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Not a chance. He kept on running and didn’t stop until they were deep in the forest, where he could finally set Celina down on her feet.
“No shoes,” she wailed, hopping after him as he turned to get his bearings.
“Sit,” he commanded. Diving into his medical pack, he brought out two bandages, one for each foot. It wasn’t ideal, but it was all he had.
Protecting her feet took up valuable time. Hearing the thugs closing in, he shielded her with his body “Stay behind me,” he instructed harshly as he backed deeper into the undergrowth, weapon raised.
“Even when I shoot my gun?”
He blinked as she took out two gunmen. “Where did you learn to shoot like that?”
“In woods like these, just a few miles down the road. When food got scarce in the orphanage, I used to go hunting with the village doctor. He taught me to ride too, and he was a great shot, as good at shooting bullets as he was at taking them out. He insisted I learned how to handle a gun. He believed in dangerous times, we should all know how to defend ourselves.”
“He sounds like a great man.”
“He was,” she said quietly.
“And you’re quite a marksman,” Diego approved as he grabbed her arm and urged her on through the undergrowth.
“It’s surprising what you can do with hunger as your spur,” she agreed.
“And in memory of a good man,” Diego added.
“I think you’re right,” she admitted sadly as they pushed on. “I think he must be dead. The thugs have been using his house, and they’ve wrecked it. He would never allow that. He would have fought to his last breath. And Marissa’s dead too. I heard the gang talking about it.”
“Was she your friend?”
“Yes.”
Tense with grief, she turned away. But not for long. She soon turned back to him and, firming her jaw, she explained, “We grew up together in the orphanage, then Marissa was my teaching assistant at school. She was supposed to follow in my footsteps and go to university. She had her whole life ahead of her until those bastards took it away.
“Was Marissa why you came back?”
“I had to do something to destroy the gang.”
“You did,” he said quietly. “You set everything in motion, and now their fate is sealed.” Yanking her behind a tree, he put a finger to his lips, and they remained motionless until he signaled that the danger had passed. “They’ve turned back. They must have heard there was a crack shot on the loose.” Celina relaxed as humor glinted in his eyes. “Where did you get the gun, by the way?”
“The gang boss got careless, and so did his elderly assistant.” She shrugged. “I took advantage.”
“You certainly did,” he agreed dryly.
He drank her in. Even now, she looked great with her mussed-up hair and her tight Spandex dress rolled up high, and that gleam of determination in her eyes. Made for sashaying and posing rather than running for her life, the showy dress had been short to begin with, but now it was little more than a bandage. He was furious with her for putting herself at risk like this, and so proud at the same time that it hurt. Yanking her close, he gave her a short hot kiss. Dios! He’d missed her. A desperate need filled him to protect Celina and keep her safe, and to punish those who would have hurt her. That still had to be done. He wouldn’t hold back when he got his hands on the scum, but for now, his hands were full of Celina, and that felt right.
“You okay if I help you shoot our way out of this?” she asked as they moved off again.
He laughed as he dragged her close for one last fierce kiss. “I thought you’d never ask.”
~~o0o~~
The team of vigilantes commanded by the four members of the Blood and Thunder team had rounded up the surviving slavers. Having handed them over to Interpol, with whom they worked closely, they were able to congratulate Celina for all she’d done. Thanks to her, they had uncovered a huge network of subscribers to what had turned out to be the gang’s frighteningly regular auctions.
Engaging autopilot on his private jet, in which he was flying Celina back to Spain, he turned to face her. This was the first chance they’d had to talk in private. Celina had insisted on joining him on the flight deck after taking advantage of the comforts of the cabin, where she’d showered and put on a spare set of his sweats. They drowned her, but she still looked great. She hadn’t lingered for long in his luxurious private quarters. She still couldn’t quite believe she was safe, he guessed, and needed company, his company.
“We lost Del Roca,” she commented, staring at him with concern.
He shrugged. “These things happen. I’m relieved you didn’t meet him.
You’re braver than you know, braver than it’s safe for you to be. I don’t want you to risk your life again.”
