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Baxter had barely cleared the doorway when an insurgent fired from an alcove, catching him off guard. He stumbled, his weakened legs giving out beneath him, hitting the tile hard.
“Jesus Christ,” Baxter groaned, blinking up at the ceiling like he was questioning all his life choices.
Dagger yanked him up by the collar. “Thank him later. Move your ass.”
Baxter coughed out a laugh. “You could at least?—”
Dagger didn’t wait. He just hauled the guy over his shoulder like a damn sack of rice and took off down the hall.
“Give me your sidearm,” Lechuza said, her eyes narrowed and determined. He pulled his Glock from his holster and set it in her hands, then he scooped her up, his grip unwavering. He could feel the faint, ragged rise and fall of her chest, the delicate tremor in her limbs.
Her fingers curled slightly against his sleeve, gripping just enough so that he knew she wasn’t giving up.
Good. Flash ducked another round, her body curled into his chest, a pistol firm in her grip. Despite everything, she was still hunting, still ready to fight. His gut clenched with something sharp and intense. Yeah, that’s exactly what she was. A fierce owl. His fierce owl. “Hold on,” he murmured, ducking another shot. “It’s go time,búho feroz.”
Brawler covered their six, laying down fire as the SEALs pushed through the last of the resistance. Beast lunged at a fighter trying to get an angle on Tex, taking the bastard to the floor in a snarl of teeth and power.
The team tore down the stairwell, boots hammering against concrete, gunfire snapping in the confined space. Brawler and Beast led the way, juggernauts tearing through resistance like a wrecking ball. Flash moved just behind him, keeping his body curled around Lechuza, shielding her as best he could while Easy picked off stragglers trying to regroup.
Dagger and Tex were on their six, moving with the fluidity of men who had carried dead weight before. Dagger had Baxter slung over his shoulder, hauling the former DSS officer down four flights of stairs like he weighed nothing.
Flash glanced back and muttered, “Still think we should’ve taken the damn elevator.”
Baxter wheezed from where he was draped over Dagger’s back. “Yeah? Maybe if it wasn’t a damn bullet magnet.”
“Everybody’s got to be a critic.” Lechuza laughed softly and Flash's heart flipped over. She laughed at his joke. Nice.
Bullets rained from above.
An insurgent leaned over the stairwell railing, rushing to angle his rifle down. Bondo didn’t stop running, just fired mid-stride, the burst sending the bastard over the railing and he fell to the floor below.
They were getting boxed into a kill zone, and there was only one thing to do. Lechuza gripped his vest in preparation, bracing herself to be part of her own rescue. Bullets pinged off metal so close to Flash’s head, he heard thezztof the passing lead.
“Get off the fucking X,” Tex said in that calm, commanding tone that meant everything was about to speed up, go door kicking, pipe hitting loud.
5
They hit the third-floor landing.
More fighters, three of them, were scrambling to set up a blocking position. Didn’t matter.
Brawler hit first, dropping the first man with a brutal burst to the chest. The second barely had time to shout before Beast lunged off the stairs like a freaking missile, going airborne, slamming his powerful bulk into the fighter and dragging him down with a deep ear-splitting snarl. Lechuza finished him off with his Glock.
The third tried to bolt.
Shark popped him, and the man crumpled, gurgling.
Bondo still covered their six, his rifle a constant, thunderous presence, dropping anything that moved behind them.
Second floor. First floor.
They hit the lobby at full speed, Flash gritting his teeth. The rise and fall of her chest against his told him she was still there, still pushing through whatever agony was screaming through her body.
A man lunged at Dagger. “Tex!” he shouted, and with a one-arm throw, he yeeted Baxter to their LT. Baxter grunted when helanded on Tex’s shoulder, and Dagger grappled with the guy, his combat knife flashing. The hostile went down.
“I didn’t know this was a freaking relay race and I’m the baton,” Baxter called out, and even as the bullets were flying, everyone was laughing.
Tex didn’t break stride. “We’re going for gold, Baxter. Hang on!”