Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chase inhaled as Royce hit the button on the detonator, then launched across the narrow space, KaBar glinting in the light, the blade slicing through the air in clear, sharp arcs.
Chase dodged left, getting in a strike to Carver’s ribs as he rolled past, gaining his feet before he slipped off the side.
Until the far support beam blew, shaking the entire structure. Smoke rose up from below, that freight car creaking as it tipped a bit lower. The resulting vibrations knocked Chase onto one knee, the surging water glaring up at him from below.
Royce regained his balance, tossing the knife between his hands before he glanced at Greer.
Grinned. Chase read the man’s intentions before the asshole took a step.
He lunged, slid across the space, caught Royce a few feet back.
Knocked his legs out. The guy hit hard, shoulder falling in the gap, the knife clattering free before slipping over the edge — disappearing beneath the water.
Another explosion.
More smoke. Flames. Wood and metal blasting through the air, hitting the platform like tiny spikes. The bridge swayed as parts at the far end cracked and heaved, crumpling into the water, the resulting impact causing massive flooding along the bank.
Royce rolled, tripped Chase onto his back, then launched on top, hands cinched around Chase’s neck, fingers digging into his flesh. Chase punched the bastard’s elbows, knocked them apart as he lifted his hips, tossed Royce over his shoulders.
They scrambled to their feet, neither one backing down.
The next explosion dropped the freight car.
The metal screeched as it scraped across the tracks, hitting the water, nearly taking the rest of the bridge with it.
The power running the lights winked off, just Chase’s headlamp mapping out what remained of the bridge.
Royce staggered to his feet, a couple pieces of shrapnel embedded in his thigh. Just like that night in Eastern Europe. Blood stained his fatigues, more dripping from a slice across his temple. Chase took a step as Royce shook his head — pulled out a Glock from an ankle holster.
He tsked when Chase edged toward him, nodding toward Greer. “I always knew it’d come down to this. You and me in a stalemate. Her life in the balance. I can kill her fast or slow, Remington. Your choice.”
Chase looked him dead in the eyes. “At this distance, you’ll only get one shot. If you’re smart, you’ll try to eliminate the threat. But you’d better hope it drops me because anything other than a lethal hit, and you’ll be the one heading to the other side.”
Royce laughed. “Guess you want her to suffer, too.”
He spun, aimed at Greer, when claws clicked against the wood a second before Nyx appeared out of the night, nothing more than a shadowed blur amidst the darkness.
Running full out. Skipping along the ties as if they were solid ground.
No fear. No hesitation. Nyx took two more steps and jumped — hit Royce square in the back.
They tumbled forward, a single shot going wide as they skidded across the short expanse and onto the edge, gravity pulling at them as everything froze. That crazy hang time as they clambered for a hold.
Chase dove, snagged Nyx’s harness before catching a handful of jacket. The momentum carried him forward, the sheer weight nearly taking him over until a hand wrapped around his ankle — held him steady.
Greer. Blood soaked through her jacket, hands shaking, but she held firm, reached for Nyx.
It took a few tries and the dog scratching at the wood, to get her over the lip, handed off.
Greer grabbed her harness, tugged her the last few feet as her grip waned, eyes rolling back before she tanked, hitting the deck.
Chase grunted, one hand gripped around the track, the other barely keeping Royce from falling — landing on the twisted wreckage burning beneath them. “Damn it, Royce, give me your hand.”
Royce looked up, raised his arm, his weapon shifting into place. He aimed just as his jacket ripped, slipping free from Chase’s fist. His eyes bulged wide, arms pinwheeling through the air before he dropped, body skipping off the metal shell, then slowly sinking beneath the surface.
Chase stared for a moment, chest heaving, hand grabbing at air, before he pushed off, scrambled over to Greer.
She blinked a few times, glimpses of green in the circled light. “See? You totally jinxed it.”
He shook his head. “Guess I owe you pizza and dessert.”
“Don’t forget the beer.” Her voice stuttered, breath shallow, choppy.
