She’d seen brutal death just like this before. Her father had been hit in the chest with a bullet. Her mother had been hit in the heart.
The wrong place. The wrong time.
They’d gone into the local bank, so happy. They’d planned to close out Tina’s savings account right before she went to college.
They’d walked into death.
The bank robbers hadn’t cared about her family. The robbers had just panicked when Tina began having one of her attacks.
They’d killed her mother instantly.
Her father—it had taken him longer to die. His lungs had slowly filled with blood.
It wasn’t going to take Lee as long to die. Not with that shot so close to his heart. Had it nicked the heart? A valve? She glanced over at Drew. “His heart—”
“I can...feel it...” Lee muttered. “Know...what’s comin’...”
Her gaze slid to him once more. Under the flash of lightning, Lee didn’t look scared. He looked furious.
“Think you’re...winnin’...agent...” Lee’s lips twisted into a gruesome smile. “But he’s not...done...”
Drew pulled Tina away from the dying man. “Who’s not done?”
Footsteps rushed toward them. Dylan and Rachel.
“We checked the rest of the perimeter,” Dylan said as he closed in. “We’re clear.”
The rain eased up, dripping lightly over them instead of pelting down.
The thunder had stopped.
No more thunder. No more gunshots.
“Devast...wants...her...” Lee’s voice was a harsh rasp. “Won’t...stop...until he gets...her...”
“Devast won’t touch her,” Drew swore. “He’s out at the compound now, isn’t he? Your boss? I’m going after him. I’m going to—”
“Devast...won’t stop—”
A sharp breath slipped from Lee.
“Anton Devast?” Drew demanded as he bent over Lee. “I know how many lives he’s taken. He won’t—”
Tina put her hand on his shoulder. “He’s gone.” She’d heard that last, hard wheeze that had stilled in Lee’s throat.
“Damn it!” Drew surged back to his feet.
Tina leaned over the body. She felt for his pulse, just to be certain, but with the massive trauma to his chest...
Gone.
She shivered as the raindrops trailed down her body. The past and the present both slid through her mind.
You can’t save them. The cops on scene had told her that over and over again as she’d clung desperately to her parents.
Tina glanced at her hands. Even in the dark, she could see the blood.
“Get her inside,” Drew said to Rachel as his fingers closed around Tina’s shoulders. “Dylan and I will handle the cleanup.”