Page 88

Mike’s heart was in his throat, but that’s when he saw Joelle wink.
Mason grunted, which meant he’d seen it, too.
She was planning something, but for the life of him, Mike didn’t know what it was. All he knew, was that he had to be on the ready to back her up with whatever she had up her sleeve. He gave her a slow nod, to which she pursed her lips in a kiss, and Mike almost lost his shit. What if he never got to taste those…
“We’re backing up,” Mason called out to Galici, and signaled for everyone to comply. Mike made sure he was closest to the bottom of the ladder, no more than eight feet away just in case he got the opportunity to blindside the man. He knew that their snipers were waiting outside, and he heard Mason quietly key his mic with a signal that they should be ready. If Galici and Joe got in the car and backed out, one of them would have a head shot at the asshole.
He hoped.
“Coming down now,” Galici stated, then spoke to Joe. “Lean back, bitch. I’m slipping in between you and the ladder.” With one hand still on his weapon, he let go of her hair, his free palm now sliding to one siderail as he faced her and inched down onto the top step.
Joe, clutching white-knuckled below him, unbent her elbows and gave Galici enough room to insinuate his body between her and the rest of the upper rungs. He began slinking downward, step by painful step until his belly was level with her face and there was no longer space for him to move.
“Okay. Together now,” the man snarled.
Everything after that happened as if in slow motion.
Joe’s body tensed, her knees flexed. She shoved her shoulder into the man’s soft midsection and with one swooping move, she flipped him over her shoulder.
Unable to save himself with his one-handed grip, Galici went flying, and Mike almost wanted to shout his joy, but the asshole… The fucking asshole grabbed the back of Joe’s shirt briefly on the way down before losing his purchase and plummeting to the concrete floor, sending glass beakers and tubing smashing, helter-skelter.
But that brief grip was all it had taken to throw Joe off.
Mike saw her teeter. Watched as her hands slipped away from the metal. Heard her yelp as she sought for balance.
But before she fell, Mike had already halved the distance between them.
By the time she tumbled free, he was kicking Galici’s body aside, his arms outstretched to catch her.
When she hit, it wasn’t pretty.
Her body went askew and she plowed one flailing knee into Mike’s shoulder, delivering a hard blow which took them both to the concrete, but the breath was only partially knocked out of Mike as he hit first, cushioning Joe’s fall. And bonus. He hadn’t been gouged with broken glass thanks to his augmented vest.
Mike sucked in a breath.
Joe? Was she…?
She wiggled atop him, then repositioned herself so they were chest to chest. After she was situated, he heard her snicker. His entire body went limp and his eyes closed in a silent prayer of thanks.
Joe snorted once, then began laughing so loudly, all Mike could do was hang on and rock them back and forth, his nerves still shaking with the shock of it all.
“You’re okay,” he murmured over and over in her ear, and Mike didn’t know whether he was saying it for her or for him, but damn, he suddenly felt like he needed to go out and run ten miles with all the rampant adrenaline still running through his body. His let-down, he knew, would happen soon, but before it did, he needed to use his jazzed muscles to get Joe on her feet and have her checked out.
He shouldn’t have worried.
Alvero was already hovering above them, asking her if she was okay to stand.
“Are you kidding?” she asked giddily. “I’m fine. Especially with this trampoline I just landed on.” She fought Mike’s hold enough to get her head into position where she kissed him, fast and blatantly in front of everybody.
And Mike finally, finally breathed easy.
“You just aged me twenty years,” he scolded Joe.
“No biggie. As long as you’re still alive and can—” she began cheekily.
“Uhh,” Mike stopped her mid-freshness. “You want the entire team to hear you say what my plans are for you, later?”
She shrugged impishly. “With how you’re still holding me,” she demurred, “I think they already know.”