Page 17 of Declan (Gold Team #5)
My heart was pounding so hard I could feel the pulse in my neck throbbing. When that man turned and ran at Declan I thought I was going to have a stroke. Then it was over and Declan had neutralized the man faster than I knew was possible.
I was drenched in sweat and my hand shook so badly I was surprised I was able to tie his feet and help Declan hide his body.
Now my legs were jelly and I was praying no one noticed.
And the closer we got to the door, the sicker I felt.
I had a secret, a big one, one I didn’t want any of the guys to know.
The reason I worked solo. It would do me no favors if anyone found out.
It was a weakness. One I couldn’t afford anyone knowing.
And as afraid I was of the guys finding out, I was still going to be the one who took Madeleine’s life. I had to. Consequences be damned.
I took a deep breath to calm my nerves, inhaling hot, humid air that made it no easier to breathe. To relax and push aside my anxiety .
Max’s hand landed on my shoulder right before his mouth moved close to my ear. “Easy,” he whispered.
I wanted to tell him to fuck off, but instead, I nodded.
“Piece of cake. Just go easy.”
Yeah, Max had my number. Considering he was right behind me there was no doubt he saw me shaking like an idiot.
I wanted to look over my shoulder and see if Declan noticed, too, but I refrained—just barely—and probably the only reason why was because Brooks had stopped at the door and it was go-time.
Thank God. The faster this was over, the better.
Brooks and Kyle went to the left side of the door.
Brooks wasted no time affixing the blasting tape along the hinged side and another horizontal piece across the middle.
Kyle stood at the ready to charge the door if it opened.
Max had stepped in front of me, staying out of the blast zone.
Once Brooks was done, both he and Kyle backed up and I felt Declan’s hand dip into the top of my vest and pull me away.
“Ear pro,” he rumbled when he had me a safe distance away.
Shit .
Nothing like looking like a dumbass. The only thing worse would’ve been the permanent hearing loss.
Brooks’ gloved hand raised and he counted down with his fingers. Each finger that dropped brought us closer to breaching and my heart rate ticked up.
Here we go .
Three…two…one.
The door exploded in, heat and wind whipped around me, the caustic smell from the explosives lingered in the air. But I had no time to contemplate any of this. Brooks and Kyle were already charging the house. Max went next and Declan gave me a shove, propelling me into action.
Two guards came running into the room and fell before they had their rifles up.
Chaos was happening all around me, something I wasn’t used to.
I went in nice and quiet and did my work.
This was the opposite—loud, organized mayhem.
Wood splintered, plaster cracked, and no one stopped as we made our way through the first room.
Kyle broke off into another large room. Max went for the stairs and I followed.
“Door,” Max announced and waited for me to turn the handle. As soon as it was open, he charged. “Clear.”
The next three were the same.
One door was left at the end of the hall and Max gestured to it.
And just like he’d done before, he stepped to the side out of the kill zone and waited.
I opened the door. Shots rang out, but Max the crazy fuck didn’t hesitate.
He fired and attacked the room. With my heart in my throat, I tailed Max and opened fire.
Where the hell was Declan? I vaguely remembered he was clearing the ground floor but he should’ve been done. I pressed the trigger and got nothing.
Fuck .
“Bad feed,” I called out so Max would know my weapon had malfunctioned.
I dropped the magazine out of the AR and fumbled to grab the extra out of my vest.
Hurry up, Autumn .
My fingers closed around the plastic cartridge. I yanked it free and was getting ready to jam it back into my weapon when I felt the slice of the blade.
There was pain, then there was excruciating pain. Having your throat cut fell into the excruciating category.
Liquid dripped from my injury, blood that should’ve been warm but felt cold against my overheated skin.
My hand went to my Sig as the man lunged for me. I fired just as the tip of his knife pierced my arm. The motion of his body falling caused the blade to slice down my arm.
What the hell do I do now ? I was afraid to touch my throat. It was bleeding bad but I could breathe, I wasn’t dead.
Oh, right, I needed to shoot .
