Page 72 of Mile High Ruin

“I’m down.”

“Behind me.”

“No.”

His hand catches my waist, trying to pull me aside, but I just cling harder.

The irony should be funny. He carried me away from Hale as though I weighed nothing, and now I’m attempting to use my body as a shield for a man nearly twice my size.

I can feel his heart pounding beneath my cheek.

Another shot goes off.

Vadim twists, trying to turn us so his body covers mine instead.

“Stop moving,” I snap.

His expression is almost incredulous. “You are ordering me?”

“You’re injured.”

“And you are apparently suicidal.”

“I’m not letting you get shot again.”

Something strange passes through his face. There is absolutely no reason for him to look at me like that while bullets are flying over our heads.

Yet he does.

Then the sound of engines grows louder. Three black vehicles tear through the security gate at the far end of the private terminal and race toward us. Doors open before they fully stop, and men pour out.

Armed men. A lot of them.

For several chaotic seconds, the tarmac becomes a wall of sound. Vadim’s reinforcements spread behind the vehicles and return fire toward the hangars. Anton shouts directions, pointing toward the eastern perimeter, while Marek moves around the rear of the damaged SUV to join them.

Vadim keeps one arm locked around me.

The shooting begins to retreat. The bursts become farther apart.

Then someone yells that the east gate is secure.

Another man shouts that two vehicles have fled.

Within minutes, the entire atmosphere changes. Vadim’s men begin advancing instead of hiding. The remaining attackers either disappear beyond the service buildings or are pinned down before they can reach the perimeter.

Silence doesn’t return all at once. It comes gradually, broken by shouted orders, running footsteps, vehicle engines, and the ringing in my ears.

I realize I’m still lying partly across Vadim.

He looks down at me. “Are you finished?”

I sit back. “You’re welcome.”

His mouth twitches despite the blood soaking his shirt. “You covered me with your body.”

“You were already shot.”

“You are considerably smaller than I am.”