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Kyle looked at each member of his team and Hayley, then finally met Natalie’s frightened gaze. He stepped back, and the agents moved in to take her into custody.
They were outranked, outnumbered, and out of time.
Right.If she was going to bust Natalie out of this joint, it was now or never.
Hayley inhaled sharply and gave a small nod to Natalie…and then all hell broke loose.
“Now!” Kyle’s shout echoed through the empty house as Natalie kicked the agent closest to her hard in the shin, then ran for it. Scotty sprang into action, along with the other SEALs, communicating silently with his teammates through hand signals. He hauled Hayley over to a nearby pile of crates and shoved her behind them. “Whatever happens, you stay here and stay out of sight. Understand?”
Like hell.
Still, she nodded to appease him.
“Good girl.” He kissed her hard and fast, then took off back into the fray.
From where she crouched, Hayley saw Gage and Spencer take out the agents nearest them with simple punches to the throat or kicks to the kneecap. Soon, the floor of the row house was littered with moaning, writhing FBI personnel—but they weren’t going down without a fight, and there were more of them than there were SEALs.
Movement drew Hayley’s attention to the opposite corner of the space, and she saw Natalie swiping a gun off one of the beaten agents.Crap!This would not end well. If Michelle spotted that weapon in Natalie’s hand, it would be all the excuse she needed to open fire on her.
Zigzagging through the maze of debris lining the walls while trying to remain unseen, Hayley worked her way closer to Natalie, who was now crouched behind a stack of pallets. She crept closer, holding her breath as the sounds of fists hitting flesh and rang through the air.
“Put the gun down, Natalie,” Hayley said, coming up beside her.
Natalie jumped, then eyed Hayley warily. “I have to get out of here. I can’t let them take me.”
“Put the gun down, and I’ll help you.”
“I don’t need your help. I need to escape.” Natalie closed her eyes and murmured under her breath, so quietly that Hayley almost missed it, “For Nick.” Then Natalie took off from her hiding spot and made a beeline for the front door, firing as she went.
“Suspect armed!” Michelle yelled to her agents. “Suspect armed and very dangerous. Use whatever force is necessary to take her down!”
Bullets zinged through the air as Hayley chased after Natalie, hell-bent on getting her to safety. Scotty shouted from somewhere behind her, warning Hayley to stay down, stay safe, stay with him—but she was already flying toward the exit, hot on Natalie’s heels.
Sirens wailed in the distance as Hayley realized the SEALs were now firing back, bullets flying in all directions.
She and Natalie had just reached the door when Natalie crumpled, a splotch of bright red blossoming near the woman’s right shoulder.
Hayley grabbed Natalie’s arm and yanked her outside. Just then, a searing sensation sliced through Hayley’s left side. Hayley stared at the growing crimson stain on her white cotton shirt. Time seemed to slow, and voices echoed from a long distance away. Funny how the bullet wound didn’t really hurt. In fact, it all felt like it was happening to someone else. Hayley had been through enough EMT certification classes to know the signs of shock as they set in. She fell forward, her head striking something hard.
“Oh, no! Hayley, baby. Stay with me. Please.” Scotty was by her side, his expression full of stark fear.
She stared into the cloudy sky, glimpses of aqua through the gray. Birds sang and plants bloomed and beside her, Natalie moaned. Still alive. Natalie was still alive. That was good. Hayley had done her job. Life would go on.
Eyes heavy, she blinked up at Scotty, loving the heat of him so close to her, the chiseled lines of his face, the messy spikes of his hair. Loving everything about him, really. He gave her a watery smile, and her world tilted on its axis.
She tried to speak, but a drugging fatigue prevented any words from escaping. He ran his thumb over her lips, moisture gathering in his beautiful eyes. “Please, baby. Just stay with me a little longer, okay?”
She wanted to. Oh, how she wanted to. Stay with him. Stay with him forever.
Except Hayley was tired, and now her side felt like it was on fire and it was hard to breathe and her head hurt so, so bad. She’d close her eyes, just for a second, to rest. As consciousness slipped away, Hayley’s last thoughts were of Scotty and the brief time they’d spent together, the unlikely friendship they’d developed, her feelings that were growing for him…
15
“Hands up!”
The cold barrel of a gun grazed the back of Scotty’s neck, and he squeezed his eyes shut. Why the hell had Hayley jeopardized her life like that? And why hadn’t he called her out on it, told Kyle that Hayley had freed Natalie? It went against all his training, all his instincts. The truth reverberated through his head like a clarion call. He’d done it because it was what she wanted, because he’d do anything to make her happy. Because, somehow, in the midst of all this bullshit, he’d fallen hard for his red-haired little spitfire.
“On your feet,” the agent behind him growled. “Don’t even think about trying anything, or I’ll bury a bullet in your brain.”
