Blood Vengeance

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Could a person dodge more than one bullet? More significantly, could a person raised and trained as a Ninja dodge more than one bullet?

Mai Kitano employed lightning reactions, moving before her would-be killer even had a pound of pressure on the trigger. She could afford that small luxury. She knew exactly where he was aiming. She flung Chika to the ground and used the momentum of her throw to roll into a handstand and spin away. The gun boomed and the bullet flew between her flying heels. She landed in cat stance and sprung even as he realigned his aim, using the trunk of a wide tree for her next point of cover, but knowing she could not stay there for fear of the man turning his aim toward Chika. She paused for a heartbeat, allowing her inner calm and breathing to take over and speed up her reactions.

Mai knew she needed to be seen as the main threat. A second bullet slammed into the tree. Mai realized she was out of time. Chika was alone and totally exposed out here. Mai quickly stepped into view, ready to try her luck, prepared to take a bullet and still fight on to reach the shooter, already fine-tuning the zigzag run that would best preserve her life, when a white cop car shot past her vision and screeched as it swung broadside at the man with the gun.

The killer whirled, eyes wide, but it was too late. One minute the smug victor, the next the victim of a crushing incident, he lay across the hood of the car, held in place only because the vehicles were so close together. The gun slipped from between his fingers and clattered noisily to the road.

Mai stared as Dai Hibiki jumped out and beckoned both her and Chika over. “Hurry. You don’t have much time.” His gaze was turned up toward Chika’s window.

Mai stopped right in front of him. “How the hell did you get here so quick?”

Hibiki smiled at Chika. “When you called I was already on my way here.”