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Still, I knew it wouldn’t survive another kick.

I was now completely free from Lucy’s weight, and my hand brushed against her gun. I stretched out my hand for it, my fingers curling around the handle. I hoped the attacker remained focused on the door and wouldn’t notice me moving around. I also prayed the night-vision goggles would restrict his peripheral vision giving me a little assistance on that front.

The night-vision goggles!

I’d almost forgotten. I grabbed my flashlight in my left hand, putting my thumb on the button, just as his third kick blasted opened the door. I rolled onto my stomach and rose to my knees, holding the gun as steady as I could in one hand. Then I summoned every ounce of courage I had.

“Hey, douchebag,” I shouted over the roar of the helicopter landing in the front yard.

He pivoted toward me, just as I turned on the flashlight and pointed it straight at his night-vision goggles. Blinded, he instinctively raised his hands to shade his eyes.

I dropped the flashlight and steadied my hand, firing several shots and praying I hit him somewhere vital. At that exact moment, a volley of shots fired from behind me. The attacker flew backward in what seemed like slow motion.

In the reflected light from my flashlight on the floor, I watched him hit the floor just as something heavy landed on my back and I hit the floor yet again.

SIXTEEN

Slash

As I desperately swung my gun into firing position to protect Gio, a dark figure unexpectedly rose from the bushes along the patio and, with a scream, charged the gunman. The gunman spun, seeking the new threat. His night-vision goggles slowed his recognition, and the figure slammed into him before he could reorient his weapon. The two men struggled while the gun fired off several short bursts randomly.

I aimed my weapon, hoping for an opening, but the figures were too far away for positive recognition. Worse, since they were in such close contact, I couldn’t shoot without fear of hitting both. I could hear the approach of the helicopter, but it was coming in dark, no lights, so I could only estimate its position.

The men were now wrestling on the ground. Inside the house I could see signs of another firefight going on; this one involved someone firing from the kitchen entrance at someone near the front door. Someone had breached the house and was at the bottom of the stairs. I rose from the bushes and raced toward the house. I had to assume that the attackers were fully committed, and no one was waiting to intercept me.

But if I was wrong, I was dead.

Finn’s voice came quietly over the radio. “Hostiles are on the second floor. Gunfire. Recommend you hurry.”

“Coming,” I could hear Hands respond.

As I ran, I concentrated on the fight closest to me. It was clear one of the two figures was getting the upper hand. One figure rose, partially obscured by the bushes and bent to pick up the weapon.

My heart pounding, I stopped running and knelt to fire, but in the night-vision goggles, I wasn’t sure if it was Beau or the attacker. The standing figure pointed the gun at the man on the ground.

I had to decide.

Suddenly, a third figure rose from behind the gunman and swung something with a handle at the gunman’s head. It connected with a crack so loud I could hear it from where I stood. The gunman collapsed immediately, the gun clattering from his fingers.

The roar of the helicopter was deafening now. It sounded like it was landing in the front yard. I sprinted the last few yards to the men, pulling to a stop just as the first figure rose from the ground and kicked the rifle away from the inert gunman’s hand.

“Xavier?” I called out, pushing the goggles to the top of my head. “Beau?”

“Slash. Oh, thank God, it’s you.” The relief in Xavier’s voice was palpable. “I thought we were dead for sure.”

“Good timing, Slash,” Beau said. “But a minute earlier would have been helpful.” He checked the attacker on the ground. “Damn, I think you killed him, Xavier.”

Xavier sounded stricken. “I…I killed someone? With this?” He held up a large cast iron frying pan.

“You just saved Beau’s life,” I said. “And your own. You had no choice. You would have been killed next. Where did you get that?”

“The kitchen. Beau took the gun, so, I felt helpless without a weapon. This seemed like the next best thing.”

“It certainly did the job.” I turned to Lexi’s brother. “Beau, why didn’t you shoot him instead of jumping him?”

“I wasn’t sure I could hit him in the dark and if I didn’t kill him with my first shot, we both were dead. I hoped that he would be startled by a body slam, and I was right.”

“Okay, good call. There’s still a battle going on inside, so I’m going back in. I need you, Xavier, to get the generator online immediately. Got that? Beau, you protect Xavier in case there are any hostiles we haven’t accounted for yet.”