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Juan’s eyes narrowed and the affable guard turned into someone…just like him. Before this was over, Shark was going to find out exactly who Juan was. If they survived. He took off running.
* * *
They had been runningfull out as she muttered, “Damn, I’m glad you’re on our side.” She kept pace with him, his arm around her shoulder as he pulled her away from the river. Together they crawled up the opposite hillside, then she rose and veered into the creek. Behind them, the chopper had tried to lift, men shouting and hailing gunfire over the ground. They had about a minute before those guys started popping off again. Maybe at this point Ramos didn’t care if she went down.
Easy had pulled her through the ravine, splashing in calf-deep water under the canopy of trees. The chopper couldn’t get off the ground and she heard the whine of it shutting down.
Then Easy had dropped with an indrawn breath, and she’d been pulled down with him. She came to her knees.
“What happened?” she said frantically. Easy’s face was ashen, his handsome features pulled tight.
“I’m hit,” he said hoarsely.
“Where?” She started pulling at his clothes, then she felt the wet, stickiness at his side. She jerked up his camo top and bit her lip. He’d been shot just above the hip, the wound bleeding quite a bit. She pulled off her shirt and pressed it to the wound. “Oh, God,” she whispered. “Can you get up?”
“It won't be necessary,punta.” She froze at the chilling voice behind her. “He can die where he is.”
She turned to find the chilling sight of a man who slowly pulled a knife from his belt. His smile was downright evil. It was long and deadly, glinting in the dim light from the sun along a razor-sharp blade. Her mouth went dry, and she fumbled for the gun at her waist. The man made a quick movement, and something caught her upper arm with a burning slice. The gun dropped out of her hand. She rose, scrambling for it, but he swung and backhanded her viciously across the face. The pain exploded through her cheek and made her eyes water. She flew to the side and hit the forest floor hard, her head impacting with a rock.
She pushed herself up groggily, and her mouth went dry. Easy was up, but he was struggling with the agony of the gunshot wound, trying to hold off the knife man with his hand around the guy’s wrist. The guy went for another knife, but Easy blocked it, his face twisted with pain. With short powerful moves, he delivered a fist to knife guy’s jaw, an elbow into his throat, then swept his foot across and knocked his legs out from under him.
Knife guy landed on the ground so hard his head bounced. It didn’t stop him, and his leg shot up, a booted toe clipping Easy in the back and driving him forward. He leapt to his feet, the knife slicing at Easy’s broad, unprotected back. But Easy recovered too quickly and whipped around. Knife guy’s wild slash didn’t connect as Easy curled his body in, avoided damage, and punched him. The guy reeled back and spit blood, but that evil smile didn’t waver.
“Look out!”
He reached back and threw, Jack’s warning a split second too late. But the knife glanced off Easy’s vest, shooting to the side and dropping to the ground. Easy’s expression was one of tightly focused energy as if he harnessed it from deep inside him. Blood soaked his uniform from the camo shirt to the top of his pants, sweat pouring off his face. They circled, then clashed, the guy trying at all angles to get at Easy’s body, but Easy was constantly moving, getting out of the way.
Easy blocked, keeping his hands and arms at the center of his body. When the guy lunged again with that awful blade, Easy knocked his hand away, trapped his wrist beneath his underarm and delivered two successive, punishing punches to the man’s face. With an explosive move, he pushed the guy so hard, he landed hard on his back.
The encounter was taking its toll on Easy, he was losing blood, tiring. He looked at her, and said, “Run, Jack, run!”
She rose, taking a step back as the guy came at him again, but this time Easy lost his balance as his blood loss screwed with his equilibrium. The two of them went down. There was no way she was going to leave him wounded to die. She’d rather die herself. Flat on his back, he had no leverage to stop the knife as the guy used his full weight to send it toward Easy’s throat.
A tight, hot killing rage flowed with her blood. She bent down and grabbed a heavy branch and charged at them.
* * *
Shark brokethrough the trees into the clearing at the same time Juan did. Jack had Garcia on the ground and was wailing on him like a half-naked madwoman with a thick branch. It was all Garcia could do to fend off her vicious attack. Easy was trying to rise, blood coating his side. Shark strode across the ground and grabbed Jack by the arm. She swung the branch, fully in commando mode. He ducked.
“Whoa, Crazy Choos. Easy there. It’s Shark.” She was in just her shorts and bra, then he saw her crumpled shirt on the ground covered in blood. Easy’s blood.
She stumbled back, her face a mass of fear, rage, and determination. Her expression crumpled in relief. Juan caught her. Garcia scrambled away and Shark covered him with his weapon. He wanted to shoot the son of a bitch, but they needed every advantage they had right now. A shot would alert the men searching for them outside the mist.
“There’s a med kit in my rucksack,” Easy said.
“I knew there was something not quite right about you.Americano…”Garcia sneered, his face twisting in disgust. “You’reone of them.” His attention flicked to Juan. He scoffed. “Juan, you traitor,” he spat. “I’m going to cut your heart out.”
Juan’s eyes narrowed as he helped Jack gently to her feet. Then moved to Easy, setting his hand against Shark’s brother’s shoulder to quiet him. “I’m not as defenseless as Brian Cole was,” Juan said. “You killed him and for that, you’re going to pay.”
He stepped forward, but between clenched teeth Shark said, “I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve your ass-kicking, but I need you to save my brother and our hostage. It’s the mission, Juan, and we can’t fail. I’ll take care of Garcia. You take them to a safe place, then you come back. I’ll give Ramos an explanation about how you’re tracking them.”
Juan took another look at Garcia. He inclined his head. “This SEAL isn’t wounded or unarmed, Garcia.”
Juan opened the pack and pulled it out. He lifted his teammate’s shirt and Easy groaned in pain. Checking the wound, Juan looked at Shark, his eyes grave.
Fuck it was bad.
He dressed the wound as Jack solemnly helped, then said, “Where are your antibiotics?”
