Page 45

We fought our way through the compound, bounding from cover to cover. Cartel soldiers seemed to come from everywhere, but training and superior weapons gave us the edge.

“Bravo, what’s your status?” I called out as the helipad came into view.

“We’ve got problems.” Volante’s voice came back tight. “Heavy resistance at the?—”

An explosion cut him off. Through the smoke, I could see the Bell 412 helicopter on the pad, rotors turning, but Bravo team was pinned down behind concrete barriers.

And standing between us and salvation—Diego Silva with what looked like his personal guard unit.

“You’re not going to take her.” Diego’s voice carried across the compound. “She killed my son. She owes me a new one.”

I didn’t pay attention to Diego’s monologue. All that mattered was getting us out of here.

“Ben, Jace, base of fire. Keep those guards busy.” I scanned for another route to the helicopter. “Ty, can you get an angle on?—”

“RPG!” Ty’s warning came a second before the rocket hit.

The explosion threw us all sideways. Concrete chunks rained down. Through the dust and smoke, I’d lost sight of Lauren.

I pushed up from the debris, ears ringing. Through the din, I heard Lauren’s scream.

“Lauren!”

“Let me go!” Her voice, but distant. Too distant.

The smoke cleared enough for me to see three of Diego’s men dragging Lauren over to him.

Diego had her. One arm around her throat, pistol pressed to her temple. His guards formed a protective semicircle as he backed toward better cover.

My heart jackhammered in my chest, but my hands were steady as I brought my rifle up. God damn it, I had no shot. Diego was using her as a human shield to try to get out of this. The irony wasn’t lost on me.

“She has to die for killing my son. Not now, of course. Not until she has served her purpose. But she killed my son, so her life is forfeit to me.”

Diego kept scooting backward. I couldn’t let him escape with Lauren. There was only one way I knew how to stop that.

“She didn’t kill Mateo. I did.”

He pressed the gun harder against her temple. “Lies.”

“It’s not lies. She’s a doctor. She came here to help the people in your country. She didn’t want to kill anybody—not even the man who was obsessed with her for no other reason than she said no to him.”

My team had taken positions, but no one had a clean shot. Diego knew what he was doing, keeping Lauren between us and him. I needed him to lower his weapon just a little.

Lauren’s eyes found mine. No panic there. Just trust.

This woman. I don’t know how I’d ever lived without her, and I definitely wasn’t going to start now.

Her hand moved slightly—she was going to do something. I nodded slightly.

“Ben,” I said quietly into comms. “Get ready with Jolly.”

“Copy.”

“I killed your precious asshole of a son.” I lowered my rifle slightly, keeping Diego’s focus on me. “Let her go, and we settle this.”

“You think I’m stupid? The moment I release her, your men kill me.” He started backing up again. “No, she comes with me. Maybe I’ll return her to you eventually. In pieces. There weren’t any pieces of Mateo left to send me.”

Lauren’s eyes flicked down, then back to me. A signal.

She went limp, her full weight dropping suddenly. Diego, not expecting it, had to adjust his grip. The pistol moved away from her head for a second.

“Jolly, attack!”

The dog burst from cover like a rocket. Diego saw him coming and tried to swing the pistol around, but Lauren drove her elbow into his ribs.

I was already moving. The rifle came up. Diego tried to bring his weapon back to Lauren, but Jolly hit him from the side, jaws clamping on his gun arm.

He screamed, stumbling backward. Lauren rolled away.

I put three rounds in his chest. Then three more center mass to be sure.

Because this son of a bitch was not ever coming back for Lauren. This had all started because Diego had executed an unarmed man for no reason except he could .

Never again.

Diego Silva crumpled, the pistol falling from nerveless fingers. Jolly released and backed away, growling.

“Tango down,” I called out. “Light up the rest.”

Without their boss and caught in a crossfire between Alpha and Bravo teams, Diego’s elite guards didn’t last long. Professional or not, they were outnumbered and outgunned.

“Clear!” Ty called out.

“Clear!” Volante echoed.

I reached Lauren in two strides, pulling her up and checking for injuries. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.” She was shaking slightly but standing. “Is he?—?”

I glanced at Diego’s body. Very dead. “Yeah. Both Silvas are done. You don’t have to ever worry about them again.”

“Alpha team, collapse on the bird,” I ordered. “Time to go home.”

We sprinted for the helicopter. Reinforcements would be coming, but for now, we had a window.

“Load up!” I shouted.

One by one, the team climbed aboard through the side doors. I kept Lauren tight against me, shield between her and any potential threats.

“You hit?” Lauren’s hands found my chest, checking for blood.

“I’m good. Go!”

I pushed her toward the door, where Jace pulled her inside. Jolly followed, then Ben. Ty climbed in, still firing. I came last, spraying rounds to keep heads down.

“We’re up!” I shouted to Volante in the pilot seat. “Go, go, go!”

The Bell lifted off heavy, engines screaming. Through the open door, I saw the compound shrinking below. Muzzle flashes sparked like angry fireflies as we climbed out of effective range.

“Anyone hit?” I called out.

“Ty took one in the shoulder,” someone from Bravo team called out while applying pressure to the wound. “Clean through. He’ll make it.”

I found Lauren pressed against the bulkhead, eyes closed, breathing hard but whole. Alive. Safe.

“Hey.” I touched her face gently, needing the contact. “You okay?”

She opened those green eyes, and despite everything—the drugs, the kidnapping, the firefight—she smiled. “You came for me.”

“Always.” The promise carried more weight than a single word should hold. “I’ll always come for you.”

She pulled me down and kissed me hard, not caring about the audience. When we broke apart, Ty was grinning.

“So I guess the elevator worked?” Jace asked.

“Shut up,” Lauren and I said in unison.

The helicopter banked hard, heading for international waters and safety. Below, the Silva compound burned—someone’s wayward RPG had found a fuel depot.

Both Silva men were dead. Father and son, their reign of terror finally ended.

I pulled her against me as the jungle gave way to coastline. She tucked her head against my shoulder, and I felt her body finally relax. Around us, my team did what operators did after a successful mission—checked weapons, tended wounds, and talked shit to burn off adrenaline.

“Logan?” Lauren’s voice was soft, meant just for me.

“Yeah?”

“Please don’t leave me.”

The words hit harder than any bullet. “Never again. I promise.”

The love and trust in her eyes stole my breath.

She believed me. After everything, she still believed.

And that was worth more than any mission, any success, any victory.