Page 45 of Lethal Pursuit

“Hold on.” Jackson wrapped the sweat-stained scarf around Haversham’s shin and tied it, twisting the knot tight over the wound. Haversham blanched and let out a strangled growl, eyes squeezed shut and beads of sweat trickling down his face. Poor bastard. He’d suffer worse than that before the day was out. Broken bones hurt like a bitch. With nothing else to be done, Jackson sat back on his heels and rolled his shoulders to ease the tension there. Not that it helped.

“Your turn.”

Jackson looked over his shoulder at Khalid and stared back defiantly. The guy seemed edgy as hell, his eyes shifting here and there, his body posture agitated. He was watching Jackson’s hands, as if he expected him to pull a weapon out of nowhere and come at him. The way he was feeling, Jackson would give goddamn anything for the chance to go after him oneon-one with his bare hands.

“Sit back down and take the revolver.” Khalid gestured to where it lay on the dirt floor between him and Jackson.

Like hell. “Release the female first.”

Khalid’s lips curled in a sneer of contempt. “It is a fatal weakness you Americans have, wanting always to protect the women.”

Because where I come from,that’s what real men do.“The strong have a duty to protect those weaker than them.” Maya would want to kick his ass for intimating that she was weak.

Those yellow eyes frosted. “You lie to yourself. Your government seems to think your duty is to subject the rest of the world to its beliefs. By your own definition, that should makeyouthe terrorists.” He motioned with an impatient hand at the discarded weapon. “Take the revolver.” He cocked his pistol and aimed it at Haversham for good measure.

Jackson’s eyes slid over to the Sec Def and he got a minute shake of the head in answer. The guy didn’t want him to do it, even though he fully expected to be shot again. Dude had balls. Jackson respected that.

“I will not tell you again!” Khalid snapped.

Jackson opened his mouth to tell him to go fuck himself when a sudden explosion rocked the ground, making the floor undulate beneath him. They all stilled. Khalid froze in place, barking frantic Pashto at the others, who all glanced at each other with wide eyes. The flashlight rattled on the small metal table at the rear of the room, rolling to point a spotlight on the wall behind it.

A flare of hope swelled Jackson’s heart, filling it to bursting against his ribs. Had they been found?

Khalid was shouting something at the three other startled men when another blast shook the room. This one was closer, strong enough to rattle the walls and send earth cascading down on them. Jackson wobbled on his knees. The candle in the lantern flickered, its light almost extinguished before it flared to life again. The flashlight fell to the floor and rolled against the wall, blotting out most of its beam. With the room in mostly shadow, Jackson coiled in position, waiting for the right moment to spring. All he had to do was catch Khalid and one of the others off guard for a few seconds. He could snap an arm, take a pistol and even the odds within seconds.

Once he freed his feet, he could haul Haversham out over his shoulder and spring Maya so they could all get the hell out of here.

Casting frantic looks about him, Khalid continued yelling orders at his men. The dimmed light from the lantern and the flashlight cast his face in eerie shadows. With one final order, he turned his head to aim a single searing glance at Jackson before snatching up the revolver and storming out of the room. There wasn’t enough time for Jackson to attack any of the others.

All three remaining men stood back near the far wall, aiming their weapons at him. If he lunged now, he’d be dead before he got to his feet.

Tamping down the frustration eating at him, he strained to hear what was going on outside. Those explosions were no accident. He could hear men shouting, but no gunfire. Had a drone fired a missile at their location to draw the militants out? It was the only thing he could think of.

A minute later, yet another explosion ripped the quiet apart. Jackson stayed on his knees, ready to shove to his feet when the ground settled. One of the three guards said something to the others, who nodded. The guy lowered his weapon and headed toward the rug-covered opening, presumably to see what the hell was going on.

He reached out to grab the flap of the rug hanging there when someone ripped it away from the other side. A shot rang out, the bullet hitting him straight between the eyes. He dropped. Before he’d even hit the ground, Maya burst in with a pistol in her uninjured hand. Jackson didn’t even have time to move.

One of the others got out a sound of alarm as he and his comrade started to turn their weapons on her. Without pause, she fired twice more in rapid succession, hitting the remaining two men center mass and dropping them where they stood before they could get a single shot off.

In the flickering lantern light, she looked like an avenging angel standing there. Her hair was a tangled mess and her face was swollen to hell, but her hand was rock steady on that weapon, even with the pain she had to be in. The deadly intent was clear on her face.

Fuck, he loved her. He shot to his feet as she approached, trying to figure out how she’d gotten loose and found a weapon. “How—”

“Shh.” Shoving the pistol in her waistband for a moment, she pulled out a knife and handed it to Jackson then took the pistolagain, never taking her eyes off the doorway. Jackson immediately sliced the zip tie at his ankles and jumped up to cut the Sec Def’s bonds.

“We’ve only got a few minutes,” Maya said from the doorway, peeking over her shoulder to make sure they were alone. “Can you carry him?”

“Yep.” He grabbed two pistols from the fallen men closest to him then bent and hauled Haversham over his shoulder, ignoring the man’s howl of agony and the pain ripping through his own body injuries.

Maya pushed aside the rug and took point, instantly assuming the leadership role that came with her rank. “Follow me.”

Yes,ma’am.She took charge and kicked ass. Not only had she’d somehow gotten free of her jailors, she’d taken out three armed men to give them this chance for escape. He’d follow her fucking anywhere.

She paused only long enough to bend and grab something from the floor and hoist it over her shoulders, wincing when she stuck her broken wrist through the strap to haul it up her arm. In the dimness, Jackson barely made out the shape of the missing medical bag.

Since it was obvious she had a plan, he went with it. She turned left and took them down a narrower corridor, then right toward a light source that told him they were almost outside. Maya crouched down by the handdug opening, checking for threats. “Two tangos to our seven o’clock, but they’re distracted. I don’t see anyone else. We have to make a run for it, get to the trail he said is behind this compound to the right.”

Wait, they had inside help? “Who’she?” he whispered, changing his grip on the back of Haversham’s thigh to steady him. He’d shoved one pistol into his waistband and had the other in his right hand, leaving his left free to anchor his patient.

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