Page 23 of Raven’s Claw (Raven’s Cliff #2)

Jordan looked about as happy as Kash felt, but she swung her legs into the hole then slipped in.

She clicked on an insanely dim red light, then disappeared.

Kash jumped in behind her, scooted over then whistled for Nyx.

The dog crowded next to him as they started crawling along the passage, going mostly by feel.

They’d traveled maybe thirty feet when they reached a small hatch. It opened inward, then Jordan popped up — cleared the space. She waved Kash out just as gunfire erupted behind them, what sounded like that IED Bodie had left untouched exploding off to the left.

Kash jumped up and out, sweeping the area, guarding the hatch.

Limbs off to their right shook, some asshole in black slinking out of the dark.

Nyx was on him before he took another step, jaw locked around his arm, dragging him backwards.

Kash cracked him in the head with the butt of his rifle before he managed to scream for help, pulling Nyx close when a loud bang ripped through the air.

“Get down.” Kash dove on top of Nyx, covering her a second before the cabin exploded, debris shooting out in every direction. The resulting percussive wave sent branches toppling to the ground as smoke and ash covered the area.

Shit!

Kash staggered to his feet, ears ringing, the ground shifting beneath him. He managed to stumble to the hatch without puking, head still spinning when Zain and Bodie climbed out of the ground, tripping onto their asses as soon as they were out.

Jordan braced her weight against a tree, shaking her head as she waved at them. “We need to move before the entire squad realizes we aren’t dead, yet.”

They took off. Not running, but at least they were moving.

Painfully slowly and not quite in a straight line, but they managed to put some distance between them and the wreckage.

Jordan hadn’t been exaggerating. The forest was thick, every inch between the trees packed with brush and bramble that clawed at their legs — tried to trip them at every turn.

They’d only been traveling for about ten minutes when Nyx froze, blocking Kash from continuing forward, a low growl sounding around them. He held up a fist, crouching behind a thorny bush — scanning the dense forest.

Tree.

Maybe fifty meters up and to the right.

Some asshole dressed in black. Nestled in the crook of a couple branches. Assault rifle sweeping the shadows. Jordan twirled her finger, pointing to the guy.

Kash shook his head, mouthed, “I’ve got this,” then motioned Nyx to wait.

The dog mimicked Kash’s crouch as Kash shifted over, then slowly picked his way toward the tango. Placing each footfall. Staying low. Signaling Nyx once he was in position.

She took off, bounding over the brush like a freaking deer, barely making a noise.

Covering the distance in all of five seconds.

Leaping and kicking off his back before her paws hit the branch.

She barely slowed, barreling into the gunman — wrestling with him for a few moments before they tumbled out the other side.

Kash darted over — caught her before she hit the ground, then kicked the creep in the head. Gave Nyx a quick once-over before falling in behind his buddies. They hadn’t taken more than a few steps when automatic fire lit up the forest, branches and needles raining down on them.

That was all the motivation they needed to take it up a notch.

Lay down cover fire then hoof it through the trees.

Jordan palmed stumps and vaulted over logs like some extreme parkour junkie, firing off a few rounds without missing a step.

They found what passed as a deer trail and picked up their speed, Zain keeping anyone behind at bay with short, controlled bursts — Bodie joining in whenever Zain needed to reload.

Nyx veered left when their trail branched off, neither path looking remotely inviting. Kash didn’t question Nyx’s choice, just kept running, clipping what must have been a sentry when the guy popped up. The forest brightened slightly up ahead. What Kash hoped was some sort of break in the foliage.

They hit the clearing going full out, a distant whop whop whop echoing through the trees. Only, it didn’t sound like Foster or Mac’s choppers. This was lower. The whine of the transmission sending a chill down his spine.

He’d heard that exact noise before. Shadowing their every move that fateful night.

The buzz of the machine guns. The unrelenting beat of the rotors.

Foster had pulled some insane save out of his ass — flown the bird through a literal hole in the mountainside — but Kash would never forget the chase.

Or the wet gurgle of Sean’s last breath.

How Rhett had looked over at him and Zain before he’d passed out.

Zain darted up beside him — pointed to the far side as they all sprinted for cover a moment before a black Apache rolled over the trees, lighting up the night with a spray of gunfire cutting through branches and brush.

Kash grabbed Jordan and shoved her and Nyx beneath him.

Though, with the caliber of that gun, it’d likely eat right through his vest.

The machine moved in to hover when Foster’s chopper came screaming out of the night, Chase popping off some shots out the door — hitting the Apache’s tail section and sending it spinning.

The pilot regained control, then banked off, following after Foster as he threw his aircraft up and over the rise off to the right, disappearing into the darkness.

Kash pushed to his feet just as Mac flared into the space, somehow fitting her helicopter into the clearing without chopping down trees or burying the tail rotor into some brush.

Zain went to one knee, laid down suppressive fire — kept the rest of Rook’s men diving for cover.

He didn’t budge until they were already on board.

Then he sprinted for the side, all but diving in as Mac lifted the chopper while banking over — skimming across all those trees then peeling off toward the ocean.

Mac glanced at them over her shoulder, banking hard to the left. “Buckle in. This isn’t going to be pretty.”

Kash sighed. She’d definitely been flying with Foster too long. Was starting to sound like him. “Is there more than one attack chopper?”

“There were two, but…” She shook her head. “Is Foster always that intense? I mean, I knew he was but damn, you get another chopper in the mix, and he becomes someone else — something else. I swear that man has hollow bones.”

“You realize, the rest of us think you’re both equally crazy.”

“I’ve picked up a few tricks.” A ping sounded through the cockpit. “Looks like our friend’s back. Or maybe this is a new one. I have no idea how many choppers Rook Donovan has at his disposal.”

Jordan grunted. “As many as he deems necessary. This is why I ran. Why I didn’t want to ask for help. He has the full backing of Scythe.”

Mac shrugged, tipped the aircraft forward and picked up speed. “And you’ve got the best damn team I’ve ever worked with. Zain. Bodie. If I do this right, sooner or later I’m gonna serve this asshole up on the starboard side. Feel free to use extreme prejudice when I do.”

Zain checked his weapon, readying the doors. “And here we didn’t get you anything. Just count it down.”

“Roger. We’ll head for the ocean. Let’s see how well our friend does five feet off the water as we slalom around some rocks.”

Some tracer fire lit up the night left of the chopper, but Mac simply shoved the nose forward — got the helicopter screaming over the trees.

Not quite as low as Foster pushed it, but damn close.

She wove toward the water, mimicking the undulating landscape until they hit the cliffs.

Then, she was all-in. Pegged the bird that five feet she’d talked about, weaving it along the shoreline, narrowly missing rocks and outcrops as she skimmed the cliff, then banked over — headed for a large rocky island just offshore.

She climbed over the top, then dropped in behind, bringing the helicopter into an aggressive hover, before backing it around the towering stone — lining Zain and Bodie up for that kill shot. “Less than ten…”

The Apache roared around the rock, banking hard to the right in an effort to avoid a collision and opening up their side just like Mac had promised.

Bodie and Zain didn’t miss a beat, hitting the engine and rotors as the machine sailed past. Smoke poured out of the cowlings as the chopper limped back toward shore, vanishing into the night.

Mac peeled off, heading back toward the hangar.

“Foster just took care of the other helicopter. He’ll be sweeping behind us — ensuring there aren’t any more surprises.

Though, this won’t be close to over until you decrypt that intel, Jordan.

I just hope it’s as damning as you thought, because I have a bad feeling your handler isn’t going to take this loss sitting down. ”