Page 60 of Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind

“Is he the dark bird?” Tiberius thought to his mate.

“Yes,” she thought back solemnly.

“Dispatch him.”

“No! He’s using you as a shield.”

“Do it. Shoot your weapon, Ryan Winslet, and end this once and for all.”

She shook her head. “I’m not going to shoot you.”

“Don’t tell me no, bitch!” the dark bird seethed, no doubt thinking she was shaking her head at him. “You think I’m kidding? I’ll waste this fucker right now. Then I’m going to let my men use every hole you’ve got before I put you on the next boat outta here. Now put down your fucking gun.”

Tiberius could hear his mate’s sharp intake of breath at the threat, and he could feel her anger along their mental bond. It matched his own. His only regret was that he would be unable to dispatch the horrible death the dark bird deserved.

“Do it now, Ryan Winslet. Shoot him through me.”

“No! Are you insane?”

“Look at me, Ryan,” Tiberius spoke softly into her mind. “Look at my arm.”

Her eyes flicked to where he had been shot, widening when she realized the wound was almost completely healed. “How?”

“I will explain everything later, but right now, you need to end this. Do it!”

“You better be right about this, Tiberius, or I’m going to shoot you again on purpose.”

He smiled. “You cannot get rid of me that easily, little mate.”

As Ryan inhaled, he felt her calm. Her eyes met his briefly, then dipped to his shoulder. A heartbeat later, she squeezed the trigger and he felt the sharp sting of the bullet passing through his flesh and into the man behind him.

As a surprising level of pain seared through his body, Tiberius lunged to the side. Two more shots rang out in quick succession.

He looked back at his mate, only to find her standing over the body of the henchman she had been holding hostage. She was glorious in her warrior stance, with a gun in each hand and her body primed and braced for battle.

As he looked down to see the dark bird once known as Black Eagle on the ground, with a hole in his chest and another between the eyes, he knew this battle was over.

They had won. Now it was time to reward his aquatic helpers then jump into the sea to heal.