Page 120 of Caught in the Crossfire

The PSI instructor complied with Linebacker’s order, his gaze locked on the man as he patted Linc down.

After a thorough search, the man stepped back. “Nothing, Fish.”

“Now Kincaid.”

Mason kept his attention on Nicole. From her body language, she was gearing up for something, but what?

Linebacker patted him down and turned to Fisher. “He’s clean, too.”

“Last chance, Fitzgerald. Otherwise, I’ll take care of business myself.”

“I’m not a murderer.”

A lazy shrug. “You made your choice. You’ll have to deal with the consequences.”

“I’m not killing Kincaid.”

“You can die with him and his buddy.” Fisher raised his gun.

“Now,” Ethan snapped.

At that moment, Nicole slammed the back of her head into Fisher’s nose. He howled, cursing and releasing her to clutch his face. She ran toward Mason, but stumbled and fell to her knees.

As the closest person to Gage, Mason shoved him to the ground as gunfire peppered the night. He dove for Nicole and covered her body with his. He wrapped his arms around her head and prayed bullets that hit him didn’t pass through his body into the woman he loved with his every breath.

A bullet slammed into his back, punching with the force of an actual blow. He jerked at the impact, then again when another bullet hit.

“Mason,” Nicole cried. “No!”

“I’m okay, baby. Stay still.”

“You’ve been hit.”

“Trust me.”

A roar of fury sounded near Mason. Seconds later, Fisher plowed into him, shoving him off Nicole. “I’m going to kill you. My cousin’s dead because of you.” Fisher landed an uppercut to Mason’s jaw.

The next roundhouse punch, Mason blocked. He headbutted the construction worker again and flipped the man over his head. In a flash, Mason was on his feet in a low crouch, shifting away from Nicole to prevent further injury to her.

Fisher rushed him. Mason sidestepped enough to throw the other man off balance, followed through with a blow to the back of the neck. His opponent rolled to his feet, shook his head as though trying to clear it, and came after Mason again.

He took Mason to the ground, pounded a fist into his face, stunning him for the few seconds it took for Fisher to wrap his meaty hands around his throat and begin to squeeze.

Glee filled Fisher’s eyes despite the chaos, shouts, and gunfire around them. “Die knowing that your woman is going to be warming my bed, Kincaid.”

No way. Fisher would never touch Nicole again. He intended to marry the woman he adored and live a long life, filling their home with as many children as she wanted.

Mason fisted his hands, brought them between Fisher’s arms, and hit his inner elbows to break the stiff-armed hold. He cupped Fisher’s left elbow as though he was doing a chin up and forced Fisher to loosen his grip on Mason’s neck. Wrapping his arm around the other man’s neck, Mason hooked Fisher’s cheek with a forefinger, and yanked the head around, forcing his opponent to roll onto his back. Mason slammed his fist into Fisher’s face three times in quick succession and followed with an elbow to the temple.

Fisher’s head whipped to the right. He lay motionless.

Durango, Bravo, and the Otter Creek police converged on the clearing. “Get down on the ground,” Ethan ordered. “Now. I’ve got Fisher, Mase. Go to Nicole.”

He scrambled off Fisher and raced to his girl. He grasped the hilt of the boot knife, slid the blade between her wrists, and sliced the zip tie. Nicole hissed as her wrists separated. Figuring she’d been trussed up like that since shortly after she’d been kidnapped, Mason massaged her shoulder joints to bring circulation into the area.

When her breathing eased, he wrapped his arms around her and drew her against his chest.

“How bad are you hit?” Nicole’s hands roamed over his back and sides, pausing when they discovered the holes in the fabric. “Wait. Are you wearing a vest?”

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