Page 7 of Shades of Mercy
Opening the door, she craned her neck in both directions, making sure the coast was clear.
She left the restroom, scurrying down the hallway stopping at the sound of footsteps. It could be Cross or the bodyguard returning. If they found her, all the work she’d done crawling through the vent would have been for nothing.
She frantically looked for somewhere to hide. She ducked to her right and ran down a shadowed corridor, pressing herself against the wall and hoping they wouldn’t come her way.
Holding her breath, she watched the bodyguard pass through the hall.
Once she no longer heard his footsteps, she tiptoed to the hall and peeked in the direction he’d gone. She ran out of the corridor and retraced the bodyguard’s steps. She wanted to cry when she saw the flickering EXIT sign.
Looking over her shoulder to make sure she was still alone, she carefully opened the metal door and burst into the dank, empty alley.
She didn’t have time to stop and question where she was or where she’d go. She ran away from the door.
Making it nearly to the sidewalk, the metal door came crashing open. “Stop!” the booming voice said.
A second later, a gunshot cracked the air. She cried out as she dropped to her knees and covered her head.
The bodyguard was coming toward her, his gun aimed.
He was going to kill her.
She waited for fate to drop the final curtain…
Headlights blinded her while tires screeched against the asphalt. The car door flew open, and she had to blink to confirm that what she was seeing was real.
“Get in!” McKinley demanded.
More shots shattered the air. One bulletricochetedoff the car.
She forced her feet to move and she jumped into the passenger seat, barely inside before he slammed his foot on the gas and reversed the car out of the alley while more bullets hit the windshield. Another man joined the bodyguard, and they continued to pummel the vehicle with gunfire. McKinley drove away from downtown, not stopping for red lights. What the fuck happened?” He pounded the heel of his hand against the steering wheel.
She sat up straight in the passenger seat and turned around, scanning the street to ensure they weren’t being followed.
“Mateo is going to kill me. That’s what.”
Chapter Three
“What in the ever-loving fuck were you thinking?” Mateo said through thin lips.
Two hours after she’d called him, McKinley, Howie, and Mateo were sitting in the mobile unit that'd been ransacked by one of Cross’s men.
“This is partly my fault,” Howie admitted to Mercy. “When I thought you were in danger, I abandoned the unit. My only concern was locating you, not safeguarding the equipment and chip.”
Mateo looked like he could rip someone’s head off, and completely ignored Howie. “Not only did you jeopardize yourself, but you also destroyed our only chance of capturing Cross.”
“I can get back into the system. I’ll get the information,” Mercy said.
With a jagged shake of his head, he said, “It’s too dangerous now.”
“I’m sorry.” Her chest tightened.
He blew out a long breath. “What did you expect would happen?”
“I want Cross and men like him to go to prison.”
He shook his head. “I need to speak to you alone, Mercy.” He stuck out his hand to McKinley. “Thanks for saving my sister’s life. I owe you a big one.” Then he stomped outside.
She didn’t look at her partners. Mercy knew it had taken a lot for them to sit andlistento Mateo’s rampage, some of it directed at them.
