Page 100 of One Last Stand

Igor took a step toward Ziggy.

London froze. And then—nope. Not happening.

Her body buzzed, still on fire from the taser, and fury flamed inside her. She dove at Igor, hand out, her palm slamming against his chin.

He fell back, just a little, enough for Ziggy to come alive. London heard—no, sensed?—

the scuffle between Ziggy and Martin even as muscle memory kicked in.

She was bleeding from the mouth, barefoot, and dressed in rags, but inside her, Laney Steele raked to life.

Help was coming.

No. Help was here.

CHAPTER10

Felt way too much like Shep was sitting in the Air One chopper, flying over the mountains of Alaska, on his way to a rescue.

Except the Dolomite Alps seemed higher, more jagged, and between them, in the valleys, tiny snowcapped houses sat in pristine white storybook clusters.

But hewason his way to a rescue.

Shep sat on the deck of a chopper that Fraser—who’d turned out to be more useful than he’d expected—had managed to procure from some contact he had in the States, who had a contact in Italy who’d shown up with a twin-engine Airbus H145, which had had Moose salivating, despite his jet lag, as he walked around the machine at the private airport in Luciella.

Axel had shown up too, along with Boo—who flew into Shep’s arms, tight around his neck. “Are you okay?”

Not even a little. He couldn’t believe the nightmare was repeating itself. But maybe a little better than last time because, “Thanks for coming. We’re going to get her back.”

Boo nodded. “They tried to leave me behind, but . . . seriously, I couldn’t believe it when Flynn told me that London was alive. All this time. Alive.”

“Yes. And I’d like to keep her that way.”Please, please, oh God, let her still be alive.“And, um . . . she’ll tell you everything when we find her.”

See, his voice barely shook.

“She’d better.”

It had been a desperate move to reach out to his Air One team, but they were all he had. He didn’t trust York—not completely—and while he liked Fraser and Pippa, and even the royal they came attached to, he needed people he could trust.

He’d let Fraser and York do the shooting. He was here to find London, keep her safe, bring her home.

Mission accepted.

He’d barely slept, but his head had never felt more clear, the map he’d studied in the embassy embedded in his head. He’d run scenarios with Fraser and York while waiting for his team. Mitch had helped by pointing out landmarks, his face strained despite his cool demeanor. They’d follow a river through the mountains as they rose in elevation, then fly above a ridgeline of cliffs to a tiny village where her GPS pin had stopped moving.

Please let her be alive. He couldn’t stop praying it.

“Coco, our hacker, says that the location is an old twelfth-century fortress. It’s built into a mountain, with a sheer drop on the outside. Best route in might be through these tunnels.” York had leaned over the map too, adding his thoughts.

“Best route in is down a static line and in through a window,” Shep said. “Right into the room where they’re holding her and then back out. Just like that.” He kept his voice calm, but really—the sooner they were in and out, the better.

Unless she was hurt—please, God, don’t let her be hurt.

“This is what we’re dealing with, Shep. The high windows are too small for a person. There are some second-story windows that we could get in. Or, like I say again, through the tunnels.”

“Which will probably be guarded.” This from Fraser, who had sat in a nearby straight chair. Apparently, he was a former Navy SEAL, so again, Shep liked him. And especially when he stood up and looked at a grainy picture that someone had pulled off the internet and blown up, then laid out his plan. “I think a better choice would be to put down on this walkway.” He ran his finger across a balcony that seemed to run the length of the castle, midway up. “And if we rig two lines, York and I go down, break through the windows, come in hard and fast, provide cover, and then Axel and Shep drop in and find London, get her home.”

He’d glanced at York then, who’d nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

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