Shameless - Sybil Bartel Page 0,61

scanned with my scope.

“Approaching on foot.” Ronan’s voice came from my phone now buried somewhere in the snow. “Your access road is blocked by four vehicles parked halfway up. All empty.”

Scanning the treeline, I blindly reached for the cell.

A shot landed a foot from my hand, making a hole in the snow.

Goddamn it.

“Shade?” Ronan asked.

I scanned again as another shot hit the deck above me.

“Yeah,” I called out to Ronan. Where the hell was the asshole plucking off shots? “Hold on.” I fired blindly then quickly reached for my cell. Bringing the damn thing to my ear, I made another sweep, looking through the scope. “I took out two in the cabin, but I’m still taking fire.”

“Almost there. Half a klick. Several tracks in the snow, but it’s coming down so fast, I can’t tell how many we’re dealing with.”

Another shot pinged off the deck, but this one was closer to me.

I inched back a foot into the crawl space. “Hopefully two of those vehicles are Candle and Harm.” I sighted left. “Those fuckers better show soon if they want in on the action.”

“Luna’s running plates.” Ronan dropped his voice. “Position? Going radio silent.”

Two more shots rang out in rapid succession. One hit a foot above my head, the other sailed past me to my right.

I glanced over my shoulder then looked back at the snow-covered trees, following the line of fire through my scope as I answered Ronan. “I’m under the cabin taking fire like a fucking sitting duck.” I scanned right again. “I’ve got two shooters, or one asshole moving faster than a goddamn deer. I can’t see shit through the snow.” Where the hell were the shots coming from?

“Copy that. Two minutes.” Ronan hung up and my cell immediately rang again.

“I don’t have time for this, Conlon.” Movement in the treeline two klicks south caught my attention and I swept left.

“Shade,” Summer screeched in a panic. “I can see them on the screens! They’re moving in on you! Hurry, get out of there!”

Motherfucker. “Did Luna give you this number?” I was going to fucking shoot him next time I saw him.

“I had to call him because you didn’t leave me the number.” Her voice pitched higher. “Oh my God, there’re coming up on you! To the right, to the right.”

I swept far right and spotted movement. “Listen to me, princess.” I sighted. “Hang up the phone and look away from the screens. Remember what I told you. One-three-two.” Distance, wind, altitude, snowfall—I calculated. “Now, woman.” Not bothering to hang up, I dropped the phone and exhaled.

“Shade!” Summer cried out.

The fucker sighted me the same time I sighted him.

I pulled the trigger.

OH MY GOD. “SHADE!”

A cacophony of gunfire exploded from both the cell phone and the monitors on the desk.

No, no, NO.

More gunfire erupted from under the deck as quick bursts of fire blinked all over the screens like fireworks going off.

“Oh God, oh God, oh God.” My hand shaking like mad, I grabbed another burner cell phone from the pile on the shelf and turned it on. “Get out of there, Shade,” I yelled into the call that was still connected. “Come back up here!”

The second cell took its time powering up.

“Come on, come on, hurry up, you stupid fucking phone.”

It finally came to life and I dialed a number I knew by heart for the second time in ten minutes.

André answered on the first ring. “Luna.”

“You have to get help up here fast! They’re shooting at Shade now!”

“Summer,” André barked my name like an order. “Take a breath. Shade knows what he’s doing. Conlon is on site, as well as two other men. Stay where you are. Let them do their job. Do not go out there, you hear me?”

“Oh my God.” I watched the screens in horror. “There are six of those little heat signatures closing in on where Shade is. They’re going to kill him!”

“Chica,” André snapped.

André Luna called me Miss Amherst. Occasionally Summer. But never in all the years that I’d known him had he called me chica.

My eyes glued to the screen, I took a breath.

Then I knew what I had to do.

“If you’re not going to help him, I will.” Before André could yell at me, I hung up.

The phone rang again almost immediately, but I shut it off. Riffling through the supplies on the shelves, I grabbed a parka and gloves and eyed one of the smaller guns. Shoving my arms into the too-big jacket and hastily putting on the