Page 52 of Dangerous Mission

Renee’s eyes weren’t open. Terri struggled to hold her head above water.

A loud grunt came from above as a man jumped out of a helicopter. His large frame hit the water with barely a splash, then he swam toward them. The waves made it hard to see as Terri struggled to keep Renee above the water.

“Give her to me,” the man said gruffly.

It took Terri a second to recognize Xavier. He pulled Renee from her arms, and when an orange donut landed next to her, she wrapped her arms around the flotation device. The man on the yacht pulled her in. Xavier was already pulling Renee onto the boat when she finally got there herself.

Once Terri was aboard, she knelt next to her friend. Xavier started doing compressions. Tears streamed down her face as she held Renee’s hand.

Finally, Renee opened her eyes and coughed up water. Xavier moved her onto her side until she was done.

Then she lay back and stared up at Xavier. “I must have died, because you look like an angel I would ride.”

Xavier winked at her.“Well, I did save your life. It’s the least you could do.”

Renee narrowed her eyes. “Technically, I saved her life by pushing us out of the boat.”

Terri nodded and lay back on the boat. “You're a good guy, right?” Terri asked the one in a cast.

“Yes, I’m on Axel’s team. You want to talk to him?”

She nodded, and he pulled a small device from his ear and handed it over.

Terri put it into her ear and asked, “Axel?”

“Thank fuck you’re alive.”

“I love you.” She paused. “Where are you?”

He chuckled. “Look behind you.”

She lifted her head to see a boat racing across the waves. Two men stood at the front, while another two were in the back with a grim.

Terri turned back to Renee. “You okay?”

“Yes, but I think I deserve a long vacation and a couple of days at the spa. Unless this guy’s going to take me back to his place.”

Terri had to agree as she rested her head back against the floor. Her adrenaline had started to die down, and her body started to ache again. But that didn’t matter. She was alive and knew why Karva had been after her.

When Axel arrived at the boat, she told him, “They’re going to make a move on Yara.”

Axel pulled her into his arms. “Did you hear that, Tex?”

“Already moved her yesterday,” Xavier said. “Now, let’s go take you to one of the rooms.” Xavier picked up Renee and walked away.

Angel tapped her bare foot on the deck. “I’m going to torture that man for years. I plan to build a new place with a torture chamber made for him. I don’t care if any of you want access to him. He took my sister's life and now this.”

Casanova clenched his fists next to his sides before he pulled Angel into his arms. “You can stay at my house.”

Axel lifted Terri as he stood and turned to walk away, but she couldn’t hear Angel's response as she pulled out of Casanova’s arms.

“Hey, we’re missing the gossip.”

Axel walked down a staircase, past the galley, and into a cabin. He sat on the bed’s white sheets in his wet suit. “We’ll get you to the hospital as soon as we get back.”

“I just need you.”

She pulled the earpiece out of her ear and tossed it aside. Axel held her until they made it back to shore, where EMTs waited at the dock.

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