He never got the chance to fire.
The bastard standing behind him shot his gun. And the bullet slammed into Louis’s chest.
***
They broke the surface of the water together. Jinx took in a deep gulp of air, saw Ali do the same, and then he immediately pushed her back under. He wanted to get farther down the beach. He needed to get her to safety, and then he’d be going after the shooter.
Fury pumped through him as they cut through the water. They’d had to go out deep, hoping to get out of range and into the darker water so that they could be better concealed. The water near the shore was too clear. The deeper water provided the best concealment.
They’d gone deep, then focused on heading east.
Ali was a good swimmer. She was fast, too. They cut through the water together, and they put more distance between them and the guy Jinx suspected was a sniper.
The angle of the shots, the position of the shooter…
He was up there. Watching. Waiting.
But because they’d left the beach and gone into the water, the sniper hadn’t had a clear shot.
Ali’s impromptu trip into the water had saved their asses.
Speaking of asses…
I’m buck-ass naked. When we finally do go to shore, someone will be getting a show.
And when he got to shore…when he got his hands on that shooter…
Someone will be dead.
***
Landon Hatcher stared at the man before him. The guy was still gripping that giant gun of his even as blood soaked the man’s shirt. Landon kicked the rifle away and kept his own weapon trained on the sniper.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened. When he’d arrived, he’d heard the shots. He’d seen the gleam that indicated light reflecting off the scope. As fast—and as quietly—as he could, Landon had gotten into the beach house. A beach house that should have been secured and locked up for the season. He’d broken the lock then hauled ass up the stairs to his target.
“Did you kill them?” he asked. Jinx and Ali. There had been no sign of them when he arrived.
Blood dripped from the man’s mouth. His eyes were rolling back in his head.
“Did you kill them?” he barked.
“W-water…”
What? But then Landon looked up. Looked over the wooden railing of the balcony and down at the beach. He saw what looked like discarded clothes. A shirt. Jeans.
Water.
His gaze flew back to the sniper. Only…he wasn’t moving. As in, not breathing. More blood covered him—soaked him—and he’d gone deathly still.
Shit. Landon hauled out his phone. He wasn’t calling nine-one-one. This wasn’t some typical civilian case. He needed a cleanup crew out there, and he needed one stat. And right after he made that call, Landon made another.
It was answered on the second ring.
“War, I need you out at Jinx’s place. Now.”
***
When they strode onto the shore, Jinx made damn sure to keep Ali shielded by his body. She was snarling and muttering as he forced her behind him, but he ignored her protests. Keeping her safe was his priority. If she didn’t like it, too bad. Keeping her alive was far more important at the moment than keeping her happy.
She could rage at him later.
And now. She can keep raging now, too.
He was pleased to see that they’d gotten far away from his beach house. So far that they were now in front of a high-rise condo—and all of the condo guests who happened to be out on the condo’s private beach.
A woman who’d been applying sunscreen to her stomach paused and gaped at him.
“Got an extra towel?” he asked her politely.
“Jesus, son!” An older man called out, “You’re naked!”
“Good of you to notice.” Jinx inclined his head. Then, spying a towel on the back of the gentleman’s chair, he snagged it. “Don’t mind if I borrow this, do you?”
The man’s companion slowly shook her head. The man just frowned ferociously.
“Great,” Jinx said. “Thanks.”
Then he turned and wrapped Ali up in the towel.
“Jinx.” She clutched the edges of the towel. “You don’t have clothes!”
Everyone kept focusing on that. But did Ali realize her bra was completely see-through when it was wet? He didn’t need all the jerks on the beach staring at her. Speaking of those jerks…he pointed to a nearby guy who was gaping. “Towel,” he snapped.
The younger man immediately threw it at Jinx. He secured it around his hips. “Thanks for that.” Then, curving his body around Ali’s, he started walking, quickly, toward the condo.
“What?” Jinx threw back into the silence that followed them. “Have you never seen a man who lost his trunks in a battle with a shark before?”
“Jinx.” Ali sounded torn between horror and laughter.
Considering everything they’d been through in the last half hour, he completely understood her horror.
Some bastard tried to kill her.
He pulled her into the shelter of the condo building. Caged her with his body. “You weren’t hit.” He’d tried to check her under the water, but he needed to be absolutely certain.
“I wasn’t hit,” she murmured. Her hair was soaked. Water dripped down her face and body even as she clutched the towel to her chest. “And you weren’t? I mean, I looked over every inch of you and I didn’t see—”
Oh, he was sure she’d seen every inch of him. Everyone on that private beach had seen him. Some had even taken pictures. Whatever. Good thing he was done with undercover missions…
“Jinx?”
“I’m not hit,” he assured her. What he was… “Pissed off.” The bastard was using a rifle on them? This piece of shit was a sniper?
“Uh, excuse me, sir.” A small, timid voice.
Jinx’s head turned. He saw a guy in a pressed, white dress uniform sidling closer.
“Would your name be Jinx?” A fearful question. The name tag on the man’s left pocket read Teo.
“Yeah. How the hell did you know?” Don’t attack Teo yet. Don’t attack—
“A man named Landon just called. Told me that you might be walking from the water with, ah, missing clothes.” Nervous laughter. “Thought he was crazy and then you…she…” His gaze bobbed between Jinx and Ali. “The man wanted you to get a message.”
How the fuck had Landon known they would be there?
“Scene is s-secure,” Teo stuttered. “War is coming. Rendezvous at h-home.”
“Are you shitting me right now?” Jinx asked.
“No.” Teo licked his lips. “Is this like…some sort of role-playing game?” He took another cautious step forward. “If so, can I play? I really love stuff like this. I used to do D&D back in the day, and I would—”
“No, Teo,” Jinx told him flatly. “You can’t play this game, and trust me, you don’t want to play.”
Teo appeared crestfallen.
“But if you can find some clothes for him to wear,” Ali cleared her throat to say. “I mean, clothes for both of us to wear, I’ll pay you a hundred dollars.”
Teo’s brows rose. “You have the money on you?”