Aegis Security 03 - Extreme Measures by Elisabeth Naughton Read Free Book Online Page A

really dumb idea.
    “Wait—”
    Pounding footsteps and roaring voices exploded behind them. He turned to look. A curse rushed out of Eve’s mouth. He turned back and reached out for her, but before he could stop her, she moved back several steps and then took a running leap off the roof, arms and legs flailing as she jumped toward the crane’s tower.
    His heart lurched into his throat. “Eve!”
    For a second, all sound evaporated. He watched her legs kick out midair, her arms outstretch and fingers flex as she neared the tower. Then her scream echoed in his ears, followed by the grunt of her body hitting metal.
    Oh shit . . .
    He might want her stopped. He might want her to pay for what she’d done to that scientist and to him, but he didn’t want her dead. Scared, yeah. Promising she’d clean up her act, absolutely. Making amends for betraying her country, you bet. But not dead. Never dead.
    Every muscle in Zane’s body contracted. He inched toward the edge of the roof, willing her fingers to wrap around the angled metal. “Come on, baby.”
    A yelp slipped from her mouth. Her bare feet grappled for footing. Her hands tightened around a metal bar, and the muscles in her arms flexed as she pulled herself up.
    Thank you, God.
    “Holy shit !” Eve yelled. “I fucking hate you, Archer!” Her knuckles turned white as she held on for dear life. “Behind you!”
    Instinct had him lifting his gun. He turned just as a man cleared the fire escape, a handgun clenched tightly in his grip. Zane braced the butt of his SIG against his palm and fired. Gunshots echoed in the air. The bullet hit the man in the chest before he could get off a round. Two more rushed the roof, but Zane dropped them just as quickly, just as efficiently, with two perfectly placed bullets.
    He waited a breath to see if anyone else came charging up. When the coast seemed clear, he holstered the gun at his spine and then whipped back to Eve. “Watch out!”
    Her eyes grew wide. He didn’t wait for her smart-ass response, just hurled himself out onto the tower after her.
    “Archer!”
    Eve’s scream mixed with voices from somewhere below. Zane’s body slammed into the crisscrossed metal, his stomach and face taking the brunt of the impact. The tower rocked. His hand slipped, and his adrenaline shot even higher. He felt himself falling, tried to hold on. Pain ripped across his right palm. Just when he thought he was done for, he managed to hook his boot on the intersection between two bars and wrap his fingers around a strip of metal. Pulse racing, he pulled himself up until he reached Eve, then just worked to suck back air.
    Holy hell. He’d gotten lucky.
    “You son of a bitch, Archer. What the fuck was that?” She let go with one arm, then slammed her fist into his left biceps.
    A burst of pain rushed across his skin, and he winced. Why the hell was she pissed? He was the one who had nearly fallen, not her.
    She shook her hand. “You could have been killed, you idiot.”
    The fact she didn’t seem relieved by that thought hit Zane right in the sternum. And clamped on tight.
    “We have to get off this tower,” she said.
    He gave his head a swift shake. Told himself not to read too much into her comments. The woman had been trained in the art of lying. Extensively. One glance around, though, confirmed she was right. Now was their best chance to get off this damn thing.
    “Go,” he said, already reaching down with his foot for another foothold. “And hurry before your boyfriends show up.”
    She huffed and started the climb down, but before either of them made it a good foot, shouts from the ground echoed up, mixing with the unmistakable ping, ping, ping of gunfire ricocheting off the tower’s metal.
    “Up!” Zane screamed, already shifting direction and pulling himself toward the sky. “Goddammit, go around to the other side!”
    Eve muttered a curse he could barely make out, but she listened, climbing around the tower to the far