Seth’s feet were already moving before the shot rang out. He’d been primed from the moment he’d seen Maya head into the cafe, and by the time the man Jesse identified as Special Agent Miller walked out the cafe door alone, every muscle felt like it was going to explode. It hadn’t even been a conscious thought. All it had taken was the sight of Maya walking out the door behind the SAC for him to start moving toward her. He’d stumbled when he heard the shot, his gaze going straight to Maya. His legs pumped faster as he sprinted across the sidewalk, taking himself directly into the open. He didn’t care. He had no idea where Jesse or Liam was, or if they’d get to Maya first. All that mattered was that someone on their side did before another shot went off.

He crashed into her in the end, pushing her down on the pavement in a tangle of limbs. A small oomph sounded as her breath escaped her, and he felt a pang of regret. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, but he’d take skinned knees and the breath knocked out of her over a bullet hole. He wrapped an arm around her, anchoring her to his chest and then scrabbled backward through the cafe door. First, get her indoors and under cover. Then he’d deal with the rest. Once the door closed behind them, he grabbed her elbow to haul her up and then hurried them over to the couches on the far side of the room, pushing her on the shoulder to drop her down again. Once they were situated, he finally drew a breath.

Maya looked over at him, her eyes wild. “What the hell was that?!”

Seth dragged in a breath, and then another, his heart slowing down to manageable levels now that he had Maya safe. “Someone didn’t want Miller talking.”

Maya’s hands flew up and he grabbed at her to stop her head from popping up over the couches. “Well, duh!” Her voice echoed around the space, even with the chaos of the aftermath unfolding outside and she cringed, hunching back down behind the seats. “Someone blew the back of his head away!” She whispered, but her voice was still forceful, almost hissing. “It was gone, Seth. He was right in front of me and then his head was just . . . gone.” Her hand trembled in his and he tightened his grip. Touching her on the chin with his free hand, he guided her face so she was looking him right in the eyes. “It’s okay, Maya. We made it inside. We’ll just sit tight here.”

Her lip still trembled, just a little, but her eyes blazed. God, she was strong. “And the others?”

He nodded. “Safe. I would have heard by now if there was a problem.” God, he hoped that was true. As if reading his mind, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, pushing the button to unlock and read the message. He let out a breath and lifted his head to catch Maya’s eye, smiling. “That’s Liam. They’re both fine.” His phone beeped again in his hand and another message appeared, this one less good. “My friend Scott found them.”

Her brow furrowed. “Isn’t that a good thing, though? They’re safe?”

“Maya, Scott’s a cop.” His scrolled through the message. Liam must be trying to fill him in without being overheard, otherwise he would have been talking to him directly. “Liam didn’t introduce Jesse, but Scott’s not stupid. Scott’s giving us a heads-up to get out of here before the rest of the cavalry enter the diner. He’s going to meet us back at Promise House.”

He stood, looking around the room, his gaze stopping on the kitchen door. “We can get out through the back. There’s an emergency exit door out there that’s kept unlocked. He smiled at her. “Fire hazard otherwise.” Maya rolled her eyes, snorting. “We can get out there and walk through the alley until we can find a way around any road blocks they’ve set up.” From Scott’s message, the local cops were already on the scene and Seth would bet money that the FBI wouldn’t be far behind. Even if the rest of the agents at the field office Miller had been assigned to were on the right side of the law, they were less than an hour away by car. Who knew where the other agents were today, or what they might do when word came down a federal agent had been shot down in the street? It wouldn’t take them long to put the pieces together between Special Agent Miller and Maya’s family.

The idea of Maya being found at the scene sent a rush of dread through him. She’d spend the rest of the day being interrogated, and that was if they were lucky. No, they had to be long gone by the time any Feds showed up. Thank God for Scott. The guy might be a cop, but he’d been Seth’s friend for almost as long as he could remember. He’d help them however he could. In return, Seth was going to have to finally have the conversation he’d been trying to put off ever since he spoke to Scott on his phone outside the library. His friend had been patiently waiting for Seth to fill him in on Maya’s situation, but he had a feeling that patience was about to run out. When they got to Promise House, Scott was going to want to know everything.

Maya’s gaze didn’t waver, but her eyes were filled with uncertainty. “Scott—we can trust him?”

Seth nodded. “Outside of the guys from the firehouse, he’s the one I’d want at my back.” He smiled. “He’s the one who put together that Miller was on the scene way too early to be legit. He was already going to help us. This whole thing has just made it a lot more public.”

She squeezed his hand. “If you trust him, that’s all I need.” She stood, brushing off her pants, and he winced at the gravel-rash marks on her palms. “Let’s get gone while we still can.”