Page 61 of Honor Code

Then… the chopper banked hard and dropped altitude. Phoenix's gut clenched. Rescue pilots didn't maneuver like that.

"Ellie, get back!" he roared over the rotors' growing thunder. "Back to the trees, hurry!"

"What is it?" she cried, confused. "What's wro–?"

His desperate warning died as a man leaned from the open helicopter door, assault rifle in hand, and let loose a hail of bullets.

CHAPTER 27

Ellie charged after Phoenix along the rocky spit, stumbling over the stones, slipping and sliding in her haste to find cover.

What the hell was going on?

She screamed as a bullet pinged off a rock inches from her leg, spraying sharp granite shards.

The gunman in the chopper kept up a relentless barrage, stitching the speedboat with bullets until he found the fuel tank. The boat exploded in a massive fireball, lifted clear of the water by the force of the blast.

She stifled a sob. Now there was no way off the island.

"Don't stop, keep moving!" Phoenix barked, grabbing her hand. He pulled her toward the cover of the trees lining the beach in a desperate attempt to get away from the deadly rain of lead. By some miracle, they made it to the underbrush unscathed, the shooter forced to hold fire as the helicopter wheeled around for another pass.

"Are you hit? Let me see." Phoenix's eyes raked over her, checking for injuries.

"No, no. I'm okay." Her breathing was ragged, but she wasn’t hurt.

He examined her like she was the most valuable thing on the planet. Even in this danger, she warmed at his concern.

"Thank God. We need to get deeper in, under heavier canopy." Together, they moved further into the forest. The dense foliage quickly closed in, bushes and trees weaving together until the sky had vanished completely.

“Now they’ll be firing blind,” Phoenix said, glancing up at the leafy roof.

Ellie stared into the damp tangle of vegetation, trying not to imagine what creepy-crawlies also sheltered there. Then she decided she didn’t care. Whatever they were, the men with guns were infinitely more dangerous.

Phoenix zigzagged through the vegetation, changing direction every few yards. “It’ll make it tougher for them to track us.”

When he finally paused, Ellie sank gratefully to the leaf-littered ground, her muscles trembling with spent adrenaline.

The shooting had stopped. The chopper had gone ominously silent, too. But Ellie wasn’t foolish enough to believe this was over. The killers had simply landed to continue the hunt on foot. They wouldn't quit until the job was done.

Until she was dead.

A sob caught in her throat. Phoenix immediately turned to her.

“Are you okay?”

“Are we going to die out here?” She hated the way her voice trembled with fear.

He dropped to his knees and engulfed her in a mammoth hug. “No, Ellie. We are not going to die here. I promise you that.”

She sniffed. “You can’t promise that. You’re just one guy. They’ve got a helicopter full of mercenaries. Oh, God.”

Don’t panic. Breathe.

Panicking would only slow them down. She had to hold it together.

Phoenix was silent. That worried her even more than his optimistic promises.

“Have some water.” He shrugged off his pack and passed her a water bottle. She gulped gratefully, using it as a way to catch her breath.

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