Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
They were dead.
No way around it. Not with some bloke with a rocket launcher perched on a building aiming an RPG directly at them. No way he could miss, even if she banked out of the way. Flew off. He was too close. Too zeroed in.
Not that she wouldn’t attempt to escape. She’d promised Ethan she’d stay alive, so, she had to keep trying. Hope that the damn weapon jammed. Or that the guy slipped and fell. It was a Hail Mary at best, but she’d go down fighting.
Seeing the man topple backwards a second later, the weapon dropping onto the roof, had Olivia inhaling. Wondering what the hell had just happened until she saw a flash of muzzle fire off to her left. Saw some asshole aiming behind her.
Ethan.
She yelled at Relic then swung the machine, ignoring the spray of bullets pinging off the front.
All she needed was a few more seconds and Relic would eliminate the threat.
Having pain strum through her arm, jerking her hand to the side, had her cursing.
Worrying that she’d ruined Relic’s shot.
But the man didn’t disappoint. Had the gunman downed before she’d stabilized the helicopter.
A quick scan to check for other threats, then she was landing.
Locking the controls, removing her helmet, and jumping out while everything was still spooling down.
Relic on her six, his head on a swivel as she ran toward the two silhouettes slumped behind a set of stairs, just visible amidst the swirling smoke.
The glow from a dim light at the far corner of the building.
Ethan was slouched against the wall, rifle lax in his lap, head tilted off to one side. Blood dripped off his torso onto the asphalt, the red color an eerie black in the darkness.
Relic checked the other guy—who she assumed was Smyth—then took up a sentry position at her back. She wasn’t sure how the man remained standing, but she wasn’t going to argue. Not with Ethan’s life on the line.
“Ethan.”
She brushed her hand along his cheek, waiting to see if he’d respond. He winced, then those gorgeous hazel eyes were staring up at her. Dazed, but open.
He smiled, coughed, looked as if his skin paled several shades in the process, before grunting out a few breaths. “You’re crazy, you know that?”
She shook her head, trying to determine which wounds needed immediate attention, other than all of them. “Says the man bleeding out. You should have hit that guy aiming at you, first.”
“Not enough time. That asshole would have blown up the helicopter.” His eyes drifted shut. “Couldn’t lose you.”
“Oh, but it’s okay for you to die?” She did her best to put pressure on his side. “Bloody round went right through your vest. Probably because you’d already taken a number of hits. Damn it, Ethan...”
When all she got was a small lift of one corner of his mouth, she gave him a shake. “No. Do not close your eyes. Do not pass out on me. You promised you’d live so I could tell you I loved you, and you’re not getting out of that this easily.”
He chuckled. “This mission wasn’t easy.”
“Good, because it’s not over, yet. Not until you can stay conscious for more than a few seconds.” Another shake. “Ethan. Work with me. Let’s get you on the chopper and to a hospital.”
He nodded, his head barely moving. “Sure.”
“Ethan!”
Nothing. Not a sigh, a huff. Nothing but his chin hitting his chest, his arms going slack at his side.
She cursed under her breath, glancing back at Relic. “Relic. Help me—”
The door opened, two men barreling out. Guns sweeping the area before fixing on her. She reached for the last grenade on Ethan’s vest, intent on tossing it at the men’s feet—that she’d at least take them out, too—when the lead guy raised his weapon.
“Easy, Olivia. It’s us.”
Cannon. Which meant the others were close. That they’d likely secured the area. Not that she’d even noticed the gunfire. If there were men racing around. All her focus was on Ethan. On how he was dying right in front of her.
Two seconds, and Cannon was at her side, giving Ethan a once-over. “Round went clean through. Kid’s losing a lot of blood. Dungeon, get on the radio. Find out how far off Ice is with Brady’s mobile clinic.”
She frowned. “Ice?”
“Becca managed to divert him up two-eighty-seven when everything went for shit at that ghost town. He’ll be here shortly.”
“Ethan doesn’t have any time to spare. I’ll take the chopper. Meet Ice wherever he is. I’ll land on the damn highway if necessary.”
Cannon’s hand on her shoulder. “Your helicopter doesn’t look like it’ll go the distance. There’s smoke still curling out of the engine, and it’s got more than a few holes—”
“It’ll make it far enough.”
“Olivia... Let’s just see how far out Ice is, okay? In the meantime...”
