Page 44 of Waiting for Him (Trident Security #3)

She twisted her head toward Benny’s voice as Dryagin forced her down a slight incline toward a low guardrail.

It took her a moment to spot him in the southbound lanes, standing next to Ian and two men dressed in black holding what looked like assault weapons.

Kat’s eyes filled with tears as she climbed over the thigh-high railing.

Would this be the last time she ever saw the man she loved with all her heart?

“ Kitten , I love you! Remember , a sub always listens to her Dom !”

What ? Was he fucking kidding her? Okay , the “ I love you” was great, but why bring up subs and Doms ?

Behind her, Dryagin growled, “ Faster . Move .” He urged her up the slight incline.

“ Kitten ! Remember !”

Kat focused on Benny again. He and Ian were waving at her.

No ! Wait !

They weren’t waving. They were signaling her. One . Two . Three fingers. And then their right arms, palms down, swept out in front of them from their waists up over their heads—the K9 sign language for “down.” Holy shit, on the count of three, they wanted her to hit the dirt and stay down!

She copied the silent command, hoping the Russians thought she was waving. “ I love you too!”

Keeping her gaze on Benny , with the chopper in her peripheral vision, she waited for the signal and prayed she understood them correctly. Two steps before she would need to duck for the slow-moving rotor, he raised his hand in a fist and, one by one, uncurled his fingers.

One .

Two .

Three .

Kat let her knees buckle, and she dropped to the ground so fast that Dryagin had no chance of stopping her.

His hand released her arm, unable to hold onto her sudden dead weight.

The man shouted something foreign in surprise, then roared his anger.

As she covered her head, two simultaneous shots sounded, followed by shouts and running feet.

She didn’t dare look up until she heard Benny’s voice again. This time, he was right beside her. “ Kat , are you okay? Please , tell me you’re okay!”

His words came out rushed as his hands quickly roamed her body. She rolled onto her side, thrilled to see his handsome face. “ I’m okay, I’m fine. What happened?”

He hauled her to her feet and wrapped his strong arms around her, coming close to crushing her. “ Oh , thank God , you’re all right! I was so fucking scared. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Leaning back, he searched her face for confirmation.

She nodded as her body began to tremble in the aftermath of the crisis.

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw both Russians dead on the ground a few feet away, surrounded by men in black.

Dryagin was missing half of his head, while Pig -face had been shot in the chest, leaving a bloody gaping wound.

Kat quickly spun back around, her stomach threatening to revolt.

Benny wisely moved them several yards away from the dead bodies.

Ian approached and ran a hand down the back of her head as if reassuring himself she was indeed okay. “ Well , Kat , I’m sorry this happened, but you can add yourself to a growing list of people who owe Master Carter their lives.”

Then she noticed Carter and a man dressed in black on the far side of the southbound lanes, handing their rifles to a uniformed officer. “ What happened?”

“ He and another sniper were in the woods over there, and as soon as you dropped, the Russians aimed their guns at the cops. The snipers took them out. They weren’t going to let themselves be taken alive.”

Kat shuddered, knowing it was true, and she could have also been dead.

Jake appeared next to Ian , shaking his head and jerking a thumb toward the spy and two feds.

“ Damn , I know they have to take my rifle for a while until the required investigation is complete, but I’m tired of going through all the paperwork to get them back.

This is the second time in less than five months. ”

He gently pulled Kat from Benny’s grasp and into his own embrace. “ You are one kick-ass lady, you know that? Giving Beau the attack command was quick thinking. You kept your head together and helped save not only your own life but Murray’s and Colleen’s , as well.”

Her eyes widened when she realized she’d forgotten about them. “ Oh , my God ! How are they? Murray was shot. Is Colleen okay?”

Releasing her back into Benny’s arms, Jake nodded.

“ Murray’s as tough as leather—he’ll be back to work in no time.

The bullet went straight through and didn’t hit anything vital.

It’s also not the first time he’s taken one, although it’s the first time with us.

Colleen only has a few scrapes, but she’s fine, and Ian told her to take a few days off.

Reggie is with them at the hospital. Once we’re done here, I’ll check on them.

Then I’m getting Beau the biggest fucking steak I can find.

Thanks to him, we were able to figure out what direction they took you in and catch up pretty quickly. ”

“ In that case, I owe him a steak too. And you too. All of you.” Jake just grinned and waved her off. Facing Benny again, she saw the worry still in his eyes. “ Are your parents okay?”

He paled, and her heart clenched. “ Mom will be okay, but Pop was shot in the stomach.” She gasped and brought her hand to her mouth.

“ He’s in surgery, and we have to get back down there.

I want the paramedics to look at you really quick, while I see if we can hitch a ride back down on the chopper. ”

Kat shook her head. “ I’m fine. Let’s just go. We have to be there for your mom.”

Ian stepped aside to let a female medic into their little group. “ I’ll get us clearance, but I’m sure we have a few minutes before we can take off anyway, so let this nice lady check you over.”

Although she was just as anxious as Benny to get going, she knew it would be pointless to argue with a group of Doms .

She was quickly learning that when it came to someone under their care, they were highly protective.

A few minutes later, she was medically cleared.

Aside from a hematoma on her forehead, where she’d hit the headrest, and bruising on her arm from Dryagin’s grip, the only other thing that hurt was her scalp from having her hair pulled.

After thanking the medic for the quick examination, Kat turned toward where Benny was talking to Ian , Carter , and Marco .

The rest of the team had split up, with Devon and Brody heading to the hospital to check on Murray and Colleen .

Jake was returning to the compound with Tanner and Beau , followed by several federal agents.

There was still a dead body at the gate that needed to be hauled to the morgue and a crime scene to be processed.

She walked over to the group of four men and straight up to Carter , throwing her arms around him. “ Thank you for not missing.”

The black-op spy barked out a little laugh and hugged her back. “ You’re welcome, Kitty - Kat . And there was no way I was missing. I’ve grown quite fond of you. Besides , Boom - Boom would’ve never forgiven me if I let anything happen to you.”

He kissed the top of her head and then released her. Kat stepped back, and Benny extended his hand toward Carter . “ Thanks again, man. My list of IOUs keeps growing. I hope someday I’ll be able to repay you.”

Taking the younger man’s hand, Carter pulled him in for a man-hug and slapped him on the back. “ No offense, but I hope I never need you to repay me. I’m catching a ride back to the compound, and then I have to head out. Duty calls. But I’ll be in touch to check on Rick . Kiss your mom for me.”

“ Will do.”

As their friend walked off to hitch a ride with one of the many officers and agents still on the scene, Benny took Kat’s elbow and steered her toward the helicopter behind Ian and Marco . It was time for her to start praying for one more miracle.