Sniper Fire (Love in the Crosshairs) Read Free Page A

going to enjoy a night at the improv. Have fun.”
    As if on cue, gunfire burst over their heads.
    “Down! Down! Everybody down!”
    Kyle dived for the hard cobbles, using a handful of shirt to jerk the senator’s brother down with him. Thankfully, the young man didn’t fight him, not even when Kyle rolled on top of him to act as a living shield against the bullets whizzing by overhead. Most people usually reacted one of two ways when getting shot at. They either went to pieces and started running and babbling like a lunatic, or they went wordless, their brains and body shutting down to robotic level. Nice that the senator’s brother fell into the latter category. Easier to handle that way. Would have been nicer if they’d never had to find out which category he fell into.
    So much for a smooth, quick operation with minimum exposure. This job was just full of nasty surprises. He glanced across to where Joshua crouched in a shallow doorway, returning fire. His expression didn’t bode well for whoever had gotten the intel wrong on this particular terrorist cell. The new pickup point was still several miles away. Anything could happen.
    More shots. Cover fire from above this time by the sound of it. Kyle traded a quick grin with Josh. You had to love the efficiency of snipers, especially when they were on your side. He’d definitely be buying Ty and Rash a beer first chance he got.
    Joshua’s voice rose over the noise of automatic weapons. “Get him out of here, Ghost!” A tap of the com. “Raptor, Ghost is leaving the party. Go with!”
    Kyle nodded and pulled Waterhouse to his feet. Fifteen minutes later, the two of them sat huddled out of sight in the back of a stolen vehicle while Rash, in “borrowed” civvies, drove the narrow streets of Cairo like a mad man. It was well after midnight, but they still had to deal with some traffic. Rash swore in Arabic, gesturing with the best of them. Kyle waited another twenty minutes of roundabout driving to make sure they weren’t being followed before checking his GPS. Almost there.
    He tapped Rash on the shoulder to get his attention. “Take the next left. Time to find a nice quiet alley where we can ditch the car,” he said.
    “You got it, bro,” Rash replied, the inflection pure Boston southie. “One deserted alley, coming up.” The car accelerated, swerved left, right, then left again, all to the tune of a steady stream of Arabic.
    Kyle tucked the GPS away, grinning at the occasional swear word he picked out of his friend’s running monologue. He and Rash had a habit of trading cuss words ever since the Arab-American joined the NightHawks a year ago. Nothing like a little cultural exchange.
    The young man beside him shifted in his crouch. Kyle gave him the once over. Pale face, dazed, wide eyes, bloodless lips. Yeah, still in shock mode, poor kid. Feeling like he needed to do something about that, he reached over and patted the kid’s shoulder. “Almost at the pickup point, sir. You’ll be safe and on your way home very soon.”
    The car screeched to a halt, throwing them forward into the back of the front seat.
    “Last stop. All out for the whirly-bird express. Women, children, and brothers of U.S. Senators first,” Rash quipped as he opened his door.
    “That would be you,” Kyle said, grabbing a handful of shirt and tugging when Waterhouse showed no sign of moving on his own.
    Once in the narrow alley, Kyle parked the senator’s brother in a convenient doorway and motioned Rash to take the high ground. They needed to reach the rooftop where the chopper was due to land in the next ten minutes.
    The tiny com in his ear clicked once. “Rats closing at nine o’clock, oh ghostly phantom. Time to do your disappearing act.”
    Kyle swore softly at Rash’s warning. He would have bet money they hadn’t been followed. How the hell had the terrorists found them so quickly?
    Face it, Fagan. The rats aren’t limited to Cairo’s back alleys.
    Someone had to