Page 117 of The Hitman and the Psychic

He schooled his features. “I told Aubree to take care of the ex who tagged along with us. I guess he didn’t want to cooperate. You’d better hurry. I left you a clue, but you only have six minutes now.” He turned to leave.

“Where are you going?”

“I’d prefer not to get blown up this time.” Another shot sounded from outside, and he quickly disappeared behind some crates.

“Shit.” I believed that he’d set an explosive, but was Serenity really in here? What was going on outside? Whatever it was, I had to trust that Ricky or Slater would deal with it, and I needed to concentrate on finding Serenity.

With my time limited, I set my watch timer for five minutes and headed toward the largest stack of junk, deciding to climb up to get a better look at the layout. If Johnny had left me a clue, I had no idea what it was.

I climbed on top of a couple of rusted filing cabinets and took a few precious seconds to glance around. Nothing made sense. It was just an old building stacked with junk. I’d have to search from one end of the building to the other as fast as I could. Before I climbed down, a flash of light caught my eye.

It came from the northeast corner. Was it the clue? It flashed again, and I jumped to the ground and hurried in that direction. The hiss of a canister came from behind me, skittering along the concrete floor. I ducked behind an old desk and instinctively covered my ears and eyes. A flash-bang temporarily disoriented me.

I darted from my spot, depending on my memory to get me away from the smoke. Johnny must have thrown the device. Which meant he was still here. Reason told me that he couldn’t have set this up very elaborately. Not after planning my death last night. So, instead of booby traps, the only thing I had to worry about was him.

I rushed around another row of filing cabinets and found an uncluttered path. Using that to guide me, I hurried toward the back of the building. The sound of a door opening and closing came from up ahead. Was that Johnny leaving before the building exploded?

“Nate! Where are you?”

“Serenity?”

“Hurry! I’m at the back of the building. We need to get out of here!”

I rounded the corner and dodged around some pipes and metal bars. Emerging from the stacks, I found Serenity standing just inside the building, about fifty feet away.

“Serenity, get out of here!”

She turned toward me. “Not without you. Hurry!”

As I closed the distance, Johnny stepped into my path. “No! I won’t let you leave.” He pointed a gun at my chest and fired.

Pain lanced through my ribs, throwing me on my back. I gasped like a fish out of water and couldn’t catch my breath. Another shot went off, and I found the strength to push into a sitting position. Johnny lay on his back, blood pouring from his chest.

“Nate! No!” Serenity hobbled to my side, reaching for me.

“I’m fine. Bullet-proof vest.”

“Oh my God. We have to run. The bomb!”

I lurched to my feet, seeing Ricky holding the door open and yelling at us to hurry. I pushed Serenity in front of me, and we stepped over Johnny’s prone form. A hand grabbed my ankle, and I fell to my knees.

“You’re not… leaving… not again…”

For a dying man, his grip was strong, but I twisted my ankle out of his hold and got to my feet.

“No!” Reaching for me, he caught nothing but air.

Without sparing him a glance, I rushed out the door, not far behind the others. A car was parked right outside the building, with the front passenger door wide open. Serenity had jumped into the back seat, and Ricky sat in the driver’s seat. “Get in!! Quick!”

I jumped inside and he took off before I’d shut the door. Ricky floored it, driving to the end of the alley. Before we made it out, the building exploded, sending a wall of plaster and mortar towards us.

Ricky kept going, but something crashed into the car, spinning it around before we hit the side of the other building. Debris rained down on the roof and crushed it in toward our heads. “Get down!”

Glass shattered under the weight, and the back window blew out. A muffled yelp came from the back seat as more debris rained down on us. Dust filled the car, but the rumbling finally stopped, leaving us pinned inside.

Squished into the small space, it was hard to move, but I wasn’t hurt. Ricky blinked his eyes open, blood running from a cut on his head. He shifted his weight, straining to get out from under the steering wheel.

A groan came from the back seat.

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