“Inside?” Kessler’s voice cracked on the single word. “But you said it was too dangerous. That you couldn’t cover every angle.”
“That was before we lost our chopper. Had a sniper covering the other options. Just remember the rules. Stick to us like glue and don’t lose that bag.”
He turned, cut off any further discussion with a shove that got Kessler stumbling across the rooftop. They moved in beside Sloane as she yanked on the door.
Sloane kicked at the frame. “Damn thing’s been magnetically sealed. Keypad’s red, and they took out the network connection. But the power’s still live. I need thirty seconds to bypass it at the source. Though, once I open it, the damn thing will be locked that way. Probably won’t even close.”
“Sloane, it’s too…”
His voice faded into another curse as she darted over to the electrical panel, pried it open. No cover, no way to guard her ownsix, just her trapped in the kill box as she connected her tablet, started tapping on the screen.
Nick moved out, gaze scouring every recess, every angle, that pressure between his shoulder blades nearly crushing him. While he realized this was their only option, standing there, watching her bear most of the risk, undid him. Had his chest squeezing tight, his lungs refusing to work.
He edged closer. “Sloane…”
“Almost there. Just ten more seconds.”
Movement.
Three balconies over. Two men peeling out of the shadows, rifles already notched at their shoulders. Not aimed directly at Sloane, her silhouette partially hidden behind the wall, but close enough.
Nick darted forward, took another hit as he drew their attention, forced them to focus on him before he returned fire, dropped them both a heartbeat later.
He stumbled back, pain cutting like a knife, as Sloane tapped the screen, popped the seal on the door.
She shouldered in beside him. “You shouldn’t have done that. They didn’t have a direct bead on me.”
He breathed through the stabbing ache, motioning her back to the door. “Couldn’t risk it. I can’t bypass shit, so… kinda need you alive to get us down.”
“Still…” She looked at the mushroomed slug in his vest, eyes narrowed, mouth pinched tight, then showed the countdown on her hand. The door swung open, locking into place, a punch of boiled cabbage and damp concrete hitting them as they barreled in, swept the landing.
Nick nudged Sloane’s arm. “I’ll take point.”
Sloane huffed. “You’ve already taken two in the vest.”
“Please, I finish half my missions with actual gunshot wounds.”
“Not exactly the benchmark we should be aiming at.”
“I…”
A glint.
One balcony over from the previous nest. Where Nick knew the bastard had shifted in order to get a better sightline — follow them into the stairwell. He moved before he could voice the threat, pushing Kessler into the shadows as he stepped in front of Sloane — shoved her aside.
The crack sounded as he shifted into place, everything exploding into white-hot pain as the slug punched through his shoulder, caught him just outside the fabric. He tumbled backwards, hit the far wall before sliding to the floor, rifle lifting as he focused on the that spot, unleashed a few rounds out of sheer muscle memory.
Sloane crowded him a second later, chest heaving, fingers already working the ties on his vest as she shook her head. “Jesus, Nick.”
He brushed off her hands. “Sniper?—”
“He took one in the shoulder, too. Took off. Christ, even half-dead you’re a damn lethal shot.” She grabbed a few supplies out of her thigh pouch. “Here, sniff this.”
He arched a brow. “Ketamine? You that worried already?”
“Do you want to move or not? Though, based on the injury, I doubt this low of a dose will numb the pain for long.” She packed the wounds, bound them. “That should at least slow the bleeding. Even a jackass your size will run out eventually.”
He smiled at her version of an endearment, everything blurring into gray before he snapped back, forced his legs underneath him. The ketamine dulled the blazing fire into a smolder as Sloane bridged his weight, helped him balance until he managed a few breaths without blacking out and falling down the stairs.