Seconds, minutes, hell it could’ve been an hour later, silence fell and Max looked over at me. I was back to trying to reload my AR.
“Fucking hell,” he shouted and wrapped his hand around my neck.
“I’m fine. I don’t think it’s deep.”
“Fuck! Kyle!”
“Max, I’m fine. I’m breathin’ okay. It’s just a flesh wound.”
“A motherfucking flesh wound,” he snarled.
Declan was first in the room. His gaze came to me and he shoved his night vision goggles on top of his helmet.
And suddenly I was reminded how damn heavy my head was.
I’d never worn a helmet and after this experience, I understood why.
They were heavy as hell and made your head tip forward.
Or at least it did mine, none of the guys looked like they were having the same issues.
“What the fuck?”
“House clear?” Max asked, which I thought was an excellent question.
I was all for any topic that didn’t include Declan seeing what happened. If Madeleine wasn’t here, I’d be left out of the search for her and that was unacceptable.
“I’m fine. I got nicked.”
“Her fucking throat is bleeding like a pig. Where the fuck is Kyle?”
“Here.” And suddenly Kyle was in front of me.
His goggles were already gone and his eyes roamed my face, lower to where Max was holding my neck, then to my arm. He did all that while pulling combat gauze from his vest.
“I’m fine. It’s just a cut.”
Oh, fuck, was my voice trembling ?
“All right. Let's take a look.” Kyle ripped open the packet and already had the QuikClot dressing in his hand. “This will help with the bleeding.”
I wanted to roll my eyes and tell him I knew exactly what he held in his hands and what it did. But I remained quiet as Max slowly moved his hand and I felt blood start to trickle. Then more of that excruciating pain when Kyle’s latex covered hand poked around.
I hadn’t seen him don a glove, and why I was thinking about when he must’ve done that was beyond me. Maybe to stop myself from passing out or falling to my knees.
“Maybe warn a person before you go digging in their throat,” I rasped.
“Not deep enough to pack,” Kyle said and started dressing my wound. “Cut me some tape.”
Seconds later, I had a wad of QuikClot duct-taped to my throat.
“You need something for the pain?”
“If I say yes, will you take my gun and make me sit in the corner?”
“Yep. But you won’t be in pain.”
“Then, no, I’m fine.” I gritted my teeth and willed the tears not to fall.
“Autumn—”
“I’m fine. Let’s roll.”
“I need to look at your arm.”
“It’s nothing. He barely got the tip in before I took him down.”
A very angry growl ricocheted around the room and slammed into my chest.
“What in the motherfucking hell happened?”
“Where’s Brooks?” I asked, not wanting to answer.
“At the bottom of the stairs.”
“Did you find Madeleine?”
“No.”
My heart rate picked up, which only intensified the pain in my throat and arm.
“Then why are we standing around like a bunch of idiots instead of looking for her?”
“Autumn,” Declan growled again.
“Don’t. If I was one of your men you wouldn’t be acting like an asshole asking questions. You’d tell him to suck it up and move his ass. So don’t treat me any differently. I’m fucking fine. Let’s find this bitch so we can go home.”
And with that, Declan turned on his booted feet and tromped away. Kyle followed but Max hung back and waited for me to stop swaying.
“You’re tough, you know that?”
“No. I’m fucking stupid. I didn’t clear my right side and got my throat sliced because of it.”
“We don’t have ten eyes. There’s only—”
“Would you have made that mistake?”
Max’s silence was my answer.
No, he wouldn’t have fucked up. He would’ve cleared his space before he moved forward.
“The mistakes we live through only serve to make us better.”
“Right.”
“Come on, tough girl, let’s go play hide and seek. Bitch is in the house.”
He clapped me on my good arm and I bit back a cry of pain.
“Shit, sorry.”
A few deep breaths later, I was moving out of the room mentally wincing. No, I was doing more than wincing, I was bawling like a baby on the inside with each pain-filled step I took.
If this was what these guys called an easy day I was A-okay with the way I did things. Quick, quiet, and painless. Well, for me they were painless.
Declan’s job sucked.