Page 79 of Run

“I’ve seen wounds like these before,” Harvard said, his voice low. “It didn’t end well.”

“This time will be different.” He had to believe that. For Ryan. For Elle. For all of them. Ryan might think he was the useless one, but there would be no London team without him. The team might not realize it, but Ryan was the glue that held them together. He was the one who fit in where needed, who allowed his teammates to let off steam at his expense because he cared about them. The one who quietly used his talents without jostling for power or position. He was a friend, son, brother, and protector to every other member of the team.

Yeah, Ryan had to live.

“You know we were set up.” Harvard scanned the surrounding destruction. “Takes a lot of local knowledge to pull off something like this in a short amount of time. We would have had to scout the route, figure out where to put the interception vehicles, and plan a clean exit. No way we could have done it in a few short hours.”

“Somebody we talked to is working for the James Syndicate.”

“We didn’t talk to that many people.”

“No.” David’s voice was pure death. “Which should make it easier to find out exactly who’s behind this.”

Footsteps ran toward them, and a voice called out, “It’s Tessa, don’t shoot.”

“Roger that,” Harvard answered.

The police commander rounded the car, dressed in plain clothes for their meeting. She had two more officers with her. All of them were clearly enraged.

“Ambulance is two minutes out,” Tessa said. “We were up in your lawyers’ offices when we heard the crash.” She glanced at her two men. “Secure the scene; let me know when our team arrives.”

The men jogged off.

Tessa crouched beside Ryan to get a closer look. “Damn it to hell,” she whispered. “Anybody else hurt?”

“Megan got knocked out,” David said, still applying pressure to Ryan’s wounds. “Elle’s been kidnapped.”

“I promise you”—she stared him in the eye—“we will find the people who did this.”

“Not if I find them first,” David told her. “I’m getting Elle back. I don’t care what you do, but know that I won’t let you get in my way.”

“Bloody macho warrior men.” With a shake of her head, Tessa stood. As sirens drew closer, she spotted a discarded firearm amongst the rubble.

“Fucking guns,” she spat out as she passed it.

30

Elle wrapped her arms around her middle, rocking in place on the back seat of the car they’d stuffed her into. A strange roaring filled her ears like a jet engine was close by. Vaguely, in the back of her mind, where reason still existed, she realized she was hearing her blood rush through her veins. That same part of her brain calmly noted the facts of what was happening to her. She’d been kidnapped. Punched in the jaw. Carried down a passage between the buildings. Stuffed into a car with three James Syndicate thugs.

And now, they were heading north.

To Tommy.

It didn’t matter. None of it mattered. Because all she cared about were the images in her head.

Her pulling out her laptop to see if it could connect them to their team. The vehicles screeching out of nowhere. Their car hitting the wall. Ryan jumping out. Someone firing at David. Ryan opening her door for her, yelling at her to get out. Her scrambling to stuff the laptop back in her messenger bag before climbing out of the car. David shouting something she couldn’t catch. Ryan glancing over her shoulder toward Megan’s end of the street. His gun coming up.

“Get down,” he snapped, shoving her behind him.

Crouched low, he moved to the rear of the car, arms outstretched in front of him, gun aimed and ready. Elle slid down the wall, stupidly protecting her laptop with her body by swinging her messenger bag to her back. She couldn’t see David. Ryan pressed his side against the car, using it as cover. He glanced back at her. Checking on her.

Three popping sounds.

Quiet gunshots.

Was there such a thing? Frantically, she looked around. Trying to figure out what was happening and what to do next.

Ryan grunted. It was a deep, guttural sound. The kind of noise that sounded wrong.