Page 47 of Master Vidar & Vali

“Fucking pompous taint sockets.” The sound of gunfire followed the creative words.

I had no idea what he was cursing, but if he was talking, he was alive, and if he was alive, I had no doubt he’d keep Zara safe.

“Brody, back-up two minutes out. Give us a sitrep,” Colin’s words were tense but I could tell, like me, he was relieved.

“Thank fuck these assholes are idiots, but they have a lot of ammo and are spraying bullets everywhere, so be careful.” We could hear Brody take a breath over the com. “We’ve taken out three so far, but I think there are another five hiding in the woods taking pot shots at us. Donovan’s with me covering the front. He got hit in the first encounter, but he’s functional. Radcliffe and Norwood have the back covered. If we had more ammo we would have tried to take them out, but for now we’re saving our shots for when they are dumb enough to pop their heads up.”

“Well, we’ve got plenty of bullets that we’re happy to share.” Colin smiled. “We’re going to come in hot to the backyard. Make use of the distraction.”

The helicopter dipped as we started our descent, the mountains of the Poconos rising up to meet us. I gripped the seat, every muscle in my body taut with anticipation. Reynolds and Jackson opened the doors staying strapped in but raising their rifles to their shoulders and aimed out into the night. The two men were almost as close as Colin and I and had served in the same unit in the Marines. They knew what to do.

This was it. Everything came down to this moment. And I would be damned if I let anyone take her from me.

Chapter Twenty-One

Colin

The helicopter bounced off the ground with a bone-jarring thud before hovering a foot above it. We were already moving, spilling out into the night like a wave of controlled chaos. The moment my boots hit the ground, the crack of gunfire erupted around us. Instinct kicked in and I dove for cover behind a decorative stone wall, Lincoln beside me as adrenaline surged like fire through my veins.

“On your six!” Reynolds shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos as he fired off a burst, taking down an enemy trying to flank us. The others spread out, moving with the lethal precision honed over years of training. I’d never been more grateful that the men we hired at G&H were anything but amateurs when it came to combat. Zara was inside that house, and the thought of her in danger drove me forward with a singular focus.

I popped up from cover, sighting down my rifle and squeezing off two quick shots. Another of Mihal’s men crumpled to the ground. The gunfire began to thin, the silence between shots growing longer as we systematically took out the threats.My breath came in sharp bursts, the night air cold against my skin, but I barely noticed as I moved toward the front where the rest of them were, and hopefully, where I’d find the real enemy.

And then I saw him—Mihal, emerging from the shadows like a snake ready to strike. His eyes locked on mine, and a twisted grin spread across his face. Without thinking, I dropped my rifle, charging him with a roar that tore from my throat. We collided, the impact sending us both to the ground in a tangle of fists and fury.

“You think you can take her from me?” I snarled, driving my fist into his jaw. He grunted, swinging back hard enough to split my lip.

“She’s mine,” Mihal spat, his eyes wild and voice thick with contempt as he tried to land a punch to my ribs that I easily evaded. We circled and he probably thought he had a chance. What he didn’t know was Lincoln was closing in behind him.

“You’re just a pathetic excuse for a man who can’t get a woman unless you kidnap her. I’ll kill you before I ever let you get your hands on her again.”

He laughed, a cold, ugly sound that was cut short when Lincoln pressed a gun to his temple. I wanted to end him, prayed that Linc would pull the trigger. It would make things so much simpler and ensure that he never bothered Zara again, but that wasn’t who we were. I had to satisfy myself by throwing him to the ground and roughly securing his hands with a zip tie.

“It’s over,” Lincoln’s voice was like steel as he looked around.

Mihal struggled, cursing us in another language but there were no more sounds of gunfire. I stood over him, chest heaving, trying to step back from the rage. Zara was safe and we would make sure she stayed that way.

I stepped back, my eyes never leaving Mihal. “You’re going away for a long time, you son of a bitch,” I muttered, theadrenaline slowly ebbing from my system. “That is if your own family doesn’t kill you as soon as you are inside.”

Linc nodded to me, a silent confirmation that the threat was neutralized. I took a deep breath, the tension in my muscles slowly unwinding. The fight was over, but the real battle—the one to protect Zara—was just beginning. And I’d be damned if I ever let anyone get that close to taking her away from me again.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Zara

The click of the door opening was like a gunshot and my spiraling worries paused long enough to take in the two men I most wanted to see. Light and dark haloed by the illumination of the room, they were a dream come true. Relief coursed through me as I scrambled up off the floor needing to feel their arms around me.

I had so many questions but couldn’t ask a single one of them as tears poured down my face. Colin swept me up into his arms as soon as I was within reach, and I wrapped my legs around him. A second later I felt Lincoln's warmth from behind and I lost myself in the wonder of being surrounded by them.

Gradually, my shaking and tears slowed as I fully accepted that they were here and we were all safe. Colin used his thumb to gently wipe away the moisture while Lincoln stroked my hair, soothing me with gentle murmurs.

“Is everyone okay?” I looked between them. “Brody said someone named Donovan got shot.”

“He’ll be fine. How are you?” Colin put me down and stepped back to look me over as if he expected to find some sort of wound.

“I’m fine. Was anyone else hurt?”

“Everyone on our side is alive and well,” Linc answered.

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