Secrets Collide (Bluegrass Brothers)

Cy’s arms as he returned fire. He had Gemma smashed against the elevator doors with his body shielding hers as he tried to keep the man pinned down.
    “Come on,” he grumbled at the elevator. There was no such luck, though; the stairway door flung open. A man tried to run across the hall for cover while his buddy fired at Cy and Gemma. Cy could feel Gemma’s fingers digging into his back as she hid behind him. Every instinct he had was to keep her safe. He had never felt anything so strongly before.
    Cy reloaded his gun and fired at the man leaping for cover across the hall. He was satisfied when he heard the man scream out as his shot hit its mark—the man’s foot had been carelessly left exposed. The man hiding in the stairwell fired off another shot that had Cy pressing further back against Gemma. The bullet lodged in the wall not far from his head with drywall exploding onto him as he heard Gemma scream.
    Suddenly the elevator doors opened and they fell backward into it. Cy scrambled forward and fired some shots back into the hallway as the men sprinted toward them. Gemma banged the Close Door button over and over again as Cy returned fire. Bullets pinged off the metal doors as they slowly closed.
    Cy reached over where Gemma was still hitting the button and pushed the number two.  Gemma finally stopped and they both sat in silence as the soft classical music played.
    “Chopin,” Gemma finally said in a shaky voice.
    “Handel,” Cy grinned as the elevator started its slow descent.
    The doors to the second floor opened and Cy slowly looked out. The hallway was clear. “Come on.”
    “Why are we getting off here? Won’t they be in the stairwell?” Gemma asked as she slowly walked out of the elevator.
    “Yep. And they’ll be in the lobby, too. That’s why we’re going to send the elevator down to the first floor while we climb out the fire escape in the back of the building. You have experience with those, after all.” Cy shot her a smirk as he carried Fred to the window at the end of the hall. With a bit of effort, he got the window open. “Ladies first.”
     
    Cy looked back where a pale Gemma stood plastered against the brick building. In one hand she had a suitcase and in the other, Fred’s bag. She looked worried, and if he was honest, he was worried, too. He only had seconds before the men inside realized they weren’t inside anymore.
    His car was parked just a short distance away but the trouble was the man standing next to the black SUV. While he wasn’t holding a gun, the bulge of his jacket told Cy the man was definitely armed.
    “Okay. We’re going to quietly walk to the car. We should be able to get to it without being seen. By that time, it’ll be too late for them to get us. Once you get to the car, dive in and keep your head down. Okay?”
    “That’s the plan? You’re a freaking CIA agent and your plan is to just walk over to the car?” Gemma whispered frantically.
    “Yeah. You got something better?”
    “Running and hiding?”
    “Nope. All my supplies are in that car. No matter what, they’ll leave someone here as a lookout. Better to get it over with. Just like pulling off a Band-Aid.”
    “I’m starting to think you enjoy this way too much,” Gemma grumbled.
    “What? You’re not having fun. I thought this was a pretty memorable first date.” Cy winked and then grinned as her cheeks flushed and her eyes narrowed. Good. She wasn’t shaking with fear anymore. Anger was an emotion he could work with.
    “This isn’t a date,” she hissed.
    “You’re right. If it were a date, we’d be kissing by now. Come on, let’s go.” He tucked Fred under his left arm and pulled Gemma close to his side as he walked out of the dark shadows and into the parking lot.
    Cy kept his eyes on the man leaning against the SUV. He was looking through the glass doors of the lobby in Gemma's building. Cy’s breathing was slow and steady as they approached his car. They were almost home free when a ringing cell phone broke through the silent night air.
    Cy shifted his gun to his left hand and reached into his back pocket to silence the phone, but it was too late. The man at the SUV was already screaming out their position. “Come on,” Cy yelled, pushing Gemma toward the car as the men ran out of the lobby.
    He turned and returned fire as Fred growled, his tiny white paws wrapped against Cy’s wrist as he hung on tight. Cy used his remote key to unlock the door and shoved