Deadly Dance Read Free Page A

managed to duck into the stairwell before anyone could see. Painted submarine gray, the stairs were dimly lit, slowing her progress as she made her way down toward the third floor. But before she’d made it halfway, she heard a door below her open and the thud of feet on the stairs.
    Damn it all to hell.
    She’d have to go up. Risking precious seconds, she stopped to unholster her gun. Better to be ready in case there was a waiting party on the roof. “Anyone out there?” she whispered into the comlink as she took the stairs two at a time.
    The silence was damning. Communications must be down. She gritted her teeth as she skidded to a stop, reaching out to grab the doorknob. No way was she going to consider the alternative.
    At first, she thought the door was locked, but then it groaned and finally yielded, swinging open to reveal the inky night sky. The sound of footsteps behind her had grown louder. They were close, which meant her window of opportunity was closing. Even if she didn’t accept the idea that something had happened to the rest of the team, she was astute enough to know that they weren’t going to be able to help her.
    She was on her own.
    The night was chilly, a hint of winter in the air. She shivered, then moved cautiously across the shadowy rooftop, hoping to gain access to one of the adjacent buildings. But on the left there was a barbed-wire-topped wall, too high for her to scale, and to the right, a gap too wide to jump.
    A quick tour of the perimeter proved equally fruitless. There wasn’t a fire escape, and the drop down to the ground from both the front and the back would be suicidal. Across the street, she could see the flash of gunfire, which meant that at least for the moment, someone was still alive and kicking.
    Clutching her gun, she moved back to the west side of the roof, scouring the windows of the building across the way to try to find some sign that Annie and Harrison were okay. There was no light at all, and as she strained into the silence, no sound of gunfire. Again she assessed her options, hoping that maybe she’d find something she’d missed.
    “Hello?” she called into the transmitter. “Anyone there?”
    She hadn’t expected a response, so was surprised at the rush of disappointment that followed the silence. Behind her, the door to the stairway slammed open. She had company. Spinning around, she got off a couple of shots before diving to the floor of the rooftop, gravel adding new scrapes to her already shredded knees.
    If she made it out of this alive, she was never wearing a skirt again. Ever.
    She rolled over behind a ventilation cover, and after bracing herself on her elbows, lifted her gun to fire again. It was hard to see in the dark, but there were at least threemen. All of them armed. And if there were more, it was possible they were circling around from the back.
    If a solution didn’t offer itself soon, she was screwed. After firing again in the direction of the advancing men, she popped up, risking exposure for another quick look around the rooftop. But nothing presented itself, and when a bullet whizzed past her ear, she hit the ground again, the masonry in front of her exploding as another round came too close for comfort.
    She was trapped with no way out, but she’d damn sure take as many of them with her as possible. Resigned to her fate, she started to push to her feet, but just as she tensed her muscles, the comlink sprang to life.
    “Hannah, you there?” It was Harrison, and nothing had ever sounded as good in all her life.
    “I’m here,” she whispered, “but I’m in a world of trouble. I’ve got approaching hostiles, limited ammo, and no obvious way out.”
    “We’re on the roof of the building to the west.”
    “There’s no way I can jump the gap,” she said, popping up to fire, hoping to at least slow the advance.
    “I’ve got a plan.” He sounded so sure of himself, she actually felt a swell of hope. “Just get over here as fast