Read Wickingham Way (A Harbour Falls Mystery #3) for Free Online

they came from closer, much closer, until suddenly the whole picture window above the credenza cracked and shattered into a million pieces. Shots peppered the spot where Adam had stood earlier, pouring Scotch. I raised my curled fist to my mouth and bit down hard to keep from screaming. But then another spray of bullets showered the study, the closest yet, and I did indeed scream, just as I covered my head with my arms.
    A few quiet beats passed, before more gunfire erupted. This time, the reports came from inside the room. The sounds were so loud I covered my ears with my hands and squeezed my eyes closed. When I dared to look up and take a peek, the whole study was filled with smoke.
    I blinked and caught sight of Erin. She was crouched down against the wall next to the window, firearm at the ready.
    I started to panic. Where was Adam? Had he been hurt?
    But then, from somewhere behind me, I heard him call out to Erin, “Now.”
    Agent Lenehan stood and shot three times out the window. A single shot rang out from outside, then nothing.
    When I dared to glance over my shoulder, Adam was belly-down on the floor. He was fine—thank God—and trying to reach me. I scooted back slightly but stopped when he motioned for me not to move any farther.
    Silence ensued. And the smell of gunpowder permeated the air, even though the smoke was clearing.
    Adam glanced up at Erin, and she nodded.
    I supposed their exchange meant everything was okay, since two seconds later Adam was beside me, picking glass out of my hair, and asking, “Are you all right, Maddy?” His strong hands ran over my shoulders and down my arms as I sat up. “You didn’t get hit, did you?”
    I shook my head. I was shaken but unharmed. Adam’s arms encircled my small frame, and I trembled as he held me.
    Many things happened in the following minutes.
    Max returned to the study with news that the young agent Erin had come to the island with had been shot and killed. A lone assassin had breached the perimeter of Adam’s compound, having arrived in a speedboat of his own. He’d quickly and efficiently taken out the driver of the boat Erin had arrived in before making his way up the trail and shooting into the study.
    “Agent Lenehan and the driver must have been followed,” Max stately gravely to Adam as he finished telling the story of what had transpired.
    “That’s impossible,” Erin broke in. “I’m certain we were not followed.”
    I didn’t know, but to me, Erin sounded un certain.
    “What about the assassin?” Adam asked Max, his strong voice reverberating as I pressed in close to his hard chest.
    “He got away,” Max responded in a low voice.
    “Did you see what the man looked like?” Adam asked.
    I froze. What if the assassin was Stowe? It pained me to think Stowe would actually come to Fade Island to hunt Adam down like a damn animal. Would Stowe really be so cold and calculating? He’d always behaved so jovially around me. I thought of the yellow friendship roses he’d once given me. And also of how he’d helped when I’d needed a cohort to provide a distraction out at Fowler’s Motel.
    At the time I’d been trying to uncover a secret Adam was keeping, and Stowe had been so helpful, making my little undercover mission a resounding success. Not to mention, a little bit of fun. But all of those things had occurred before I’d seen what Stowe was capable of.
    At Willow Point, Stowe had struck fear in the heart of Ron Mifflin, who was no slouch in the scary department himself. So, yeah…
    I sighed as I listened to Max describe the assassin. “The guy was tall, had a muscular build. He was wearing dark attire and a black cap. It was fitted snugly over his head, but I could see dark blond hair extending out from under the cap.”
    Shit, the description fit Stowe Hannigan to a tee. The only detail Max was missing was Stowe’s green eyes.
    “Stowe,” Adam muttered under his breath like a curse. He’d obviously come to the same