Page 76 of Wicked Suspicion

Case signaled he was going to go around the right of the hut. Baggs nodded, but before he could implement his plan, Ramirez came around the building with Nyx. When he saw Case and Baggs, the colonel pulled Nyx in front of him. His arm went around her chest, pinning her to his body.

His pistol went to her temple.

Case kept his gaze away from Nyx. If he looked at her, he’d be distracted by her fear. She had to be terrified. He couldn’t afford to lose focus.

“You will stand aside. I am going to my boat,” Ramirez ordered.

Rusty appeared. After an exchange of hand signals, he and Baggs went around the hut, leaving Case to deal with the colonel.

“You’re done, Colonel. Hand her over and surrender.”

The sneer was all the answer Case got. He stood in place, blocking Ramirez’s route to the boats. The disabled boats, but he didn’t know that.

“I can shoot you and walk over your dead body.”

Baggs, Rusty, Oz, and Cordy came around the building. With hand gestures, they told Case they had the situation contained. That left Ramirez to deal with.

“Not too smart,” Case said. “My friends are behind you. You point that pistol at me and they’re taking you out.”

“How about this? If you do not get out of my way, I’ll shoot your woman.”

Case raised his brows. “You lose her as your shield, and you’re dead a split second later. That’s a promise.”

Frustration filled the man’s eyes. “If anyone makes a move against me, I will take her with me to hell. Am I understood?”

He nodded once. They couldn’t move on him from behind. It would be too easy for Ramirez to squeeze the trigger as he went down. Case couldn’t move on him from the front, and even attempting a sniper strike from a distance endangered Nyx. Same reasoning. He could squeeze off a shot as he fell.

Nyx waved her fingers, the motion capturing his attention.

When she knew he was watching, she held out all her fingers. After a moment, she closed her thumb, and then her forefinger.

Shit, she was planning something. Case didn’t know what, but he got ready.

When the final finger went down, Nyx lifted both her feet.

Ramirez was unprepared to support her entire weight. She hit the ground.

The shot was clear. Case took it.

The colonel fell.

His first inclination was to head straight to Nyx, but he kicked the pistol away from Ramirez and checked for a pulse. There was none. “Ramirez is down,” he announced.

At last, Case went to his Fireball. Kneeling in front of her, he wrapped his arms around her and held on tightly.

Chapter 31

Nyx shook too badly to even think about standing, but Case knelt beside her and he had his arms around her, his head pressed to hers. For the first time in days, she felt safe again. He held her too tightly for her to turn and hug him back, so she settled for wrapping her hand around his forearm and gripping him as if he might disappear if she didn’t hang on.

“Dude, we need to get out of here.”

Case didn’t move.

“Lurch, did you hear me?”

“Yeah, I heard.” Finally, slowly and with obvious reluctance, Case straightened. “Are you okay, Fireball? Can you walk?”

Nyx nodded. “Just help me up. My legs are rubbery right now.”

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