Page 45 of Maximus (Gold Team #4)

“I’m not gonna do it!” I screamed, and the throbbing in my head intensified.

Once again I was screwed—no, I was worse than screwed.

My life was over.

And my boys would be alone—but right now I couldn’t think about them or I would have a complete breakdown.

I had to believe Max would take care of them, it was the only thing keeping me from going into a full-blown panic.

I couldn’t let that happen. I had to focus on getting myself out of this latest situation because no one was coming for me.

I didn’t have my phone, my purse, or the necklace Tex had given me that had a tracking device in the pendant. As a matter of fact, my watch was gone, too.

“Then you’re gonna die,” Novak returned, his lip curling in disgust.

My eyes darted to the woman standing near the trunks that were being packed into the Cessna 172.

She had her arms wrapped around her middle, hugging herself tightly.

She looked disheveled, and frightened. Whoever she was, she didn’t want to be standing on the tarmac of a small airport in God-knows-where-fucking- fucking -Alaska anymore than I wanted to be.

My eyes snapped back to Novak and I knew I’d messed up. And when he walked to the woman, snatched her by her ponytail, and turned his gun to her head, my thoughts were confirmed.

“Actually, we’re gonna start with this bitch.” Novak shoved his gun to her temple. “Is this what you want, Eva? You wanna watch me blow this bitch’s head off?”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t take my eyes off the woman. She looked resigned, hopeless. It was as if she was begging me with her gaze to say yes.

What had Novak already done to her that was so horrible she’d rather die?

I searched my memory and thought back to all of the interaction I’d had with Novak Yazzie. He and Jay used to be partners and I’d seen him around a lot. The drugs that Jay had stowed in my plane when I’d been arrested were actually Novak’s, which got me thinking about something else.

“The last time Jay tried this, it didn’t work out too well,” I reminded him.

“Yeah, because the motherfucker called it in,” Novak spat and jerked the girl angrily. “This time, without that bitchass involved, you’ll fly into Canada undetected.”

I’d always known Jay had called the authorities to set me up, but hearing Novak say it was a knife to my heart.

“I’m not doing it, Novak.”

“Then this bitch dies.”

My stomach clenched and I looked back to the woman. Could I really let her die? Could I live with myself knowing I was the reason Novak killed her?

Fuck, no, I couldn’t. But I couldn’t live with myself knowing I’d transported drugs, either.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked. Not that it really mattered, because I wasn’t going to live through this, but I was trying to buy time.

The thought of leaving my boys motherless nearly brought me to my knees.

Max has them.

Novak was going to kill me as soon as I delivered the woman and drugs—I knew it. There was no way he’d allow me to walk away.

And honestly, it was more about delivering a woman to an unknown future that didn’t take a genius to figure out was going to be misery. I couldn’t do that no matter what.

“Because you fuckin’ owe me. You and Jay. Your fucked up tug-a-war lost me millions. Since I can’t find that motherfucker—you’re gonna pay me back.”

Wait, one goddamned minute.

“How’d you find me?”

Novak’s mouth curved into the nastiest, cruelest smile I’d ever seen.

“I never understood what Jay saw in you,” he sneered. “You’re the stupidest bitch I’ve ever met. Then I realized that was why Jay picked you. You’re so goddamn dumb you still don’t get it. I run this place. As soon as I heard Eklund hired someone to find you, I had you.”

I ignored Novak’s dig, mostly because he was right. I was dumb, punctuated by the fact that there I stood on a tarmac in Alaska instead of being home with my guys. Nope, Eva, don’t think about them, not right now. But this stupid bitch wasn’t going down without a fight.

Think, Eva.

“You went through a lot of trouble to find me, when you could’ve found someone here a lot easier.”

“Enough talking!” Novak shouted. “What’s it gonna be? A quick four hour flight to Vancouver to deliver my products or am I killing this bitch? ”

Four hours to Vancouver… we had to be south of Juneau—not that that little tidbit would save my life, but maybe it could help me escape.

I could agree, take off, and crash the plane, but I’d run the risk of killing the woman and myself. This wasn’t a float plane like I’d flown…

Nope. Not going there. Thinking about Bubba and Zoey wouldn’t help—though Bubba’s cargo pockets full of stuff might’ve come in handy right then.

“Answer me, Eva!”

“Don’t do it,” the woman cried. “Let him kill me.”

“Shut up, Natasha!”

“He sold me!” she shouted. “I’d rather—”

Natasha didn’t finish. Novak used the gun at her head like it was a hammer and slammed her across the face. Her forehead and cheek split open, blood oozed from the gash, and stomach acid burned my throat.

