Chapter 18
Ren caught his balance as Halle tripped over the dead body of the man on the floor. She tumbled into the open shower stall.
He turned, stepped to the side, and lifted his hands.
The attacker came through the door and fired his weapon. Blocking out the deafening sound of the gunshot, Ren slammed the door into him.
The gun dropped to the tiles.
Ren grabbed the front of the man’s shirt and yanked him in. He swiveled, and the man tried to hit Ren, but Ren shoved him hard. Then, using all his strength, he jerked the man around and shoved him forward.
The attacker tried hard to get free. Ren used all his weight to force the man to his knees.
Gritting his teeth, Ren shoved the man’s head into the water in the bathtub.
There was an explosion of bubbles as the man fought. He tried to shove back, but Ren held on. The bastard was strong.
The man’s next, desperate shove nearly knocked Ren off him. Dammit, he wasn’t sure he could hold him.
Then a second set of hands joined Ren’s.
He turned his head. “Halle—”
She added her weight and strength to his. “Together.”
They held the man down until the bubbles stopped and his body went slack.
Chest heaving, Ren hauled her up and away from the dead man. He was so damn sorry she’d had to be a part of this. Sorry that any of this had happened to her.
All he could focus on now was getting her to safety.
“Let’s go.” He grabbed the man’s dropped assault rifle. They hurried out to the kitchen, and into the living room.
“Stay against the wall,” he warned.
She pressed her back to the wall. Her face was pale, but she was holding it together.
Ren peeked outside through the front window.
He saw several more attackers coming out of the other houses. They were pointing at the house Ren and Halle were in.
All of them were carrying automatic weapons.
“We need to go,” he said urgently. “Out the back. Now.”
He pushed her ahead of him.
Then gunfire ripped into the front of the house.
Halle screamed. Windows shattered and wood splintered.
Ren tackled her to the floor, covering her body with his. Glass sprinkled over them.
“Crawl to the sliding door,” he said in her ear.
She nodded, pushed up on her hands and knees, and crawled fast. He moved right behind her.
When they reached the sliding doors, he yanked it open. “Up.”
Together, they ran out onto the deck.
“We need to get down to the beach.” There was a winding path down to the sea.
Halle grabbed the straps of the backpack, and jogged down the steps of the deck.
Ren checked behind them. Their attackers were still shooting at the front of the house. He needed a plan. They could get to the beach, but then what? His jaw tightened.
Whatever happened, Halle was getting out of here alive.
They hustled down the winding path to the beach. They were almost there when he heard shouts behind them.
He saw their attackers spilling out onto the deck.
“Halle! Run faster.”
She picked up speed and he sprinted after her. Gunshots peppered the ground around them, hitting the sandy ground.
He whirled and fired up at the deck. He saw the attackers dive for cover.
“Keep running.”
Halle pumped her arms and legs. More shots were fired from the house, and he cursed.
Then, Ren saw her jerk and go down.
His world stopped.
“Halle!” he roared.
He raced toward her. Pain lanced the top of his shoulder and he stumbled.
Dammit, he’d been hit. He locked the pain down. All his focus was on Halle.
He reached her, just as she rolled over. There was blood on her arm.
“I’m okay,” she said breathlessly. “I think.”
He hauled her up. It looked like she’d been nicked.
The air rushed out of him, and the searing relief made him lightheaded. He kept his body between hers and the house.
“Get to the beach. I’ll buy us some time.”
Her face twisted. “Ren—”
“I’ll be right behind you, baby. I promise.”
Halle ran as fastas she could.
Her lungs were burning, her arm was stinging, and blood was soaking her sleeve.
She heard more gunfire behind her and knew Ren was firing on their pursuers.
She grimaced. God.
Her feet hit the sand. The waves were lapping nearby. It was a picturesque paradise, except for the gunfire and the foreign agents after them.
Not to mention the fuel cell that felt heavy on her back.
“Come to Hawaii,” she muttered. “For rest and relaxation.”
Chest heaving, she hurried along the beach. She wondered where the hell they would go.
“Halle!”
A familiar male voice made her spin in shock.
“God, Halle, are you okay?”