“Hey, eyes on me, sweetheart. I hear the helicopter. Just, hold out another few minutes, and I’ll get you fixed up.”
She nodded, eyes drifting shut. “Sure.”
“Greer.”
Nothing.
“Greer!”
He heaved her onto his shoulder, using the position to put some pressure on the wound as he tripped across the ties, Nyx guarding his ass. They got twenty feet away before the next bomb rocked the bridge, that platform they’d been on cleaving off — crashing into the water below.
The force knocked him sideways. He managed to turn at the last second — keep Greer from hitting the deck, as he slammed into the wood, everything winking out for a moment before he gave himself a mental shake — cleared his vision.
Nyx crawled in beside him, licked his face, then barked.
Her version of telling him to move his ass.
He groaned. “Christ, you’re as annoying as Kash.”
The dog yipped, again, tugging on his sleeve until he staggered to his feet. The bridge tilted, whether from the explosion or the ringing in his ears, Chase wasn’t sure, but he took a step, froze, waiting for it all to settle.
Greer groaned, the muted sound proof he hadn’t lost her yet. That if he just got his damn legs working, she’d have a chance.
He managed another foot, took a breath, then went again. If he didn’t reach the ground before the next bomb detonated…
They’d never make it. Never outrun the collapse. Even now, chunks cracked behind him, rocking back and forth before breaking off — dropping into the river.
He suspected he had about thirty seconds left when Foster roared into sight, rotors humming, engines whining.
His buddy banked the helicopter to one side, skimmed past the hill, then dropped in over the river, bleeding off all the speed before planting the skids across the track ten feet in front of Chase.
Not quite landing, the machine still holding its weight, but enough Chase just needed to step up — jump inside.
Kash appeared a moment later, limping along the tracks, a noticeable gash on his cheek. He reached the chopper and threw open the rear doors, motioning for Chase to pick it up.
Chase grunted, then moved. One leg, then the other. Agonizingly slowly, all that time ticking down in his head. He reached the chopper with nothing to spare, accepting Kash’s boost before stumbling inside — setting Greer down across the rear seats.
Kash jumped in behind Nyx, shutting everything tight, then yelling to Foster.
Foster lifted the machine, tipped it off the bridge a second before the entire structure blew, a thunderous clap echoing around them.
The helicopter shook, spinning twice before Foster wrestled it into submission, a few alarms still sounding as he banked it north — picked up speed.
Kash didn’t ask what Chase needed, just handed him some plasma and saline, readying the crash cart, just in case. Nyx laid off to one corner, head resting on her paws, eyes wary as Chase got Greer’s bleeding under control, got those IVs dripping.
Foster’s voice sounded above the hum of the blades a moment later. “Providence is on alert. They’ve got a full team waiting with an operating room cleared and ready.”
Chase grunted, watching her heart rate dance across the monitor, just like Rhett’s had. “She’s crashing.”
He pushed some meds, started compressions when he lost her pulse. “C’mon, sweetheart. You can beat this.”
Kash handed him the paddles.
Chase placed them on her chest, pressed the button. Her body jerked, hitting the seats with a low thud. “I’ve got a rhythm. Foster… brother every second counts.”
Foster sighed. “I’m pushing her as much as I can. Any more, and we won’t make it before the engines crap out.”
Chase administered more meds, kept checking her vitals, hitting her with another shock when she faded, again, that familiar tone mocking him.
Images of Rhett and Eli looping through Chase’s head.
Foster yelled something about being on short final, then the doors flew open, a swarm of white coats and scrubs rushing in.
A quick transfer onto a gurney, and they were racing for the building, running down those same white halls into the treatment room beyond.
A nurse barred Chase from following, Kash’s hand around Chase’s arm holding him back.
Chase shook it off, nearly tanked into the wall before Kash grabbed him — leaned them both against the wall.
Chase blinked, the floor shifting left and right beneath him. “I need to be in there.”
Kash shook his head. “You need to sit your ass down. You’ve got pieces of that damn bridge everywhere.
” He physically stopped Chase from breaking free.
