Page 107 of Ruthless

“We’ll take care of them. Just hunker down and wait.”

“Roger that. I’ve got him covered with wet paper towels to try to keep his temp down. Is there anything else I should do?”

“No. You’ve done what you can. See you soon.”

“Okay. I—” She heard a loud pop and said, “Hold on. Something’s happening.” She peered around the corner and barely got the chance to gasp before the glass doors shattered and a barrage of bullets blasted around her.

Screaming Gideon’s name, Eve threw herself on top of his body. The wall beside them exploded, and the world fell down around her.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

“Eve!” Ash yelled. His only answer was the sound of gunfire, explosions, and Eve screaming Gideon’s name. Then the line went dead.

“Stryker,” Ash gritted out. “I don’t care what you have to do, get us there now!”

Sharing a grim look with Ash, Liam didn’t waste time replying as he gripped the throttle and pushed the speed to the max.

Ash knew they were going as fast as they could, but hearing the desperation in Eve’s voice had cut through him like a laser. Eve Wells did not lose her cool or panic. In the years he’d been working with her, he could name only one other time when she’d lost her composure, and that was another time that Gideon had been shot. But the terror in her voice this time had been ten times worse.

He took in the faces of the chopper’s other occupants. Serena’s expression was a mask of worry as she monitored what was going on in Ile de la Lune. So far, the protective wall around the castle had not been penetrated. Reinforcements from several different countries had arrived, and it appeared that the attack against the king would not be successful.

He shifted his gaze to Xavier and Jazz, who sat huddled together, double-checking their weapons. Both of their faces showed tension and determination.

“Two minutes,” Stryker growled.

Weapon at the ready, Ash pulled in a bracing breath. Every one of these people in this chopper, as well as Gideon and Eve, were family to him. Even though they’d all signed up for this kind of life, the knowledge that these could be their last moments on earth was never pleasant. They all had a lot to live for.

Liam, who had waited twelve years to finally reunite with the love of his life, was newly married and had a baby on the way.

Xavier and Jazz were just now beginning to realize what they meant to each other. Jazz’s search for her brother was ongoing, but both she and Xavier had dropped everything to assist on this op.

And Serena, the heart and soul of the OZ team, who took every setback and worry on her slender shoulders as if they were her personal responsibilities. Even with her life and marriage in turmoil, she carried on like the lady of steel she was.

Ash didn’t leave himself out of the mix. He loved his wife, Jules, with every fiber of his being, and he had a newborn son who’d owned his heart from the second he’d been conceived. Leaving them behind wasn’t something he wanted to contemplate.

Yet he and the rest of the team would do whatever it took.

Liam said, “See that?”

Turning to face the front of the chopper, Ash spotted bright flashes in the night sky, as if fireworks were exploding.

“Hell, that’s not two guards returning fire,” Ash growled. “That’s an army.”

His gut churning, he spoke into his mic. “Weapons up, everyone. We’re going in hot.”

CHAPTER FORTY

The ringing in her ears was deafening. Pulling herself to her knees, Eve shook her head to clear it and watched debris fall from her hair. Destruction surrounded her. The wall they’d been hidden behind was almost completely demolished. The only thing that stood between them and whoever had attacked them was the large reception desk. And it was far from bulletproof.

She glanced down at Gideon, noting he hadn’t moved. Her heart in her throat, she quickly checked his pulse. It was still too fast, and his skin was still too warm, but he was alive, and she would hold on to that.

Clouds of dust and ashes swirled in the air. Crawling to the reception desk, she peered over the top and caught her breath. The front doors and windows were shattered, and at least ten armed soldiers stood on the portico. Odd that they just stood there and didn’t enter. While Gideon fondly called her a one-woman army, she wasn’t one. There was no way she could take out ten soldiers before they killed her.

But she would do what she had to do.

“Eve.”

Jerking around, she was surprised to see Gideon trying to sit up. Crawling back to him, she said, “You need to stay down.”

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