Page 83

CHAPTER 81

THE SHOOTING STOPS, and I heft Carlos off of me onto the debris-covered floor. He grunts quietly as I look for the wound.

Blood trickles out of a hole in his side, just below one of the Kevlar panels. The bullet hole is low enough to miss his lung and heart, but in a spot to do plenty of damage to other organs. I can’t find an exit hole, which means the bullet is lodged somewhere inside him.

His stomach?

His liver?

“Hang in there,” I whisper.

I assume the two armed men are approaching the building, coming cautiously enough that I’ve got at least thirty seconds—maybe a minute—before they get here. I tear off my T-shirt, wad it up, and press it firmly against the wound.

“I’m going to get help,” I say.

Carlos gives a slight shake of his head. “Don’t worry about me,” he utters, having trouble speaking from the pain. He covers the balled shirt with his own hand, signaling to me that I can remove my own. Then he fixes me with an intense stare. “Go get Marta.”

As I gape at him, rage fills me. It wasn’t long ago that I watched Kyle Hendricks die in the act of saving my life. I saw the life leave his eyes, and I had to stand in the Medal of Valor ceremony accepting my award while his mother accepted his.

Now Carlos is going to die.

No!

Goddamn it. No!

With adrenaline flooding my veins, I rise to my feet. The smart thing to do would be to wait in the room, my gun at the ready, and as soon as either gunman popped around the corner, I could shoot him. But I’m not waiting, not while my partner is bleeding to death.

I run out the door.

One gunman appears off to my left. I shoot him in the face before he can pull the trigger. Instinct tells me that the other man is going around the building, flanking us, and I spin around in time to see him coming around the corner, swinging the TEC-9 at my running body.

I dive to the ground, sliding through dirt on my left shoulder while aiming my pistol with my right. He lets loose a burst of gunfire, all of the shots sailing above me, and I shoot him through his gritted teeth. The gunfire ceases, and he collapses to the ground.

I don’t waste a moment. I jump to my feet and sprint toward the mansion.