Page 64 of Honor Code

Phoenix squeezed her hand. “What do you say we get the hell off this island?”

“There’s a fourth merc on the beach,” Boomer warned. “Guarding the chopper.”

Ellie’s face fell, the brief glimmer of hope fading.

“Don’t worry,” Phoenix told her, lifting her chin so she met his eyes. “We’ve got this.” He and Boomer exchanged a look, a plan already forming between them. The resolve in their eyes said it all: they were getting off this island, no matter what.

Phoenix held Ellie’s hand as they crept through the dense jungle behind Boomer, his senses on high alert. Peering through the final line of trees, he spotted the helicopter on the beach under the watchful eye of the last mercenary.

"We need to neutralize him quickly and quietly," Phoenix whispered. "I don't want to risk him alerting anyone else."

Boomer nodded, his jaw set in grim determination. "I'll circle around and approach from the left. You take the right. We'll catch him in a pincer move."

Phoenix turned to Ellie. “Wait here. I’ll be back to get you, I promise.”

She squeezed his hand, then released him with a whisper. “Be careful.”

With a silent nod, the two ex-SEALs split up, melting into the shadows of the jungle. Phoenix moved like a ghost, his footsteps making no sound on the soft earth. As he approached the edge of the tree line, he slowed, scanning the beach through the foliage.

There.

The mercenary stood beside the helicopter, his rifle held loosely across his chest. He looked bored, unaware of the danger closing in on him from two sides.

Phoenix waited, his muscles coiled and ready. Down the beach, he knew Boomer was doing the same.

A bird call pierced the air—Boomer's signal. Phoenix burst from the trees, sprinting low and fast across the sand. The mercenary spun, trying to bring his rifle to bear, but Boomer was already on him, a silent shadow attacking from behind.

The mercenary crumpled under Boomer's chokehold, his rifle falling uselessly to the sand. Phoenix kicked it away, then helped Boomer lower the unconscious man to the ground.

Boomer checked the mercenary's pulse. "He's out cold, but he'll live."

Phoenix allowed himself a grim smile. "Let's tie him up and get out of here before he comes to."

Together, they bound the mercenary's hands and feet with zip ties from his own vest, then gagged him for good measure. Phoenix did a quick sweep of the helicopter, ensuring there were no tracking devices or booby traps.

"All clear," he reported. "I’ll fetch Ellie and we can get the hell off this island."

Boomer grinned. "Roger that."

CHAPTER 28

She buckled up as the chopper took off, with Phoenix at the helm and Boomer beside him, leaving the unknown barrier island behind. The remaining bad guy was trussed up next to her, still out cold. Served him right for trying to kill them.

The helicopter ride reminded her of the first time she'd flown out to the Explorer—filled with excitement, hopes, and dreams. Ellie scoffed. What a fool she'd been. If only she'd known then that they'd hired her only to take advantage of her… and to easily dispose of her should the need arise.

Thank God for Phoenix. He'd saved her life—in more ways than one.

She admired the back of his neck as he flew the chopper, operating the throttles and equipment like he’d been doing it all his life. How could he be so calm? Only moments ago, he’d admitted he'd only flown a couple of times before.

Somehow, he always managed to make her feel safe.

She marveled at how different he was to Rafael. Rafe had only shown her a toxic form of love, laced with uncertainty and fear. Thanks to him, she'd hidden herself away in Scotland, preferring the sanctuary of an isolated oil platform rather than real life. This job had been the same, until she'd met Phoenix.

It was insane how much had happened. In the last two weeks, she'd been almost swept off a rig, blown up, drowned, attacked by a shark, and stranded on a deserted island. Not to forget the team of mercenaries hired to kill her.

And somewhere amidst all that, she'd fallen in love with an ex-Navy SEAL. A man who'd repeatedly put his life on the line to save hers. A man who would die to protect her.

Her eyes stung with tears, not of sadness, but of hope, gratitude, and love, but she blinked them away before anyone noticed.

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