Undercover Refuge by Melinda Di Lorenzo

Author:Melinda Di Lorenzo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-03-12T15:27:28+00:00

Chapter 12

At the distinct sound of feet hitting wood, Alessandra’s head whipped toward the door, and true fear cut through her mask of joviality. The person on the other side had a gun. He had no qualms about using it. And he couldn’t be more than twenty feet away.

She flicked her gaze back up to Rush, and whisper-yelled, “Hurry!”

Rush didn’t argue. He didn’t say a word. He just turned and climbed back up.

Alessandra tightened her grip on the shelf and worked to keep herself from scrambling after him before it was safe. It was the longest three seconds of her life. But she made it through. And once he’d pulled himself through the opening in the ceiling, she took a breath, said a silent thank-you to boot camp and all its sweaty, full-body-ache days, and started her own climb.

The shelf wobbled, but she was quick, and it held. By the time she reached the top, Rush had already repositioned himself on the roof, and his arms hung through the hole in an offer of assistance. She gripped his hands gratefully. But her gratitude only lasted a moment. Because Alessandra no sooner slid the rest of the way onto the roof than a creak sounded from below her feet. The creak was followed by a resounding, shattering crash that echoed up through the opening in the roof.

Alessandra didn’t have to look down to know that the shelf had just fallen over. She also didn’t have to check to see that the wood had splintered and that it lay in pieces below. She knew it was exactly what had happened. And to top it off, there was no way the shooter hadn’t heard it, too. Automatically, she strained to listen for some sign that their assailant had connected the dots. There was no human sound, though. Just the rush of the continuing storm.

But the reprieve could only last so long.

Alessandra lifted her eyes to meet Rush’s gaze. His expression said he knew it, too. The only hope was that whoever the gunman was, he wouldn’t think to search the roof as an escape route. She was thankful that at least they had the slope to protect them from sight.

But we need to get out of here before things go even more wrong.

Rush nodded silently—agreeing with her unspoken thought—then held out his hand. Alessandra took it, praying for the best. With the rain beating down on them and their fingers clasped, they slid down the slope of the roof. They made it to the edge, where Rush freed his hand and pressed his finger to his lips in a “keep quiet” gesture, then eased forward. Alessandra held her breath as he took a careful look, and she exhaled in relief as he turned back and nodded again. And even though she knew what was coming, she drew in another lungful of air and held it again as Rush slid forward a little more, dangled his legs off the side, then jumped. A moment later, his voice came up in a whisper that barely carried over the sound of the pelting rain.

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