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She was nowhere near ready to take part in a gunfight. Not that it would matter if she were. Doing his best to keep his head down, he ran to the stairwell and put his body between her and the helicopter.

“Matilda Jayne. Get your ass back down those stairs right now.”

“I can help!” she said, aiming her Glock in the vague direction of the chopper now headed back toward them.

She got off one shot, lowering her gun when Dutch cried out in pain.

She threw her gun down. “I shot him! Oh my god, I shot Dutch!”

Dutch dropped to his ass, back to the wall. Blood ran through his fingers as he tried to cover the wound on his arm. For a second, Boone thought Tildi was right about shooting him, but that was all the time he got because Tildi tried to scramble past him to get to Dutch.

Pinning her as gently as he could to the wall, he held her in place and twisted to call, “Dutch, you all right?”

Dutch pulled his bloody hand away from his arm and inspected the wound. “Yes, it’s just a graze. That asshole with the scope got off a lucky shot.” He picked his rifle back up and resumed firing at the chopper.

Tildi still fought to get away from Boone’s hold. “I need to help him. I shot him. Will he live? Is he still breathing?”

“You didn’t shoot him, babygirl. He’s okay. Now you need to get?—”

He broke off and covered her as bullets flew again, this time hitting the yacht not five feet in front of them. Tildi screamed, covering her head and dropping to the floor. The helicopter buzzed the ship but swung back around for another pass.

This time, the door on the side of the helicopter slid open as they flew past. Nico stood in the open doorway, staring straight at Boone and Tildi as they passed. Damn it! Boone had his hands on Tildi instead of his rifle, so he missed the chance to shoot.

As the copter arced around for another pass, Dutch and Grif continued to fire while Tildi continued to scream. He had to get her to safety so he could kill her later himself. What the hell had she been thinking?

“Bluebell!” Boone lifted her to her feet. He yelled over the gunfire and her screams, shaking her shoulders to break through her hysteria. “I’m gonna need you to stop screaming. I got this.”

She was scared. He got that. Getting shot at wasn’t his favorite part of the job, either. But he needed to be able to communicate with his men. He couldn’t do that with Tildi going all banshee in his ear.

Before the copter could complete the return pass, Boone grabbed Tildi’s arm, spun her around, and swatted her ass. Then he marched her down the stairs all the way to the marble tub in their bathroom. “Get in the bathtub and wait for me to come down when this is over. You do not want me to see you before that, do you understand?”

Tears streaming down her face, she nodded. “Y-yes, Daddy. I’m sorry.”

“Not yet, you’re not, but you will be.” He glared down at her. Then, planting a hard kiss on her lips, he headed back up to help Dutch and Grif.

Dutch and Grif were doing their part to take the chopper down, but it wasn’t going to be enough. Their submachine guns didn’t have the power to penetrate the hull of the cockpit. They needed to shift their target.

“Target the shooters, not the chopper,” Boone yelled.

“This ain’t our first rodeo, Bossman,” someone called back from the ship.

“Shut up and shoot, Dutch,” Boone yelled again.

“On it,” Dutch answered.

True to his word, Dutch opened fire. A second later, one of the men leaning from the open door of the chopper jerked before plummeting to the icy water below. Boone spared the time to look up at Dutch and give him a chin lift.

Grifter leaned on the seating stretched across the back of the flybridge up top, shooting at Midnight’s men as well. They all wanted to be the one who fired the kill shot that sent Midnight back to hell.

If he’d known how the mission to take the mafia boss out would go, he’d have included Ryker. He was their best marksman.

“Dutch, I need heavier cover fire,” he shouted.

“You got it,” Dutch said.

Rapid bursts of gunfire ripped through the early morning skies. Thankfully, Dutch’s aim was true, causing the helicopter to swing out in evasive maneuvers.

Boone fought back the need to go check on his Little girl and make sure she was safe. He’d always been overprotective of those in his care, but somehow, in a matter of weeks, he’d grown incredibly possessive as well. That hadn’t happened in a long time.