Page 36 of Holding the Line
Ezra’s grip on his weapon tightened visibly.“Is that a threat, or a promise?”
The man didn’t blink.“It’s a truth.One you’d be smart to start respecting.”
The guy to the left moved slightly, Oren growled low under his breath.“Back off, asshole.”
Eli’s fingers curled into fists at his sides.He felt the tension in the air shift—just a fraction—and saw the man on the left tilt his head.Then came the smile.Too calm.Too knowing.
Time fractured.
“Ty!”Eli shouted, lunging forward just as the man fired his rifle.Eli shoved Tyler hard, sending them both sprawling.The gunshot cracked the air.White-hot pain lanced across Eli’s upper arm.
He hit the dirt, clutching his bicep, blood sliding through his fingers.Almost immediately, Ty—his expression filled with fury—rolled to one knee in front of Eli, keeping him behind him, and sirens wailed from the Ridge.
Then came the sharp report of another single shot.
Oren, standing just to their right, dropped one of the gunmen with a clean hit center mass.The man crumpled with a grunt, cursing as he rolled onto his side.
“Shit—fuck—” the man gasped, struggling to sit up, hand moving to release the straps of his bullet proof vest.“I didn’t shoot to kill the guy!Just a warning!Just a fucking flesh wound!”
Oren shrugged.“And I got you in your vest.Guess we’re both just real considerate like that.”
Ezra hadn’t moved.Didn’t fire.His handgun stayed aimed, rock steady, finger near the trigger, but he held.
Eli hissed breath through his teeth.The pain was sharper than he expected.It burned down his arm like fire and made his stomach roll.He gritted his teeth and pressed harder against the wound, trying to keep his breathing even.It was just a graze.Had to be.Still, every heartbeat sent a new wave of agony through his bicep.
But even through the haze of pain, Eli heard it—the roar of an engine that was all too familiar.Marsh.That sound was like thunder and salvation.Marsh was coming, and he was no doubt bringing hell with him in the form of some pissed off Pathfinders.
The armed men began to back away, rifles still trained on them.
The leader of the assholes spoke again.“Keep it together, boys.Stay calm.Like he said, it was just a little warning shot.”
Ezra snorted without taking his eyes off the enemy.“You sure?Felt more like a formal invitation to a bloodbath to me.”
The center one leaned forward.“You’ve been warned, Eli.You know what you need to do to not put a target on these people.”
Then they vanished into the woods.
Moments later, just seconds really, and trucks burst through the gate.Eli heard the unmistakable sound of quad bikes tearing off into the forest.
Marsh’s voice cut through the chaos.“Eli!”
Before Eli could lift his head, he was scooped up from a prone position on the ground like he weighed nothing.Marsh’s grip was all muscle and fury.
“You got shot?What the fuck, Eli!”Marsh was pissed.
“In the arm, not the face,” Eli tried, wincing, feeling a little nauseated because of the pain but also the speed at which Marsh plucked him from the ground and was now heading back to his truck.
“Blake!We’ll need you at the infirmary, enroute now.”Marsh spoke then placed him like he weighed nothing into the truck.He slammed the door shut with a curse, sprinted around the front of the truck then peeled out toward the infirmary.
Eli leaned his head back, wincing as the adrenaline faded.
Marsh’s jaw was clenched so tightly Eli could see the muscle twitching.“You almost died.You don’t get to be calm about that.”
Eli looked over at him, voice low but steady.“I’m calm because you’re here.Because I know you’ve got me.”
Marsh slammed a hand against the steering wheel.“I want to kill every one of those bastards.Rip them apart.You were bleeding and I saw it all on the fucking camera.You wouldn’t have been shot if you hadn’t been trying to protect Ty—”
“I had to,” Eli interrupted gently.“It’s what we do, right?Protect each other.”