A hailstorm of gunfire shattered my windows and I screamed. Parker moved his body to lie even more fully atop mine, smashing me into the carpet, his arms and chest covering my head.
It seemed to go on forever, endless bullets whizzing by above us and shattering everything. A cacophony of glass and porcelain, stoneware and wood, all being destroyed. My entire apartment was disintegrating around me, and the only thing protecting me from being ripped apart, too, was Parker.
At last it ended, as suddenly as it began. I was so terrified, I was sure I was about to pee my pants. Was I okay? Was Parker? And Ryker? Oh God, what if one of them was hurt? What if both of them were hurt?
“Sage. Sage, are you okay?” Parker’s voice in my ear. He was alive. He’d lifted off me slightly and I could breathe easier.
I nodded. “Yeah,” I managed to rasp. I twisted, trying to get out from underneath him. I had to check on Ryker, but felt Parker’s palm on the back of my head. “Stay down,” he ordered.
“But Ryker—”
“I’m fine,” Ryker said. “You two all right?”
“Yeah,” Parker answered.
“Let’s get out of here. I’ll cover you; get her in the hall.”
Parker didn’t reply but his arm moved to wrap around my waist, lifting me as he crawled toward the door, which was half hanging from its hinges. Ryker stayed behind, weapon in hand and his eyes trained on the view outside the broken windows, but we made it to the hallway without any more gunfire. Then Parker was on his feet and lifting me up to set me on mine.
Ryker was right behind us on his cell, barking orders in cop jargon of codes and numbers that I couldn’t follow.
We were moving fast, my hand locked firmly inside Parker’s, and we stopped at the stairwell door. Parker and Ryker glanced at each other and had some kind of unspoken communication. Parker nodded and Ryker moved in front of us, gun raised as he eased open the stairwell door.
Parker tucked me into him, turning us slightly away from the door, his body tense against mine. Knowing they were both expecting something bad made my stomach tighten with dread and I cringed closer to Parker.
But nothing happened. No one burst out of the stairwell and no gunfire erupted.
Then we were moving again, down the flights of stairs, where they repeated the process at the door to exit the building.
Sirens screamed in the distance, coming closer. Ryker and Parker finally spoke.
“Who gave you the warning?” Ryker asked.
“Viktor Rowan,” Parker replied.
Ryker’s gaze sharpened. “Tell me.”
“He was taking credit for pushing Sage into traffic,” Parker said grimly. “It wasn’t just a random act.”
Ryker cursed. “That’s what I was coming to tell you,” he said to me. “He was on the security footage.”
“I thought Viktor was killed or arrested,” I said in confusion. The last I’d seen him had been when the car he’d kidnapped me in had crashed.
Parker looked at me. “He escaped, Sage,” he said. “That night when he had you prisoner in the car, they got the two men with him, but he disappeared. His security people were almost on us when we pulled you out and our guys would’ve been outnumbered. We had to leave and that’s when he got away. Back to Russia, they think.”
“And no one thought to tell me this?” I looked from Parker to Ryker. Neither looked the least bit repentant.
“I thought it was over,” Parker said. “There’s no earthly reason he should’ve come back to Chicago. Except, apparently, revenge.”
“Revenge? For what?” I asked. “Because you helped the CIA bring him down? And aren’t they the ones that screwed up by letting him escape?”
“Yeah, but I’m an easier target than the CIA, and he’s not dumb,” Parker said. “He’s used you once before to get to me, and he’s doing it again.” He glanced meaningfully at Ryker, who muttered a curse.
“What?” I asked, swiveling my gaze between them. “What does that mean? That he’s going to keep trying to kill me?”
I saw my answer written on their faces as police cars, fire trucks, and an ambulance piled into the parking lot.
“Here,” Parker said, swinging his tuxedo jacket over my shoulders. “It’s cold out here.” I tugged the fabric closer around me to ward off the tremors wracking me, which I didn’t think were entirely from the chill in the air.
Ryker’s palm curved around the back of my neck and he kissed me, a firm press of his lips and a gentle touch of his tongue against mine, then he was stepping back. He seemed reluctant to leave me, but went to meet one of the officers as they exited their vehicles.