Hadley gasped. She recognized the woman. The redhead leaped onto a table, ran along it, and lifted two large handguns.
She opened fire on the band.
Hadley heard Killian cursing across the line.
Then another man appeared. He wore a dark gray suit, and a black shirt with no tie. His dirty blond hair was pulled up in a man bun that added to his hotness.
He pulled a rifle and fired on the band as well, walking forward steadily.
He had a faint smile on his face.
“Get your ass into cover, Devyn,” Killian snapped.
Hadley blinked. She’d never heard Killian use that tone of voice, or sound like he was so close to losing it.
“Nice to see you too, Steel.” The redhead leaped off the table, ran, and slid in beside Hadley.
“Striker,” the woman said with a nod.
“Hellfire,” Hadley replied.
Devyn “Hellfire” Hayden was CIA, with a habit of turning up in the middle of tense operations.
Devyn’s partner took out the final bandmember, then lowered his weapon. He sauntered over, a smile on his handsome face.
The way he moved made a woman think of sex. The hot, sweaty, and naughty kind.
Hadley and Devyn rose. Around them, guests were crying and screaming. A child wailed, and several people huddled around giving attention to the injured. The music continued to throb through the speakers.
“Hadley Lockwood, this is Shade,” Devyn said.
Hadley jerked. She’d heard plenty of stories about the deep-cover CIA agent named Shade. The dangerous kind.
Killian appeared, his face was set in rigid lines. He was almost vibrating with anger. “What the hell are you two doing here?”
“You’re welcome,” Devyn said.
“We were tracking a mercenary group out of Romania,” Shade said. “They got hired for this gig.” The man jerked his head at the dead shooters. “We had no idea you were running an op until we got here.”
“Killian, tell that jackass to get off my comm line!” Hex snapped.
A slow grin crossed Shade’s face. “Is she as feisty as she sounds?”
“Where’s Kitty?” Hadley asked.
“Bram has eyes on her,” Killian said.
“And Bennett?” Hadley was half surprised he hadn’t charged into the gun fight.
“The music covered the gunfight,” Hex said. “The caterers don’t know what’s happened. I’ll give him an update.”
Hadley blew out a breath, then touched her ear. “Bram?”
“Wentworth is still in the garden,” Bram replied. “Still alone. Wait.” There was a pause and Hadley tensed. “Fuck, I can see her lips moving. She’s talking to someone. I’m on the move. There might be someone on the other side of the hedge.”
“Since you’re here—” Killian looked at Devyn and Shade “—you two can help.”
“Fuck!” Bram barked. “A man just ran from the gardens and into the crowd. He’s in a blue suit, bald head, slim build. I’ve lost him.”