Lili
My heart raced like a scared rabbit. I followed Cole through the twists and turns of his shoot house. It looked like an unfinished office, with a warren of rooms, empty windows, plywood floors and walls, and the odd piece of mismatched furniture. He led me up some stairs to the second level.
Terrified, I nodded.
His face warmed and he cupped my cheeks. His lips brushed over mine. “I’ve got you.”
My fear didn’t go away, and I realized my fear was for him.
I knew this man now.
I knew him inside and down to the soul he thought was broken and scarred. He’d fight to keep me safe, even if it cost him his own life.
“Stay safe, Cole Black.”
His lips quirked.
“Promise me,” I said firmly.
“I promise. And you stay down.”
I ducked behind the sofa, but I moved so I could keep my eyes on him, peering around the edge.
With measured moves he strode over to one of the windows that looked down into the warehouse.
His face changed, the warmth leaking out of his face. Now he looked hard, cold, and focused.
I heard a faint sound below and my chest locked.
Cole lifted that wicked looking rifle and took aim.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
I tried to control my jolt. He’d fired the three shots in quick succession.
I heard shouts break out from below.
“Smith is down!”
“Garcia and Sanders are dead.”
“Find that fucker,” another voice bellowed.
Now I heard the thunder of boots. They were coming.
Cole moved to the doorway, silent as a ghost. He pressed his back to the wall beside it and waited. He looked cool and controlled.
How the man could have this sort of patience when I felt like I was going to leap out of my skin, I didn’t know.
A man in camouflage gear came through the door.
Cole attacked, a knife in big hand. He stabbed the attacker in the neck. Once. Twice. Three times.
The man sagged, and Cole shoved him out the doorway and down the stairs.
I heard thuds, a grunt, and several curses.
Suddenly, gunfire ripped through the walls. Cole dived toward me, rolled, and came out running.
He grabbed my arm and tugged me up. We raced across the room and through another doorway, then down another set of stairs.
He pulled me into another room.
“There.” He jabbed a finger at a desk. With one hand, he flipped the desk over like it weighed nothing.
I ducked down behind it. “How many left?”
“Eight. Could be more that I didn’t see on the cameras.”
Nausea rolled inside me. So many. I curled into a ball, pressing my knees to my chest.
Cole checked out the window, lifted his handgun, aimed, and took a shot. When he muttered a curse, I assumed he’d missed. Then he moved back to the doorway.
A man slunk in, his gaze focusing on my hiding place. Cole reared up behind him, and I saw the glint of a thin wire in his hands.
He jerked it over the man’s head. The attacker burst into action, twisting hard, trying to free himself.
Cole held on, but then the men lost balance. They hit the floor and rolled, both of them grunting.
Cole pinned the man down, and pulled the wire tight. The man tried to swing out with his fist, trying to punch Cole.
The wire cut into the man’s neck, but I didn’t look away. Cole was fighting for me. For my life. So I’d watch everything he had to do for me.
The attacker gurgled, his feet hitting the floor several times, then he went silent.
Cole heaved the body away and rose. “Come.”
I obeyed instantly. I wouldn’t make this harder for him.
We raced out of the room and down the hall. A man appeared ahead of us, and Cole jerked an arm up and shot him. Then we raced into another room.
It was empty and there was nowhere for me to hide. I pressed against the wall, my chest heaving and my hands shaking.
Goodyear had ordered this.
So much death so that man could do whatever he wanted. It made me sick and angry.
Cole moved up to the window and glanced down. He cursed.
I pulled the gun from my pocket and clutched it. It felt so heavy. “What?” I whispered.
“A vehicle just pulled up outside. It’s too soon for Bastian and the other guys to be here.”
So it had to be more of Goodyear’s soldiers. Despair hit me. I didn’t want to die.
I didn’t want Cole hurt.
Suddenly, gunfire tore through the doorway, wood splintering. Cole whirled, and I swallowed a scream and ducked down, covering my head.
All of a sudden, something smashed right through the wall beside me, wood chips flying everywhere.
A huge man in camo gear burst through. He lifted a large gun.
Gunshots echoed loudly, and I saw Cole’s body jolt.
No.
Everything slowed down. He’d been hit.
Then Cole raised his own weapon.
Heart in my throat, I watched as he fired. He fired bullet after bullet into the big man. The man dropped to his knees, then toppled over.
Another man came to the door, gun aimed at Cole’s back.
Hell no.
I raised my gun, trying to focus. I had to save Cole. I flicked off the safety and pulled the trigger.
The man fell to the floor with a cry.
Cole spun, and his gaze met mine for a long beat.
Suddenly, several attackers poured into the room. They were all hard-faced, their gazes and weapons locked on Cole.
There were four of them.
No. I felt dizzy. Cole couldn’t take on all of them.
“Put it down,” the oldest man said.
Cole lowered his gun to the floor.
Another man headed my way and snatched the gun from my hand, then yanked me roughly to my feet.
“Don’t touch her,” Cole growled.
“We’re about to kill you. We have orders to kill her as well.” The guy gripped my chin and I glared at him. “But maybe we’ll keep her for a little while.”
I jerked away from his touch.
“I said, don’t touch her.” Cole’s voice was low and scary.
The man holding me laughed. “What? You currently have three guns aimed at you.”
“Or this,” Cole said.
Four dark forms exploded into the room as Cole dived to the floor.
A fifth person climbed through the window beside me, appearing out of thin air. He slammed into my captor.
I fell to the floor, confusion and fear tearing at me.
I scrambled backward, watching as a black-faced Alessio jammed a knife into the center of my attacker’s chest.
One precision stab.
The man coughed, blood splattering on his lips, then he staggered and fell.
I looked up. Landon was slicing at one attacker with two long knives. Bastian kicked the knees out from under another man. Nash rammed a fist into a man’s face, before raising a handgun and firing. Rafe elbowed another man, slamming him into the wall, then landed a jab to his throat.
There were several scuffles, another gunshot, and then silence.
I blinked. All the bad guys were down.
Cole’s friends all straightened and turned.
Bastian dusted off his hands. “Sorry we took so long.”