INVITING FIRE (A Sydney Rye Novel, #6) Read Free Page B

be exposed. Where the grasses had been cleared around the building. She didn't hesitate, taking off in the direction I'd pointed. The grasses shifted around her as she disappeared into them. I just had to make sure the men were still occupied by the time she got to the gap.
    I continued down, trying to keep the right pace. Too fast and I'd get myself shot. Too slow and I wouldn't be saving shit. A shot rang out and spooked the cows even more. They raced up the hill away from the bang. More afraid of it than Blue. The first bound man to be pushed out the door lay crumpled on the ground. The woman was screaming. Frederica screamed. Both the armed men and the captives looked up in our direction. A storm of bullets flew our way. I heard them tearing through the grasses, thunking into the ground. It was highly unlikely those men could hit us out here if they were aiming but that didn't mean their peppering the hillside wasn't going to get us killed.
    I covered my head and waited for the barrage to stop. When it did I peeked out and saw that one of the men was going inside. I didn't want to wait and see what he brought out. Instead I stood up, hauling Frederica with me. She stumbled as I pushed her to run left, toward Blue and away from the armed man. Then I took off down the hill toward him.
    The gunman smiled as he aimed at me. I zigzagged and he missed repeatedly. I was getting closer but it wasn't going to be possible to run right up to him. Then Malina appeared from behind the house. Guns in each hand, arms extended, striding purposefully. The man didn't notice her because of the noise coming out of his own weapon. She shot at him once and missed. He turned to take aim. She fired again and his shoulder dipped, the gun dropping from his hand. She pressed the trigger again as he looked up at her. Blood exploded out of the back of his head and he fell onto to the ground, next to what would have been his last victim.
    "Look out," I yelled to Malina as the other man emerged from the doorway holding a machine gun. It was huge, a belt of gold bullets hanging from it. He was smiling. Malina turned but he opened fire, riddling her with bullets. I saw them pass through her, blood and gore exploding out of her back. Her body twisted with each entry. One of the bullets ripped through her leg and hit one of the captive men in the side, spinning him around and knocking him to the ground. The smell of gunfire mixed with the earthy scents of manure and grass.
    Screaming filled the air and I realized my own voice was adding to the cacophony as I sprinted down the hill, my mind on fire. Malina's body hit the ground and he kept firing into it, making her jerk and stutter. My foot caught on something and I flew forward, landing hard on the ground and skittering down a few feet before coming to a stop at the edge of the grass. Clumps of dirt exploded into the air around me as bullets blasted into the ground. I saw a rock, not as big as me but that would provide some cover, and crawled behind it.
    The firing stopped and, gun in hand, I inched higher, peering over the rock and between the grasses. The man with the big gun was staring out at the hillside, his eyes scanning. Looking for me, for Frederica. He wasn't expecting Blue who came suddenly from the grasses to his left as the man looked right. Blue's body was low, ears pinned to his head, legs moving so fast I could barely see them.
    Ten feet away and the man saw him, his eyes widened. He tried to bring the gun around in time but Blue had launched himself, hitting him on the side, his teeth sinking into the man's neck as they fell to the ground. The gun erupted. Gold casings fountained up into the air. The prisoners struggled to their feet and tried to run away, the cement pad exploding in chunks as bullets ripped into it. I ducked behind the rock, keeping my head low, eyes closed.
    When the sound stopped I looked up again. Blue stood over the man, blood covering his jaws and chest. The gun was