, a shot of whisky in her right. She’d already had four rounds, and had no intentions of stopping until she’d drained the rest of the bottle. The stool beside her scraped back, and she shifted her gaze just enough to see Cole slide in next to her, a bottle of beer fisted in one hand. She cursed. She’d already made it clear to both men she wasn’t in the mood for company, though they’d ignored her for the most part and had accompanied her to the bar just the same. But that didn’t mean she had to like it.
He took a long pull, staring at the label for what felt like forever before finally acknowledging her. “How’s your jaw?”
She stared at her own glass, trying to ignore the way her face pulsed to the beat of her heart. That first punch had split her lower lip and bruised her cheek, turning her skin a deep shade of purple. It’d started to swell before the paramedics had left the scene and not even an hour’s worth of icing it had been enough to lessen the pain.
She shrugged, finishing the rest of her shot. “Fine.”
Cole scoffed, banging his beer down on the table. “Fuck, Mallory! Pulling off a dumbass move is one thing. Brushing off the fact you damn near got your ass kicked, let alone raped, is another.”
Mallory glared at him, not willing to back down. “I didn’t get my ass kicked, Cole. I was chasing down a suspect when that bastard popped out of nowhere and caught me by surprise. The creep landed a lucky punch, nothing more. And in case you didn’t notice, I sent all four of those thugs to the hospital, so don’t even start with me.”
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot. You went all Jackie Chan on them, so that makes it okay.”
Anger burned through the hurt and she turned, groaning when a sharp pain stabbed through her jaw. “There’s another body lying in the morgue bearing all the markings of John Davies.” She waved at her face. “So this is getting off easy.” She raised the ice pack to her cheek, staring back at her empty drink. “If you only sat down to lecture me, you can find somewhere else to sit. As I already told you, I’m not really in the mood.”
Cole cursed beside her, shuffling around as if he couldn’t sit still. When she chanced a look his
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