Page 51 of Dangerous Mission

They raced across the island and toward the house. When they reached the edge of the yard, Axel caught sight of two small-framed people with black sacks over their heads being pushed toward the dock. Franny had a gun against Terri’s back. At the end of the pier was a man Axel didn’t recognize, but the tattoo on his neck was the symbol of the Karva Organization.

“We need to go,” Axel ground out and took a step forward. A hand wrapped around his wrist and tugged him back.

“Look.” Doc pointed to the roof of the house. Three men with machine guns were walking back and forth. Six more men stood near the house, and two more were at the end of the dock.

“If she gets on the boat, we might lose her.”

Tex’s voice came over the comm. “Someone messed with the satellite feed. Give me a few minutes.”

Axel gripped his gun tightly. They didn’t have a few minutes.

Franny shoved Terri and Renee toward the man in the boat, and he pushed them both into it. Axel’s blood boiled as he watched the man pull away from the dock.

They needed to get back to the boat. Axel turned and ran toward the beach, but then he saw his yacht racing across the ocean. Ginger was going after the boat. The men on the roof took notice and started shooting at Ginger, but he was too far away.

Axel ran toward the back of the house and worked his way around the edge, to where two men stood smoking. They hadn’t helped the other men shooting. Axel used the opportunity to take two quick shots, and the men fell to the ground.

From him came another shot, and a body fell from the sky and landed two feet away.

Franny stood behind a man double Axel’s size. Before Axel could get him in his sights, the man dropped. Then another shot was fired in the distance, from where his yacht was chasing the smaller boat.

Axel needed to get to Terri, and only one person stood in his way.

Franny grabbed the gun from the man on the ground. Axel raised his hand and took the shot. He needed answers in case Terri wasn’t okay, so he aimed at the woman’s leg. She fell to the ground screaming.

Axel jogged toward her and kicked her gun aside.

The woman glared up at him then smiled. “You're too late. They won’t let her live.”

“What does the Karva Organization want with her?”

She groaned and tried to roll away, but Axel kept a boot on her pelvis so that she couldn’t move.

“It’s all a distraction, and like most men, you’re weak. While you were chasing a woman, the real man in power made his moves.”

“What does that mean?”

Franny opened her mouth, but no words came out. Then the woman’s head exploded in front of him. The force was strong enough to blow him backward to the ground.

Doc ran up to him. “What the fuck?”

Axel’s ears rang, and in the distance, the small boat exploded. Ginger was too far away.

He’d failed Terri.

Terri

Terri tuggedher bracelet off her wrist as she sank in the ocean water. Next to her, Renee kicked her legs. Though Terri struggled to keep her feet moving, her tight jeans weighed her down. Finally, the bracelet she never left home without came loose. Her fingers shook as she tried to put the pointed end into the small hole on her cuffs.

When she let out a frustrated breath, most of her air escaped. The small pin finally went into the lock and clicked, and the metal cuff fell from her wrists. She shot up to the surface and took a deep breath. Debris was scattered across the ocean floor. What she thought was Axel’s yacht came closer, but she needed to get to Renee. A black helicopter hovered next to it. She didn’t have time to figure out who was flying it.

Terri took another deep breath and dropped below the surface. She couldn’t see Renee. Panic set in, and she swam deeper, looking for the woman who’d saved her life.

The firefight between the small boat and the yacht had distracted the two men who were holding them captive. Terri struggled to get her hood off as the boat zipped through the water. Renee ripped the hood off Terri’s head. Before Terri could come up with a plan, Renee shoved her over the side of the boat then jumped in with her. Terri had glanced back at the yacht and watched the man give them a thumbs up before he shot the engine, and the small boat exploded, sending them deeper underwater.

Terri pushed her legs harder and ignored the aches from Franny hitting her. Who knew her ex-assistant could pack a punch.

When she was close to being desperate for air, a flicker of silver caught her eye, and she pushed down deeper, catching her fingers in Renee’s hair. She tugged her assistant until she could reach her arm and swam to the top. When she hit the surface, she gasped for breath.

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