Page 109 of Unspoken

Come on, Logan, I urge myself, grinding my teeth.Just a little further.

A bullet grazes my arm, the searing pain barely registering as I push myself harder, faster. I imagine the terror in Sasha's heart.

"I'm coming, Sasha!" I shout. "Just hold on."

With a final burst of speed, I close the gap. I reach out, my fingers stretching toward him, ready to pull him to safety.

He lunges forward, barrels into me, his breaths coming in ragged gasps. Instinctively, I aim my gun at the man closing in on us from the opposite direction, the man who’s been following him. His face twists into a snarl as he aims his own weapon at us.

Breathe. Focus. Shoot.

Don't think about right or wrong.

Right now they don't exist.

The gunshot cracks through the air and the man crumples to the ground with a yelp. His gun clattering beside him. Not dead, but out of the game.

Heart pounding, I turn my attention to Sasha and grasp his face with both hands, the gun still clutched in my grip clumsily. His green eyes are wide, a mixture of fear and relief swirling there.

"Sasha," I whisper, my voice rough with emotion. "It's okay. I've got you. Vlad's here. We're going to be alright."

I press my lips to his, the kiss fierce and desperate, a silent promise that I'll keep him safe. Sasha melts into me, his hands clutching at my shirt, his body trembling.

The moment is shattered by another explosion of gunfire. I break away, my senses on high alert.

"Down!" I bark, dragging Sasha behind a lonely cement fixture. We drop to the ground and I survey our surroundings. The edge is not far and we crawl in its direction. Behind me, another blast of gunfire echoes across the roof.

"Don’t move," I tell him and roll over to my back, shifting my body to be able to see the pursuer. There, he is, fucking bastard. I aim and fire. He pivots. Hides on the other side of the structure.

I turn over to my stomach and look at Sasha. His face is dirty, gaunt. He’s lost a lot of weight in three days.

"We’re pinned here," I tell him. "We’re gonna have to jump."

I look down at the ground, then scan the alleyway between the structures to ensure it’s empty. The drop is dizzying, but a dumpster filled with trash bags seems like a good way to land. I meet Sasha's gaze. "How are you feeling? Are you up for it,mylash?"

Sasha nods, exhausted but determined. He’s got fire in him, fire I’ve already seen in Vlad’s calculating gaze. I don’t know how Sasha escaped and something in me almost doesn’t want to find out.

We clamber over the edge and leap into the void below. The air rushes all around me, the desert landscape flickers and disappears behind the wall before I can register the entire picture.

The impact is jarring, but the trash bags cushion our fall just as I expected. I scramble to my knees, all wobbly, heart racing. Sasha lands next to me and I reach out to pull him up from the black plastic heap.

"You good?" I gently shove his hair off his face to get a better look at him.

Except for the grime on his skin, he seems unharmed, at least on the surface.

"I’m fine, Logan. I truly am. Let’s get out of here."

The pop of gunfire still crackles somewhere in the distance and I pray that Vlad and Ivan are on top of the situation and ready to go.

"Alright, let’s get you out," I mutter, grabbing onto the rough edge of the dumpster to haul myself over it.

My feet hit the ground and I extend my arm to help Sasha as he frantically hustles out from our impromptu landing spot.

Before I can decide which way to run next, an SUV—not Vlad’s—screeches to a halt at one end of the alley. The door swings open and a hulking figure emerges from the back seat. The man smiles and his golden tooth makes an appearance.

"Shtyk?" I grit out, mostly to myself. My grip tightens on my gun.

The Russian smiles wider as the rest of his goons fan out from the vehicle to close up the entrance to the alley. I glance back. We can still run, but what good would it do? It’s two against six. One Glock against a handful of AKs.

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