He was talking to someone. Olivia didn’t know who, but in less than a minute three of Cannon’s crew were closing in on them.
Had a first aid kit spread out on the ground.
Were using field dressings and some kind of powder to stem the bleeding.
She watched it all happen, lost in some daze until Cannon knelt beside her.
“Ice is about thirty minutes out. So, if that chopper ride is still on the table...”
Damn straight it was.
“Get him onboard. Relic should come, too, with the amount of blood he’s lost. And I’ll need two other men. One for Ethan, and one to help with navigation. With the amount of damage she took, it wouldn’t hurt to have another set of eyes on the screens.”
Cannon glanced back at the helicopter. “You sure it’s safe?”
She snorted. It wasn’t, but she was determined to try. Get as far as she could. “We should move. Now.”
With that she was up and running for the chopper.
Jumping in and starting it without even worrying about the checks.
It hadn’t cooled down, so everything should be okay.
Except where she was losing oil. Where the controls were getting heavy.
One of the bullets had probably hit the hydraulics.
With any luck, they’d hold out long enough for her to reach Ice.
No luck. No other option. She’d get Ethan to his mate. Period.
Two minutes, and she was ready. Was telling the men to hold on as she lifted the aircraft into a hover—fought to keep the damn thing steady. It took more effort than she wanted to admit to keep it from drifting. The controls fighting every input.
She managed to turn it—head toward the runway. A long unobstructed path was exactly what she needed. Allowed her to pick up speed—gain some altitude. She’d fly higher than before, not trusting the hydraulics enough to keep it treetop height. Not with how poorly the machine was responding.
Dungeon sat beside her, scanning the area then focusing on the screens. Only took the man a few minutes to figure them out. Adjust the images so he could look ahead for potential obstacles. Track their route toward Ice. “Might be best to follow the highway. In case you have to put her down.”
She glanced over at him. “Thanks for your vote of confidence.”
“It’s not you I’m questioning. It’s the fact I can see through the fuselage.”
“Just some cosmetic damage. She’s fine.”
“Which is why you’re battling the controls.” He arched a brow. “I’ve been in enough helicopters to know that’s not normal. Are the hydraulics completely shot?”
“Not, yet.” Though, she wasn’t sure how much longer they’d hold out. That she might require his help just to move the collective once they needed to descend.
Dungeon put a hand to his ear—spoke to someone on another radio. “Ice is about twenty miles out. He’ll pull over wherever you think is best to land.”
“We’ll need a long stretch of open pavement or gravel.”
Dungeon merely nodded, scrolling through the screens then talking to Ice.
Olivia ignored the conversation. Focused on flying.
On keeping the machine heading in the right direction.
On everything but the fact Ethan was slowly fading in the back of the machine.
That, if she bollocked things, she’d be the reason he died.
Dungeon nudged her shoulder. “There’s a farm with an open area around some buildings. Ice says it’s pretty long. Just off the highway.”
“Mark it as a waypoint, and we’ll get a countdown of the distance. That should give me enough time to lose the altitude without overshooting the area.”
“Controls that bad?”
She gave him a smile. “You worry about having Ice be there when we land. I’ll worry about flying.”
“Gibson’s right. You and Vale are the perfect match. You’re both nuts.”
“Gibson’s far crazier than I am. Let me know when we’re a couple miles out.”
Dungeon sighed, relaying more info to Ice. She wanted to ask Priest how Ethan was doing. If he was conscious. But she couldn’t. Because if she suspected for a moment that she’d already lost him...
He was going to be okay. She had to believe that. After all his missions overseas, the endless times he’d actively tried to get himself killed, he wouldn’t die like this. Taking a bullet for her.
“Three miles, Olivia.”
She thanked Dungeon as she took stock of the situation, which wasn’t great. Two of the gauges were pegged in the red. She’d lost whatever hydraulics she’d had, and it appeared as if there was a petrol leak.
Looked as if her boss was going to be disappointed that she’d gone against his orders—ruined another chopper.
“We’ll start our descent. I might need some help with the collective. She’s not going to want to move. We’ll do small adjustments. Okay?”
“Now I know why Priest gave me the front seat.”
“You seem like an action kind of bloke. Just like Gibson.”
Dungeon snorted. “Not sure that’s a compliment but...”