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She frowned, glancing at the blood still dripping down his cheek. “Jesus, Kash, your head.”
He gave her a small smile. What she assumed was his attempt to reassure her he was fine. Though, judging on how much his hands shook, he wasn’t close to being fine. “Just a love tap. Unlike your shoulder. I need to put on some Quick Clot before you pass out from blood loss. But it’s not going to be fun.”
She looked over at Striker. He had his gaze focused on them, avidly scrutinizing every move Kash made. “I’m surprised Voss allowed it.”
Kash merely shrugged.
She grunted as he cut away part of her sweatshirt. “He needs us alive until Foster gets here, right.”
She hadn’t posed it as a question, and Kash simply nodded. “How the hell is he even going to make it? The weather’s closing in, and?—”
Kash silenced her with a gentle finger over her lips. “You worry about staying conscious. Foster’s far more resourceful than Striker thinks. And that’s why the bastard’s going to fail.”
She clenched her jaw, somehow swallowing the scream tearing at her throat when Kash pushed on the wound. Hard. “Do you think Striker knows Foster was Flight Concepts?”
“I doubt it. That kind of shit is generally scrubbed from anything he could get his hands on.”
She nodded, closing her eyes as pain shot through her shoulder then into her chest, stealing whatever breath she’d had.
Kash sighed. “I know. It hurts like a son of a bitch.” He poured on the clotting powder, then applied more pressure, finally wrapping it all with a few layers of gauze. “It’s not perfect, but it should buy you enough time until Chase gets here. The guy’s a wizard.”
“I hope so. But I have a feeling even he has his limits.”
“Then, let’s stay within them.”
Mac nodded at his head. “Let me clean that wound?—”
“I’m good.”
“All right, that’s enough chit chat.” Thompson grabbed Kash’s shoulder. “Get back beside the chopper.”
Kash knocked off Thompson’s hand. “If you want her to stay breathing, you’ll let me keep an eye on her.”
Thompson snorted. “You’ve done all you can. Now, sit your ass down. Unlike Striker, I don’t have any issues with killing any of you.”
“I’m okay, Kash.” She motioned for him to sit beside her, glaring at Thompson as he smirked and ambled away. “I really hope I get to shoot at least one of these assholes before this is over.”
Kash chuckled. “Spoken like a true warrior. Now, do us both a favor, and be ready. Because if I know Beck, he’ll be coming in hot. Which means, you hit the ground when the bullets start flying.”
“Just like you’re going to do?”
Kash laughed, again. “I’ve got a reputation to uphold. And know this. Nyx won’t hurt you, no matter what you see or hear. Okay?”
“That’s reassuring.”
“She can be downright scary when she’s fully engaged. But she’s the smartest dog I’ve ever worked with. And she’ll have your back.”
Mac nodded, fading a bit before jolting back when Kash gave her arm a squeeze. “I’m sorry I got you into this. You were right. I should have been better prepared. Hell, I should have questioned the damn orders.”
“Why? It came from emergency dispatch. Your father authenticated it, himself. No reason to think it was a setup. And I’m just naturally paranoid.”
“Foster questioned it.”
Kash smiled. “Trust me. Foster’s reluctance had nothing to do with suspecting this was an ambush and everything to do with the fact he’s crazy in love with you and can’t stand the thought of not being your first line of defense — whether the situation warrants it or not. So, stop beating yourself up for doing your job.”
Her chest eased a bit at Kash’s words. “I think you might be exaggerating just a bit.”
Kash turned to meet her gaze. “No, I’m not. The guy’s a goner. He just needs more time to work it all out. Allow himself to be happy because he still doesn’t believe he should have been given this second chance.”