Page 7 of Ruthless

“Help! Please!” she shouted. Only, it wasn’t a shout. Her voice was so weak, she barely heard herself.

Forcing her battered body to move, she ground her teeth together and sat up. The agony in her ribs almost caused her to black out again. Whimpering in pain, she kept going until her feet were firmly on the floor. She sat there for several seconds, trying to will herself to have the strength to move. Shivering, she remembered she wore no clothes. He had taken those from her, and she had nothing to cover herself with. There was nothing she could do about that, but she was determined that if rescue was at hand, she was going to do everything she could do to help rescue herself. She was tired of lying back and taking abuse. She hadn’t been raised to be downtrodden, to feel sorry for herself. She’d been raised to be a queen!

With more determination than strength, she forced herself to stand. Yes, everything hurt, but she wouldn’t let that stop her. She took one step, then one more. The door was only ten steps away. She could do it. She had to do it. Three steps more, and she hit the floor, face first. Pain burst through her as her damaged nose gushed more blood.

She lay there for several seconds, moaning. She knew her legs wouldn’t hold her. Her body might feel broken, but her grit and determination could not be destroyed. Going to her hands and knees, she ground her teeth together and crawled toward the door. Halfway there, the door opened, and despite the courage she had assured herself she still had, she couldn’t prevent herself from covering her head with her arms and curling up in a ball. She couldn’t take any more…she just couldn’t.

A gruff, male curse sounded, and then she felt a warm hand touch her shoulder. “Lina, you’re safe.”

The voice was deep, warm, mesmerizing. She raised her head and tried to see him, but her eyes were so swollen, she saw only a blurred, large shadow. But she knew immediately that she was safe.

“Can you walk?” he asked.

“I don’t think so,” she mumbled.

“Anything broken?”

“I don’t know. My nose…my jaw. Maybe my ribs. Fingers.” She swallowed. The pain in her jaw was so agonizing she could barely speak. “Mostly bruises.”

“Okay if I carry you? I’ll be careful.”

“Yes,” she whispered.

She knew he stood and couldn’t figure out what he was doing until she felt a jacket cover her nakedness. It was warm, heated from his body, and smelled masculine with a slight peppermint overtone. The scents gave her unexpected comfort.

When he lifted her, she knew a moment of panic, and as if he recognized the reason, he said softly, “No one will ever hurt you again, Lina. I promise.”

The vow followed her into darkness.

CHAPTER FOUR

Present Day

Cartagena, Colombia

Lying on the hard, unforgiving ground, her eyes focused on her target, Eve Wells shifted her position slightly. A rock was digging into her stomach, her nose was itching something fierce, and a stray strand of hair had loosened from her braid and was tickling the side of her face, but she had been trained to ignore such discomforts. What she couldn’t ignore was the ant bed a few inches from her elbow. This spot was the perfect vantage point to take out her targets, but being stung by a thousand fire ants would definitely get her off her game.

She, along with OZ operatives Gideon Wright and Liam Stryker, were here as backup support for Olivia and Hawke. The sleaze responsible for almost killing Olivia was supposed to meet Hawke here for an exchange. What the bastard didn’t know was the tables were about to be turned, and he was going to get a very nasty surprise.

While Gideon and Liam were on standby, able to assist Hawke and Olivia at a moment’s notice, she was on top of a hill, a quarter mile away. Her job was to take out the lookouts on the watchtower. As she was OZ’s primary marksman, she had performed this job on numerous occasions. With any luck, she’d be able to join Gideon and Liam in a matter of minutes.

Normally, Gideon would be up here with her as her spotter, but since they were working with a skeleton crew on this op, she’d have to make do. Looking down the sight of her AR-50, she observed the man on the watchtower. The guy wasn’t even trying to hide. Seconds later, another man joined him. Even though he was holding binoculars to his face, apparently looking for a threat, his stance wasn’t one of preparedness. He looked restless and bored, his attitude was more of a I-hope-this-is-over-before-lunchtime guy than a lean, mean bad guy.

Whoever was responsible for this threat against Olivia and Hawke hadn’t hired the brightest or stealthiest of manpower, that was for sure. These people were making it way too easy for her.

She continued to scan the area, waiting for the go-ahead to shoot. Taking them out too soon would alert the man inside the warehouse that Hawke and Olivia had brought along a few friends. Shooting too soon could ruin everything.

She spotted one more lookout on the ground, just below the other two men. At least this guy was hiding a little better than his friends. Still would be easy enough to take the shot when the time came.

If Gideon were here beside her, he’d be giving her a blow-by-blow of every movement, along with some witty quips. The man could make staring at a blank wall fun and interesting. It was just one of his gifts.

Sometimes, she wondered what her life would have been like if they’d never met. He had become so important to her. Imagining her life without him didn’t seem possible. One thing was certain—her life wouldn’t be nearly as interesting and enjoyable without him in it.

That first day, she had walked into the training facility, still damaged and broken, feeling so far out of her element it had taken everything within her not to turn around and run back home. And then Gideon had appeared and introduced himself. They had clicked as if they’d known each other for years. Since then, the two of them had been through numerous trials together, and things had been far from easy, but having Gideon with her every step of the way had made even the hard things so much better.

Not that she would tell him that. The man already had a Texas-sized ego.

Gideon’s deep voice interrupted her thoughts, giving Olivia and Hawke the intel they needed. “Okay, you’re about to enter the warehouse. Godspeed, you two.”

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