“Well, I guess that’s my cue to leave, then.” Neil plastered on the same camera-ready smile he was known for in the courtroom. “You ladies have a wonderful rest of your day.” He turned to leave, but only made it a few steps before stopping to add a belated, “Oh, and Eloise?”
“Yes?”
His expression softened and his smile grew a bit more genuine. “I’m happy for you. Truly.”
“Thank you.”
She didn’t bother trying to decipher whether or not he meant it. Mainly because, she didn’t care.
“Well, that was fun.” Cassie’s tone was drowning in sarcasm.
“Right?” Natalie huffed out a breath as the three women began walking once more. “I thought that guy was out of the picture a long time ago.”
“Hewas,” Ellie told them both. “Neil’s not kind of guy who’s used to hearing the word ‘no’.”
“Pretty sure he heard it that time,” Cassie snorted. “Poor guy looked like someone had just stolen his favorite puppy.”
“Oh, don’t worry aboutpoorNeil. He’ll find a new flavor of the week before the day’s out, I assure you.”
Several chuckles filled the afternoon air as they approached the parking garage entrance. Their voices echoed off the concrete walls as the three women walked past several parked cars on the way to their own.
The sound of tires squealing cut through their casual conversation. Before any of them could even register what was happening, a dark blue panel van with some sort of satellite service logo on the side flew into the parking garage before coming to a screeching halt beside them.
“What the hell?” She instinctively reached for Cassie’s arm to stop her.
Like them, Natalie stopped dead in her tracks.
Ellie opened her mouth to give the erratic driver a piece of her mind when the vehicle’s side door slid open, and a man wearing a mask appeared. He was dressed in head-to-toe black, just like the man she’d seen in the security footage, only this time, he wasn’t carrying a jar of accelerant.
This time, he was carrying a gun.
“Get down!” She turned and shoved Cassie to the side in hopes of getting her to safety.
At the same time, the bride-to-be dropped the garment bag she’d been carrying to try to do the same to Natalie.
A round of deafening gunshots blasted. One right after the other. Panicked screams echoed off the concrete walls, and Ellie and the others ducked and ran for shelter.
The only option they had was to try to hunker down behind the other vehicles parked next to where they’d been standing. Her heart raced with fear for herself and her friends, and when she saw Natalie fall while running between two cars—and then Cassie dropping to the ground beside her—she was afraid both women had been hit.
Please no!
“Stay down!” Ellie screamed with all her might, praying with all she had that her friends were okay.
The man fired again, his next shots appearing to go wild. The back windshield of one of the cars shattered into a million tiny shards. More screams echoed around her—she wasn’t sure if those were coming from her or someone else—and Ellie was racing to to make sure her friends were out of harm’s way when—
No!
A meaty hand gripped her upper arm and began pulling her back toward the van. On instinct, Ellie began kicking and hitting and screaming with all her might.
“Let…me…go!” She punched and clawed at the man’s unwavering hold.
He shot the gun again, the bullet flying in the direction of her friends. Ellie’s heart flew into her chest as she split her focus between trying to break free and doing her best to asses Cassie and Natalie’s conditions.
Though it was hard to see from here, it seemed Cassie was okay. But she was hovering over an unmoving Natalie, and when she looked back up and shouted Ellie’s name, the woman who’d been glowing with prenuptial bliss minutes before looked utterly terrified.
“Ellie!”Cassie screamed for her again.
“Call the guys!” Ellie shouted back.