“What’s happened?” Priscilla scrambled to find her shoes. The marshal stood to the side of the room’s single window and peered through a slit in the blinds with her gun drawn. “Will you please tell me what’s going on?”
“Someone took a shot at Luc through the kitchen window.” Laura faced the window as she spoke. “He’s okay, but we’re leaving.”
Priscilla’s fingers shook as she tied her laces. “Ready.”
“Good.” Laura moved away from the window and spoke into her earpiece. “I’m leaving with the witness.”
Priscilla hugged herself to stop the trembling that had taken over. When would this nightmare end? They should have left last night, but Mac assured her the photo of her in scrubs was snapped leaving the clinic, not entering this safe house.
“Let’s go.” Laura motioned for Priscilla to come up behind her as the marshal eased open the door.
Myers and Aldrich stood directly outside the room with their guns drawn. Myers nodded toward Aldrich. “Priscilla, you’ll go with Aldrich. Devins will cover the rear and I’ll be the front man.”
Priscilla bit back asking about Luc. The marshals didn’t need to be distracted from doing their job.
Aldrich drew Priscilla closer as Myers moved down the hallway toward the other back bedroom.
“Witness headed to rendezvous one.” Myers spoke into his earpiece.
Aldrich kept his hand on Priscilla’s shoulder, his body shielding hers. Adrenaline coursed through her entire being. Her blood pounded in her ears.
Myers opened the bedroom’s door and entered. “Clear.”
Aldrich and Priscilla followed, Laura taking up residence at the doorway, her gun trained down the hallway. Myers pressed his hand to his ear, then nodded. “Copy that.” He turned to Aldrich. “Luc and Dr. Devins are in position, ready for the diversion.”
Diversion? That didn’t sound like a good idea, not when somebody was trying to kill her. She opened her mouth to ask, but Myers spoke first from his position underneath an open window. “On my count, I’ll go through first and you’ll follow.”
Myers counted softly. “One, two, three.”
An explosion shook the house, the sound much louder and harsher than last night’s fireworks. Priscilla crouched, but Aldrich urged her up, tugging her toward the open window. Myers had his torso through. Then he disappeared from view.
“Your turn.” Aldrich lifted her through the opening to Myers, who grabbed her around the waist. Once free of the window, Priscilla dropped to the ground behind the cover of several tall boxwoods. She crawled to the right as Aldrich came through, followed quickly by Laura. They remained crouched behind the shrubbery.
Two SUVs facing the street were parked side by side in the gravel driveway. “Package is ready.” Myers half rose from his crouch, gun raised. “Let’s move.”
Aldrich resumed his position as bodyguard and rested his hand on her shoulder. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
Myers sprinted toward the nearest SUV, rounding the front of the vehicle to access the driver’s door. He signaled them to follow.
Aldrich applied pressure on Priscilla’s shoulder. “On the count of three, we’ll make a run for the first vehicle. Get in through the back door and move to the far side of the passenger seat.”
She nodded, then slightly straightened as he counted. When he reached three, she sprang to her feet, Aldrich beside her, and they ran pell-mell to the SUV. Aldrich wrenched open the back door and she leaped in, sliding across the bench seat. Aldrich slammed the door behind him as the passenger-side door opened to admit Laura.
Myers threw the car in gear and hit the accelerator just as Laura shut the door. The second SUV peeled out after them.
Aldrich holstered his firearm, then punched in a number on his cell. “Mac? It’s Aldrich. You’re on speakerphone.”
“Didn’t Myers tell you I’m about twenty minutes away? What? You couldn’t wait?” Mac’s voice held an amused tenor.
“Someone took a shot at Luc through the kitchen window. Luckily, the shooter missed his target. We’re all in the SUVs heading west.” Aldrich paused. “All but Peters. He was found shot in the forehead at close range in the woods behind the house.”