“You know this team. They’ll do everything they can, but you going in there and passing out on the floor will only distract them from what needs to be done.
You got her here still breathing. She’ll pull through. ”
Chase closed his eyes as he let his head fall back against the wall, her steady heartbeat carrying to him from the other room. Not the rhythm he’d like, but it was still a rhythm. A glimmer of hope that he’d done enough. That this time, it’d end differently.
He blinked to find his back on a gurney, bright lights blinding him from above. He groaned, rolled, only to have someone stop him. Chase looked up, Foster’s wary gaze staring down at him.
His best friend tsked. “You’re determined to kill yourself, aren’t you?”
Chase tried to sit up and failed. “Greer…”
“In surgery. And before you undo all the hard work of yanking a thousand damn pieces of shrapnel from you, everything’s going well. They should be closing up soon, and she’s expected to make a full recovery.”
Chase relaxed against the thin mattress. “You’re not lying to me just to keep my ass in this bed, are you?”
“I’m hurt you’d even suggest that.”
“Foster…”
“Fine, while I would do that, I’m not in this case.
Kash has been hovering outside the operating room getting constant updates.
” Foster chuckled. “He looks more than a bit intimidating when he’s on a mission, especially with Nyx growling at his side.
And they all know he’ll bust right in if provoked, so… ”
Chase nodded. “How’s Buck?”
“Fine. He’s being treated for moderate hypothermia, but there shouldn’t be any lasting effects.”
“Buck really came through. We should help the guy out. The way he disarmed those bombs…”
“We’ll brainstorm some options. See if any strike a chord with him.”
“And Royce?”
Foster rolled his shoulder a few times as he shook out his right hand. “Zain and Saylor retrieved the body.”
“I can’t believe he did all this. Killed Rhett, Eli…” Chase swallowed, coughed. “Is Nick still heading this way?”
“Should be landing in a couple hours. Bodie’s picking him up. Why?”
“We need to talk. I’ve got a mission for him. And this time, we need a damn win.”
Pain.
Clawing at the darkness, eating away the numbing sensation until she managed to drag herself to the surface — open her eyes.
Machines beeped in the background, a metallic voice echoing over speakers.
Something cool dabbed her forehead, hazel eyes stared down at her when she let her head roll to the side.
Chase smiled, dipping down until he was level with her. “I definitely jinxed it.”
Greer grinned, hissing out her next breath when simply thinking about moving ricocheted pain through her chest.
More voices, footsteps tapping closer, then a warm sensation in her arm — everything fading back to black.
She drifted, a comforting weight holding her hand until she roused, again, the pain not quite as white-hot.
She blinked, winced, then squinted at the room.
Flowers and cards filled a table at the far end, way too many chairs cluttering the remaining space.
A sigh sounded off to her right, Chase’s handsome face blurring into focus.
God he was gorgeous.
From his tousled hair to those brilliant hazel eyes, she knew she could stare at him forever and never tire. Never take for granted what she’d found.
He smiled, and her stomach fluttered. “Hey, beautiful. Welcome back.”
He squeezed her hand, dropped a gentle kiss on her temple.
She shook her head. Not a lot, but enough he paused, arched a brow. “More.”
“Still making me earn it, huh?” He leaned in, planted a soft kiss on her lips. Not much more than a brush of his skin over hers, but it meant everything. Eased the jumping feeling inside her chest.
She wet her lips, accepting the water he offered her. “Where…”
“Providence. You were moved from the ICU a couple days ago.”
“Couple?” She frowned, her head too thick to figure anything out. “How long?”
Christ, a couple words and everything derailed. Just stopped working, those shadows at the corners of her vision slowly creeping in.
“Four days, though, they said you’d likely be out for a full week.” He grinned. “They don’t know you like I do. But… it’s early. Sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
“Promise?”
“Wild horses, sweetheart.”
She nodded, closed her eyes. She could worry about how everything had turned out later. When she remembered all the details — what questions to ask. Until then, Chase’s hand in hers was enough.