Page 77 of Her Chosen Protector

“Carnival is still going on, they’ve just steered it around the bank. We’re still going to use it as a cover. Don’t worry, we have a plan.”

“A plan-plan, or a some-shit-plan?” Eden asked. “Because a some-shit-plan is usually best in these types of circumstances.”

“Ignore her,” Asher advised Ezio.

“We need to get going. It’s not too much further. And it’s a plan-plan,” Ezio told Eden.

“Ow.” She cried out, then tried to cover it with a laugh.

Asher saw what had happened—her foot had stepped on exposed rebar.

“Stop!” he roared.

“It’s nothing,” Eden protested.

Asher grabbed her ankle so that he could see her foot. Some blood was showing on the outside of her sock. He gently pulled her shoe and sock off and saw where it had sliced a two-inch gash along the inside of her arch. At least it wasn’t on any of her pressure points and it wasn’t a deep cut. He heard shuffling behind him. He didn’t need to turn around to know that Raiden and Nic were changing places.

“Move,” Raiden said.

“You’ve got a med kit?” Asher asked, since his teammate wasn’t carrying his backpack.

“It’s in my utility pouch.” Raiden had already pulled out some antibiotic ointment, bandages, and gauze.

“Damn, Eden, I thought I might be able to do a little sewing here in the darkness and rubble, but you didn’t cut it deep enough,” Raiden teased.

“I’ll try harder next time,” she promised.

As soon as he was done, he scooched back behind Asher and resumed his position at the back of the line.

Asher stayed as close as a flea on a dog for the next forty-five minutes it took to get them to the door. Of course, there were no whimpers coming from the York camp. Nope, not from my girl.

Ezio immediately checked that the door could still open when they reached it. It could. All five of them huddled close to freedom, Asher holding most of Eden’s weight, so she didn’t have to put it on her foot.

Cullen had been talking to their group on and off for the last forty-five minutes, promising them that he had a plan-plan to get them safely to the Azua hacienda.

“If it includes a food truck or a parade float, I’m not interested,” Asher gritted out.

Cullen laughed. “I think you’ll like this. It’s got style.”

Even though Asher had his radio on speaker for Eden’s sake, he knew she couldn’t hear it in the confines of their ‘cave’.

“I don’t care if it’s a party limousine, how in the hell are we going to get past all the secret police?”

“Kane has a plan-plan,” Cullen chuckled.

“Lyons, quit being coy and fill us in,” Asher damn near shouted.

“I would if I could. But first, everything has to happen the way we need it to. So, just sit your

happy asses down for five minutes, and let’s just see if everything works out the way we think it will.”

“Well, tell me this—do you have a back-up plan?” Asher asked sweetly.

“It involves a food truck.”

Asher stopped asking questions.

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