He didn’t stop until her face was inches from his. “This is wrong. You know that, right?”
She let out an exasperated breath and turned away, continuing toward her client, who’d stopped to allow an elderly woman to pass through the door in front of him.
“Thought you weren’t going to berate me, Detective,” she reminded him, her tone curt. She caught up to her client, but declined his gestured invitation for her to exit first. Typical. The woman probably didn’t like guys opening car doors for her, either.
“I’m not berating,” Adam said, much more insistent than Yube when it was her time to walk outside. He followed her through the glass doors. Okay, he’d lost this case. He might not have the chance to contribute to making Yube really pay for his heinous crimes against this community and the families his lies and schemes had ripped apart, but maybe he could convince Faith to work for him, rather than against him. It wasn’t much of a plan, but it wasn’t bad. “I’m appealing to your sense of justice.”
That stopped her dead. She rounded on him slowly, her eyes squinting against the reflection of the sun on the limestone plaza outside the courthouse. “My sense of—”
The last word of her protest vanished under a loud crack, a sound Adam reacted to without thought, reason or logic—just instinct. He grabbed Faith by the arms and shoved her toward the nearest wall, glancing over his shoulder long enough to witness people on the plaza screaming, running haphazardly, standing still as statues in shock, or dropping to the ground for cover.
Someone had fired into the crowd. Adam didn’t know who had been the target, but his stomach tightened. If he didn’t act fast, someone would end up very, very dead.
CHAPTER TWO
F AITH GRUNTED . Adam’s full weight forced her against the brick wall so that the mortar bit through her jacket into her shoulder blades. A bullet sliced the air, then exploded on the limestone just a few feet away. Oh God! If he hadn’t pushed her out of the way, her head might have exploded instead of the stone.
Adam had drawn his gun, a large revolver that gleamed black and dangerous despite the muted sunlight from the shade of the U-shaped courthouse. Except for two people lying on the ground, the plaza had quickly cleared—so far as she could see, with Adam’s massive body curled protectively over hers.
“What’s happening?” she asked.
“Sniper,” he answered curtly, turning to scan the windows across and above. “From the top of this side of the building.” He stretched his left arm out, as if bracing an invisible shield across her.
Faith’s heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. Suddenly, she smelled it—
Blood. Lots of blood.
“Stay back,” he ordered.
“I’m not moving. You shouldn’t, either. Let the cops on duty handle this. Someone called for backup, right?”
With a slight shake of his head, Adam continued to peer upward. “Don’t know. Don’t move, Counselor, do you understand?”
She growled in frustration. What did he think she’d do, run into the courtyard like a big yellow target?
“Do I look like I’m going anywhere?”
He wasn’t facing her, so he likely didn’t know that she was scared spitless and couldn’t move her legs even if she wanted to. She forced dry gulps of air into her lungs, fighting the instinct to grab Adam when he started to inch away. She fisted her hands at her sides, then flattened against the wall as much as her 36-C breasts would allow, and tried to ignore the ringing in her ears. She had to let him do his job. He was the chief of detectives, for Pete’s sake. He didn’t need her help. Besides, she loved her life and didn’t much fancy losing it to a faceless coward with a rifle, a scope and a deadly vendetta.
Adam extracted his cell phone from his pocket and instantly connected with the dispatcher. “Yube is down. So is…looks like Lorraine Nelson. Shots seemed to come from the top of the south annex.” He requested an ambulance, then paused before speaking again with calm precision. “No, the area is not secure, but the back entrance is likely clear. Can’t tell from here. Have EMT on standby just inside the doors. Evacuate the building. Alert SWAT. Inform Zirinsky that we need an Incident Command System. We’re sitting ducks!”
Adam crouched, moving slowly toward the two bodies. When she saw the blood pooling reddish black against the stark white stone, oozing from the back of George Yube’s head, Faith’s stomach roiled. A gasp lodged in her throat, blocking her airway. She pressed hard against her stomach, forcing her diaphragm to work.
“Is he—?”
“Yes,” Adam answered. “Can’t tell about Lorraine. I don’t see a wound.”
Faith covered her mouth with her hand. Lorraine Nelson was a court stenographer who probably should have retired ten years ago except that she was the best recorder in the entire county system. Faith knew her, had worked with her, had relied on her perfect court records to file at least a half dozen appeals.
Adam inched his foot out ahead of him, but the action was met with the crack of another gunshot.
Faith screamed, but caught the sound in her hand. Her heart slammed against her chest and her ears rattled with the pounding beat so that she didn’t hear what Adam said next.
“What?”
He crab-walked back to her, and once flush to the wall, stood up. “Get back into the building.”
“Isn’t the sniper in the building?” she asked.
The courthouse was in the middle of downtown, shaped like a U, with the main entrance at the inner curve and two annexed wings jutting out from either side. No other buildings in close enough range were taller than the five-story complex, which housed offices for several county services, not all of them related to the court system. The only places from which someone could shoot down into the plaza were the upper floors or roof of one of the two wings, since the main building was topped with a dome. And if the sniper were in the north annex, across from them, they’d be dead by now.
“Probably, but there’s Security just inside the doors. If we can make it back to the lobby, you’ll be safe. You can evacuate with the others.”
“Aren’t we safer right here?” she asked, not certain she wanted to leave Lorraine alone, or abandon Yube’s body. She suddenly remembered that Roma, her assistant, had been walking with them, too. Where was she? “Oh God. Where’s Roma?”
Adam grabbed her arm and met her stare with clear intent. “Roma must have gotten away. Don’t worry about her. Worry about you. But I can’t stop the sniper from here,” he added through clenched teeth.
Lorraine moaned but didn’t move. Had she been shot? What if she woke fully and panicked? If she thrashed or tried to flee, the sniper might shoot again to finish the job.
Faith leaned around Adam. “Lorraine, it’s Faith Lawton. Help is on the way. Please, just stay still.” Then to Adam she said, “I’m out of range here, right? I’ll stay with Lorraine.”
Another shot fired, this one cracking limestone at the other end of the plaza. Two people Faith couldn’t identify had attempted to make a break for the door. Adam blocked Faith with his body again and shouted for the people to remain where they were.
“Damn it! I want you inside!”
Faith could see the rage building on Adam’s face.
“If I can arrange a diversion, you can make a break inside,” he told her.
“I’m not going,” Faith said.
He met her gaze with wide eyes, apparently shocked that she wanted to stay out in the open. “You can’t do anything for Lorraine,” Adam argued. “The