Free Shadows Amongst Light (The Spy Who Loves Me) by Mary Eason Page A

good. I knew what I was doing and what to expect from him and his partners. Most of the time these guys traveled in pairs if not groups. That was why Noah always insisted that we should do same.
                  I caught only the slightest movement beyond the guy in front of me right before he made some guttural, unintelligible sound and lunged at me.
                  Now I’m a small gal, not all that tall and pretty much ninety pounds soaking wet, so my size has a tendency to give certain dangerous elements--especially ones like this guy a false sense of security.
                  I picked up on that little glint in his eyes that told me he was looking forward to taking me out right before I ducked under his flailing arms and watched him fall flat on his face.
                  I figured this guy for a member of the Red Jihad more by attitude than anything else. Those guys were used to accomplishing whatever they set out to do after all they were made up of the best of the best.
                  This guy was still wondering what had happened when I straddled him and struck the butt of the gun handle across his temple knocking him out cold before he even knew what hit him. Just before the lights went out, the look on his face as I smiled down at him was priceless. One of the few rewards any of us could ever expect to get. He was stunned, floored. He was beaten by a woman.
                  Unfortunately, I didn’t really have time to enjoy the moment. From close behind and coming upon me much faster than I could have imagined, I felt more than heard the approach of the others. When I turned to face my attackers, I just managed to overcome my shock and get my weapon up into position before victim number two lunged, or more to what could only be described as almost flying. The guy literally flew through the short distance of space between us, his huge claw-like hands reaching for my neck just before he realized his mistake.
                  I fired once hitting my target straight through the heart. But the momentum of the guy his size already falling against my smaller frame sent me flying backwards with him.
                  I felt the warm splatter of his blood strike across my face, chest, and hair. My hand that still held the gun was soaked in the blood of the guy.
                  The sheer weight of him, a good hundred pounds more than me sent me sliding backwards on the cement. I landed on my backside with the guy looking down at me with that shocked expression as he took his last breath a few feet from where victim number one was still unconscious.
                  I knew without even checking that the guy was dead. I’d just killed someone without authority to do so. No on including my superior officer knew I was out here.
                  Frantically I began trying to remove the gun from where it lay wedged beneath the man’s bulk while trying to push his dead weight off me when victim number three caught me unprepared.
                  He tossed his fallen comrade aside as if tossing out the trash before hauling me up, raising me off my feet, and forcing me to look into his eyes. I couldn’t keep from shivering, even now after all these years in trenches at the unbridled hatred in those eyes.
                  With one hand around my neck, he slammed my body hard against the wall of the building causing me to lose consciousness for a moment.
                  The guy shook me hard to bring me back and then he smiled. He was ready to play with me for a little while. I’d no doubt be put through the worst possible form of torture he could come up with before I became his revenge.
                  I saw it all in that nasty little smile. He knew who I was all right and I’d just killed one of his buddies. It was payback time.
                  I