The Reveal by Julie Leto Page A

screaming as he shot from a weapon in each hand. His sacrifice came to nothing as his body, ripped by gunfire, shook then tumbled to the ground.
    Sean went right, slid partially beneath the stairs and fired. Brynn dashed to her left, ducking behind a column before she swung around to aim at the man holding up the rear. Her first two shots went wide, pinging off the decorative vases perched on the ends of the bannisters, but the third hit his thigh. He screamed and flailed, but before his partner ten steps above him could return fire, Sean eliminated him with a perfectly aimed bullet to the neck.
    The third attacker had reached the top of the stairs. He spun to confront the unexpected gunfire from below. As Sean had predicted, the bodyguard used the distraction to take him out. Bullets tore through his protective gear, shaking his body like a rag doll before he tumbled halfway down the marble.
    Sean broke the bloody silence by shouting, “Jarek, it’s me!” from below.
    “Show yourself!” the man ordered.
    Brynn tucked herself back behind the column. From the side, she watched Sean come out, his hands high and his chest exposed but his weapon still in his grip.
    “Just call me the cavalry, buddy.”
    “Devlin?”
    The bodyguard took two tentative steps forward, grinning once he fully recognized Sean. He came down the stairs with a grace that belied his tall, bulky body, checking the pulse of the two nearest assailants and giving the bodies a kick once he was sure they were dead.
    The third man, the one Brynn had shot, writhed on the ground. Sean kicked his weapon out of reach but otherwise ignored him.
    “Where’s Macy?” Sean asked.
    “Why are you here?” Jarek demanded.
    “To find Dante. What happened?”
    Sean took a couple of steps toward Jarek but signaled for Brynn to remain behind.
    “Who is with you?” Jarek demanded, raising his weapon so that the barrel was pointed directly at Sean’s head.
    “Brynn Blake, the head of Titan International. She was hired to protect me.”
    Jarek snorted and lowered his gun. “Who would take that crap job?”
    Brynn took the insult as her invitation to emerge. She made a vain attempt to smooth down her hair and brush the dirt from her clothes, but she figured she looked more like the CEO of a society of outdoor enthusiasts than that of a top-level security firm.
    As first impressions went, this had to be her worst.
    “I was hired by Dante Burke. Or at least, I thought I was.”
    Jarek’s piercing black eyes narrowed. If they’d been on even ground, his height would have been intimidating. As it was, he stood halfway up a grand staircase, making him seem like a giant.
    “When?”
    “Six weeks ago,” Brynn replied.
    Jarek shook his head. “Couldn’t have been Dante. He’s been underground for nearly two months.”
    “We figured that out a couple of days ago,” Sean said. “That’s why we came to see Macy, to find out what was going on. Where is she?”
    Jarek’s gaze drove into the man near Brynn who continued to whimper and grab at his bloodied thigh. A thick, smeared pool of blood surrounded him. She’d hit an artery. He likely didn’t have much longer to live.
    Sean reached him first, tearing off the facial shield. Brynn stepped nearer, wincing at his pale, contorted face. When his eyes met Sean’s, they both cursed. The assailant reached for his weapon, but it was long gone.
    And a split second later, so was he.
    Sean had put a bullet in his brain.
    “I could have interrogated him,” Jarek complained.
    Sean spat, his saliva landing on the dead man’s face. “This bastard got his jollies attaching electrodes to my ‘nads and zapping me with two hundred and forty volts. He had nothing useful to say.”
    Jarek smirked. “We could have repaid the favor.”
    Sean turned his back. Brynn didn’t know if he was scanning the house for more threats or if he’d simply seen enough.
    “He wouldn’t have lasted that long. Who are these bastards?”
    “I