Page 12 of Secret Mission

“Along with the rest of me.”

“Will it work if we need it?”

I scoff at her. “Of course. It’s made for this. What kind of amateur do you think I am?”

With a head shake and grumble, she keeps swimming.

A nearby swirl in the water catches our attention.

Oh, fuck.

Her expression fills with a new wave of panic. “Did you see that?”

Yeah, I saw it.

My balls lurch clear into my throat. “Crocodile.”

Breathing hard, we swivel our heads, searching the murky water surrounding us.

My heart is thudding wildly when a spray of water hits me in the face.

In a single second, she’s gone. Snatched out of my hold.

“Allison!” I scramble, groping blindly below the murky surface. “Ally, fuck!”

My yell is choked off when I grab the croc, and the three of us go under the water.

Goddamn, it’s strong. Solid muscle with all the bad attitude.

The next thirty seconds are a blur of thrashing water, me clutching at the writhing reptile with my free arm, and a burning need to breathe.

This is not happening. No. She’s not being taken. No way. No fucking how.

But I’m consumed with a kind of terror I’ve only felt once. The same helpless horror I felt as I watched Hope fall.

Fuck.Fucking. Fuck.

Get it together, Truck.

Gun.

Yes.

Somehow in the chaos, I still have my pistol clenched in my hand. This has to work.

Notching the muzzle against the beast’s ribs, I pray,Please,don’t shoot her.

But we’re fucked if I don’t pull the trigger. We’ll both drown. Because I’m not letting go. I’ll die on this battlefield right next to her.

The scaled monster thrashes once more, and I pull the trigger.

Blood erupts in the water.

Time stops.

My heart flatlines.

Then the croc’s jaw goes slack, releasing her into the turbulence.