Page 109 of Her Mercenary

“Abso-fucking-lutely not.”

“You got a better idea? Listen, I’ll create a diversion—we know there’s nothing more these guys want than me, the one who killed their comrades and got away—twice. I’ll let them spot me in the woods, and when they come after me, you go get the children in the basement.”

“And then what, Sam? What the hell do you think you’re going to do then? When they’re chasing after you in the jungle?”

Frowning, I chewed on my lower lip. “I haven’t gotten that far yet.”

“Well, you won’t get that far because you’ll be dead.”

I threw up my hands. “What the hell else are we going to do? And we’re losing time just sitting here.”

Roman stared again at the lodge, his mind racing. All of a sudden, he blinked, his hand patting the side pocket of his tactical pants.

His brows arched, a wicked sparkle in his eye.

“You’ve got an idea.”

“I do.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny silver ball, cupping it in the palm of his hand.

“What is that?”

“You were a softball all-star, right? In college? Pitcher?”

“That’s right.” I was skeptical where he was going with this. “A long time ago. I even named my dog after Dot Richardson.”

His brows arched. “Ah. I wondered where the hell Richard came from.”

“I can’t believe how much you researched about me.”

“I couldn’t stop.”

I smiled at that.

“Anyway,” he said, “you think you’ve still got it in you? That all-star pitcher’s arm?”

I thought back to a time when I was truly happy, with my friends, early summer mornings on the field. Back when I loved what I did, when I kicked ass at it. I thought of the Converses sitting in my closet, the dust collecting on them. That tingle I would get as I stepped onto the mound vibrating through my body.

A wicked grin curved my lips. “Hell yeah, I do.”

He grinned back. “Thought so.” He examined the ball. “This is called a bulldozer. It was Bear’s.”

My eyes rounded. Not only did the weapon belong to his deceased friend, but it sounded extremely lethal.

“Have you ever heard of confusion silencers?” he asked.

“No, but it doesn’t sound like a big warm hug.”

“No, it’s actually quite the opposite.” He looked down again at the ball. A smile cracked his lips. “Bear loved these damn things. Snuck extra out of the utility closet every time we were deployed. He used them all the time.”

“What are they?”

“When this little button is pressed,” Roman indicated a button on the side, “you have three seconds to throw it. Once it hits the ground, the impact sets off a deadly explosion—but not just of fire and smoke. It releases a jarring, paralyzing sound that is literally so high that it can make you throw up. The blast will probably kill them. If not, it will completely immobilize your attackers for at least two minutes, allowing you to get away.”

“Holy shit.”

“Tell me about it. The key is you have to get away before the bomb detonates. Three seconds to travel as fast as your feet can carry you, then hide and cover your ears.”

My heart started to pound, and I swallowed deeply. “I can do this.”

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