He laughed, gaze locked on hers before his head sloughed off to one side, his chest stilling.
Tierney stared at him, gun still aimed between his eyes, muscles locked. Buck moved in close, ribs screaming, hyperthermia shaking his hands, when a boot splashed in a puddle behind him. He spun, blocking Tierney, his sights set on the asshole emerging from behind the bulldozer, when a round cracked the air, knocking the mercenary backwards into the mud.
Buck glanced over his shoulder as Dalton ghosted out of the shadows, dried blood smeared across one cheek. He kept the rifle notched in his shoulder, his gaze searching the dark. There was a coldness about him, a detachment he’d kept hidden, that rolled off him, giving Buck a glimpse of the man who’d stepped out of the compound.
Nick appeared a moment later, blood staining his pants, what looked like a graze in his upper thigh. “That should be all of them.”
Dalton grunted. “I’ll make another perimeter check.”
Nick sighed as Dalton vanished — just disappeared into the night like a wraith. “Looks like this mission’s hit a bit too close to home. But, he’s right. We can’t be too careful.” He waved his fingers at Buck. “Shoot me the coordinates of the other hostages, and I’ll have Foster’s crew start rounding them up. You two have done more than enough tonight.”
Buck rattled them off. “They’re armed and panicked. Make sure Kash and Zain announce themselves before rushing in.”
Nick nodded, hopped over to where the other two victims were still huddled in the cab, then ushered them out, already talking to Bodie now that the jammer was down.
Buck moved in behind Tierney, laying a protective hand on her shoulder. “Other than the obvious hits to your vest, are you okay?”
She stiffened beneath his touch, gaze still locked on Pike. “I thought it would feel different. Lighter, maybe, but I look at him, and I still can’t breathe. Still feel those walls closing in on me. The ache in my leg that never goes away.”
He sighed, wrapping her gently in his arms. “I know. Just, give it some time to sink in. To quiet the voices.”
She glanced back at him. “I honestly don’t know if anything ever will.” She stepped out of his embrace. “When they finally move him, I want them to check that he has the lighter. Just to be sure.”
Buck nodded, watching as she drew in on herself, finally sitting down in the mud beside Pike, her gaze absently straying to him. Not that Buck blamed her. After all she’d been through, the taunts the man had lobbed at the end, she had every reason to be distant.
A steady strum pulsed through his chest a moment before Foster’s chopper crested the trees, flaring into the clearing like a hurricane. The side doors opened, Greer and Avery jumping out with a handful of agents. The lawmen secured the area, started hanging tape, as Avery jogged over to them.
She studied Pike for a few seconds, her gaze drifting to Tierney then back to Buck. “You know vests aren’t supposed to take that many hits, right?”
Buck chuckled, grabbing his ribs when the movement stole his breath. “I’ll remember that.”
“How bad?”
“Enough that I’ll feel it for a while. Not so bad I won’t walk my own ass out of here.” He inched closer. “Can you do me a favor?”
Avery grinned. “Name it.”
“I know Sloane will tear the dark web apart looking for answers for everything Pike said tonight, but can you ask around some of your… connections if there’s any truth to what he said about Grieves? That he died in a cartel hit in Medellín six months after Tier escaped? Might help give her more closure.”
Avery glanced at Tierney sitting in the rain and the mud, seemingly oblivious to everything else. “I’ll see what I can find out. Though, if it really was a cartel hit, there’s a good chance Pike might have been the only person who knew the details.”
“Understood. And thanks.”
Buck waited a few minutes before closing the distance, standing beside Tierney. “You’re soaked, hurting, and your lips are blue.” He offered her his hand. “C’mon. Foster’s here. Let’s go home.”
Tierney stared at Pike for another thirty seconds before taking Buck’s hand, pushing to her feet. She didn’t talk, just moved in close, leaning into his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her, headed toward where Nick and Dalton waited beside the landing zone.
The nightmare was over.
Now, all he had to do was convince her they were worth the risk.
Chapter Fourteen
A numbing drizzle washed over the town, thick clouds building on the horizon, promising more rain. The air still felt charged, the hairs on Tierney’s arms standing up as she slipped out of Buck’s pickup and climbed the stairs to Dalton’s loft.
More fog had rolled in after the thunderstorm had passed, cloaking the area in a thick, gray mist. The ocean surged against the pier, a writhing black mass amidst the haze, the occasional whitecap appearing within the shadows.
Dalton held open the door, waving her and Buck inside before shutting out the night behind him. The clock edged toward two, the heavy silence weighing down the air until simply breathing took most of her effort.