Now was my chance. I needed to run, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Natasha’s bludgeoned face and her comment about being sold had me paralyzed. I needed to leave her behind and save myself—for my boys, for Max. But damn if I could make my feet move.

Natasha was on her knees, Novak was half bent dealing with a screaming, hysterical, bleeding woman.

Instead of running for the trees, I took off toward Novak and Natasha. Shit, I was the stupidest bitch that ever lived but I couldn’t leave her.

But before I could take more than three steps in their direction, all hell broke loose. A bullet cracked, then I watched in horror as Novak’s head…exploded.

Okay, maybe that was a slight exaggeration, but Christ Almighty, half of it was gone.

My body froze, my lungs seized, and I threw up.

It was too much. Way too fucking much .

Natasha’s ear-piercing scream tore me from my stupor and I ran. I didn’t think about the blood, I didn’t think about the missing pieces of Novak’s skull. No, I was on a mission—get Natasha and run. We had to get out of there.

The woman was still shrieking—not that I could blame her, there was blood pouring from the gash in her forehead, running down over her brow, the bridge of her nose, and dripping from her chin.

It flowed faster than the Alsek River during a melt-out.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, Novak’s blood…

and…other stuff…stuff I didn’t want to think about, had spattered all over her.

But sweet Jesus, the woman had a set of lungs on her.

Then I was no longer running. Two steel bands wrapped around me from behind and lifted me clean off my feet.

My eyes locked with Natasha’s horrified ones and time stopped.

Fear slithered down my spine and my mind blanked.

Two men dressed head-to-toe in black appeared—their faces hidden behind black masks, both had scary black rifles pulled up to their shoulders, pointed at Natasha.

We were going to die.

That’s when I remembered to fight.

And fight I did. I twisted and turned. Clawed at the arms around my middle, kicked my feet, threw elbows, and screamed my head off until I was finally dropped.

“Eva, stop,” the man grunted but I didn’t.

Now that I was on my feet I was prepared to run. I took off in a sprint, but didn’t get very far before a hand curled around my bicep, spun me, and pulled me close.

Fight !

I broke free from his hold and swung wildly, I wasn’t aiming at any particular body part, I was just punching, then I remembered I wasn’t using my feet, and I started kicking.

The impact of my blows had no effect on the man, not that I was actually making that much contact, the man was so much larger than me he easily deflected my strikes.

“Stop, Eva! Max sent us.”

My fist finally connected, the man’s head jerked to the side, and before he could recover, I ran again.

I was off my feet, a hard wall of big-bad-scary-man behind me, the wool of his mask scratched my neck as he lowered his face, his mouth to my ear and he growled, “Stop, goddamn it. Max sent us. We’re here to help you. Tex and Max. Stop fighting me so we can get you home to your boys.”

My body started to sag in relief when I remembered how stupid I’d been in the past. No way had Max and Tex sent these men. They had no idea where I was.

This was a trap. It had to be.

I strained to get free, arching my back and jerking my body with every last bit of strength that I possessed.

“Fucking hell, woman. Stop. My name is Gabe. I work with Max. If you stop fighting me, we’ll get you home.”

“Gabe?”

I knew that name. I’d heard Max say it on the phone.

“Yes, Eva. I’m Gabe.”

“What team are you on?”

“Blue.”

Hm. Still could be a trick .

“Who else is on your team?”

“Myles, Kevin, and Owen.”

“What are you doing in Alaska?”

Please get this right. Please be a good guy .

“We were transporting Joshua Lemont, the man who was hired to kill you.”

Thank God .

All the fight drained out of me and my body slumped as the adrenaline waned and I fought to catch my breath. Now that it was over, everything hit me. Gabe must’ve felt it because he slowly set me on my feet and gently turned me in his arms.

“I need to get home.”

“Yeah, you do, before Max has a stroke.”

“Have you talked to him? How are my kids?”

“I talked to Max thirty minutes ago. He threatened disembowelment if I didn’t have you on a plane home to him within the hour. So if you wouldn’t mind getting a move on it, I mightily like my intestines where they are.”

Gabe gave a sharp whistle and threw his arm around my shoulder.

I was going home—alive.

In a few hours, I’d have my arms wrapped around my boys.

“Wait.”

I shrugged Gabe’s arm away, turned, and ran toward Natasha.

“Whoa, Eva.”

“I can’t leave Natasha,” I told him.

“We’re not.” Gabe gestured to the woman now cradled in a man’s arms, his rifle gone as he carried her our way.