Page 9 of The Plunge

Seeing them leave with such ease gives me hope that we can do it, too, despite the horrible condition of this girl. She's moving in my arms now, mewling in pain as she slowly regains consciousness.

I get down on my knees to lower her to the rooftop, treating her injured body as carefully as possible as I place her on the cement ground.

She's an Abbott.

When my target made a run for it, he took her with him, using her to protect his sorry ass as he made his way out.

And she called him uncle.

I couldn't just leave her, especially now that I know who she is. We didn’t know Clyde Abbott had a niece who was still alive. It was our job to eradicate the Abbott family, thinking only two of them were left. Those two, as well as three associates were on our death list for tonight.

This girl wasn't.

She may be an Abbott, but no one declared open season on her.

I couldn't kill her.

But I couldn't leave her either.

Her eyelids flutter, and she grimaces in pain when I release her.

"Hey. Hey!" I urge her to fully wake up, gently slapping her pale cheek with one hand while I brush a few strands of hair out of her pretty face.

Fuck. This would be a lot easier if she was some old dude or a violent brute who attacked me. I'm sure I would have no problem emptying my gun in that case.

But with her, I just couldn't.

I've never shot a woman before, let alone a young woman like her. The same sensual beauty who stole my focus just a few minutes prior to our mission. An innocent bystander who was used as a human shield when my target got away.

That's another detail I haven't disclosed to my comrades yet.

Clyde Abbott is still alive. As far as I know, I'm the only one who failed to complete his mission tonight. And on top of that, I'm carrying trouble with me.

Trouble in the form of a beautiful girl who now looks up at me with terrified wide eyes while shivering in fear and pain.

Fuck.

"Wh-who... what—"

"Hush." I place my finger on her trembling lips. "Now, listen to me. This is what's going to happen. You need to stay with me, stay awake, and do what I tell you to do. Understand?"

She nods hesitantly, too afraid to argue.

"Hold still for a moment."

Again, she nods, twitching only slightly when I carefully investigate her wounds. The one at her shoulder is definitely worse than the other. It looks like a through-and-through shot with a visible entry wound at the front and an exit wound at the back, suggesting that the bullet is no longer inside her body. Good, that's something.

The wound at her hips is clearly just a graze shot, and while it may hurt like a bitch right now, it doesn't put her in any immediate danger. The wound on her shoulder needs treatment as soon as possible, or she'll run the risk of bleeding to death.

Either way, I need to fucking hurry.

I release her and run over to the pile of harnesses and the unfolded paraglider, returning with just the passenger harness.

"I know you're in pain, but you need to pull yourself together right now," I tell her before lifting her from the ground. "Get up on your feet."

She shakes her head. "I-I-I can't. I'm too—"

"Yes, you can!" I object. "And you fucking will. Now!"

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