She stared wide-eyed as she watched Professor Davis running out of the palm trees.
“Professor?” She couldn’t compute his presence. “How did you get here? How…?” Realization hit, hollowing her out. “It was you.”
The professor stopped, and swiped an arm across his face.
“You sold us out,” she said. “You’re working with the Chinese.”
“Halle.” His face crumpled.
“It’s your own project! How could you?”
Ren sprinted down the beach. “Get back, Halle.” He aimed his rifle at the professor.
“Do you have the fuel cell?” Professor Davis asked. “Please. Give it to me.”
“Are the rest of our team all right?” Halle asked. “Or are they dead?”
“They’re fine.” Sweat poured down his face. “Give me the fuel cell.”
“How did they get to you?” Ren asked. “Money?”
Davis pinched the bridge of his nose. “They offered me a lot of money.” He swallowed. “But that’s not why I’m doing this. They have incriminating photos of me.” He looked at the sand, and swallowed. “Of me and an undergraduate student.”
Halle made a noise. “You sold us out because you slept with a student?”
“A male student.” Professor Davis threw up his hands. “I’m married. I have a family and a reputation—”
“That you made the choice to ruin,” Halle said. “You man up and face what you did. You don’t turn into a traitor and help a foreign country.”
“Give me the fuel cell,” he said desperately.
“And you tried to frame me,” Halle continued, the betrayal cutting deep. “You wanted my access code so no one would suspect you.”
“I need the fuel cell.” He lunged for her.
Bang.
Professor Davis cried out and clutched his leg. He went down on the sand, moaning. Ren stared at him impassively, and lowered his gun.
Her heart hit her ribs. Ren took her hand and pulled her along the beach.
“Ren, where are we going to go?” That’s when she saw the blood on the top of his left shoulder. “Oh my, God, you were hit.” Her throat closed. “God.”
“The bullet cut a groove over my shoulder, it’s fine. How’s your arm?”
“I don’t even feel it.” She shook her head. She felt sand slide into her shoes. “Ren, I can’t believe it was Professor Davis. He was behind all of this.”
Ren met her gaze. “People make terrible decisions and do terrible things all the time, Halle.”
Her heart squeezed. She knew he was thinking of Nasrin, and the people who’d hurt her.
Then he glanced back behind them.
She looked too. More men were running down the path toward the beach. Her belly clutched. “They’re coming.”
“I know.” He dragged in a deep breath. “You need to swim out to sea. I know you’re a strong swimmer. Take the fuel cell, and swim as far as you can. Get away from here.”
“No.” She shook her head wildly. “I’m not leaving you.”
“I need to keep them occupied to give you a chance. Halle—” he cupped her cheeks “—I love you.”
Her eyes went wide. God, it felt so good to hear him say those words. “You love me?”
“I love you, Halle Bradshaw. The most important thing to me is that you’re safe.”
She pressed her hands over his. “I love you too, Ren. So much. And what’s important to me, is that we’re together.”
At the end of the beach, their attackers reached the sand.
They were out of time.
“Run!” Ren shoved her.
They sprinted along the beach and helplessness choked her.
They had nowhere to go. They’d run out of beach soon.
She heard more gunfire.
Life could be so cruel. She’d lost her mom. And now, just as she’d gotten Ren, just when he’d told her that he loved her, they were going to die.
It wasn’t fair.
Ren stopped, and fired back down the beach.
But there were too many of them. They kept coming.
Ren turned and wrapped his arms around her. She pressed her face to his chest.
“I’m sorry, Halle.” His palm cupped the back of her head.
“Ren—”’
They were together. A sense of calm washed over her. She was with the man she loved.
Suddenly, there was a loud roar.
For a second, Halle thought their attackers had unleashed some new weapon.
Then, a helicopter thundered overhead.
Halle gasped. She looked up and saw Sheriff emblazoned in gold on the side of the black-and-white helicopter.
A second helicopter followed. It was larger, and pale-gray colored. This one had Navy on the tail.
“Oh, God.” A crazy mix of emotions filled her.
Ren pulled her closer and grinned. “Looks like help arrived just in time.”