Page 40 of Raider Unleashed

“Piper, how’re you holding up?” He didn’t like the gray pallor on her cheeks.

“I’m okay.” She offered him a small smile. “How long until help arrives?”

“Could be a while. The dispatcher didn’t like to say.” And that caused him panic but he wasn’t gonna share that with her. It helped that his team had shot the shit out of the other SUV. Hopefully they’d disabled it.

“John and Kasinski aren’t that far behind. Maybe we should look for a place to hide,” Piper suggested. Her voice was breathy, and her hand was pressed tightly to her side.

Raider glanced out the window. There were fields and a distant tree line. One house was in view but it was quite far off. Even if he got Piper there, it would be the first place that Chambers and Kasinski would look. It was also far from the police and ambulance, if they ever showed up.

“It’s better to stay put.” He didn’t want to jostle Piper too much. “How bad is it?”

“Well, it’s not a simple graze,”

“Shit.” He had no idea where the bullet was and moving her might do more damage. He opened the center console. Kasinski must have taken Denlo’s weapon because there was a Glock inside. “Thank God,” he muttered as he checked for ammo. Not a full clip but he had six shots. Good thing Waylen wasn’t the only crack shot on the team.

“Do you have a number for Fielding?” Raider asked. Piper didn’t respond. “Piper?” he said again. Still nothing. She’d passed out. At least that’s what he was telling himself. There was a tremble in his hand as he reached out to check her pulse. Clenching his fist, he sent up a prayer, then flexed his hand, and laid his fingers on her neck, praying for a pulse. It was there, although a bit slow.

He ran a hand through his hair and then glanced over at her. Two things were abundantly clear to him. He was still madly in love with her, and he was royally pissed with her. Like so mad he wanted to spit nails.

She groaned and then her eyelids fluttered open. “Raider?” she said.

“I’m here.” He reached over and grabbed her hand.

“How long was I out for?” she blinked slowly.

“Only a few minutes.” He alternated looking at her and checking the mirrors for any signs of Chambers and Kasinski. Seeing her like this was twisting his gut into knots when he should be focused on saving their asses. She just had to be okay.

“Raider, I just want to say how sorry I am. I never should’ve dragged you into this. I never should’ve gotten on the airplane. I suspected…no, I knew there was something off about the whole thing. I guess I gave in to my impetuous nature one too many times.” She shrugged and then grimaced. More crimson blood oozed between her fingers.

To distract her he gave a harsh laugh. “It won’t be the last time. It’s who you are.”

Raider glanced at his watch. They’d been sitting still for ten minutes. Time was running short.

“But I think it might be the last time. I’m thinking of quitting the ATF. I…it’s not the same anymore. I…Anyway, I just wanted you to know how sorry I am.” She looked right at him. “For everything.”

He knew what she was talking about. She was sorry about running after the fucking perp, which caused her to lose their baby. He ground his teeth. He still wasn’t ready to talk about it. It was gonna take a while for him to work out all the shit on his mind.

“You’ll feel better once you get to a hospital. Don’t plan your future just yet.” He deliberately ignored what she was saying. Now wasn’t the time to deal with the idea of her being pregnant. Nor did he have the capacity to examine his emotions at this point. His job now was to keep them alive.

She stared at him but then just nodded.

He fucking hated sitting in the car on the road. They were too exposed but he didn’t see they had a choice. He kept the Glock in his right hand and swiveled his gaze. “Piper, don’t pass out on me,” he added as he glanced at her.

“I won’t. I’m good.” She glanced in her side mirror. “Do you think John knows who the head of the arms ring is?”

He grabbed at the question like it was a lifeline. He didn’t want to talk aboutthemany more than she did. “If I had to guess, I’d say no. The smart money says this ring is pretty compartmentalized. The right hand doesn’t even know it has a left hand. One thing they do all know is that the list was out there but no one mentioned a name attached to it. I think whoever is at the top, knows what they’re doing. I think this fuck up is on Chambers and Kasinski.”

“You don’t think it’s Fielding on top?” she pushed.

“It would be convenient, but I don’t think so. If it was, he wouldn’t be anywhere near here. He’d want as much distance as possible between this mess and him. Whoever is running this is smart and keeps a tight ship.”

A figure was running up behind them. The way he moved, Raider was pretty sure it was Chambers. “Heads up,” he said as he watched in the mirror. Kasinski was nowhere in sight. The sky was gray and dotted with fine bits of ash. He longed to see the chopper with his friends on it, but he had a feeling they were putting it down somewhere. They’d come to check on him but only after he didn’t show up in a bit.

“Piper, Chambers is coming. He doesn’t have a gun in his hands. I’m going to get out of the SUV and face him. I want you to do me a favor, hunker down in the wheel well as best you can. If this turns into a firefight, you’ll have a much better chance down there.”

“Raider?” she said, her voice raised in a question.

“Don’t worry, honey. I’ve got this. Just get low.”

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