Page 244 of Bossy Hero

I release a haggard exhale, my shoulders sagging. Patterson doubles over in relief.

Henderson enters the engine room, his gun extended. He lowers it when he sees one unconscious tango and the other writhing in pain.

My frustration seeps out. “Where the fuck were you?”

Apparently, my patience pounded sand an hour ago.

He flings his thumb over his shoulder. “I had two tangos to neutralize first; they came in from the other side. I think it’s safe to say they know we’re here.”

“Sorry.” I wave him off. “Go find Josh and Aaron while we tie these two up. Then I’ll come to find you.”

He nods and departs swiftly. Mia directs his steps.

Patterson helps me restrain the two tangos who survived the fight. The one with the broken wrist isn’t too happy about how he’s being manhandled. Tough shit. He can file a complaint with my boss.Heh, heh.

I might need some fresh air; I enjoyed that thought a bit too much.

Before I depart to help my team, I face Patterson. “How about you stay here and guard the engineer and these two fuck wads? If the boat starts to move, hit the emergency stop.”

Finally acknowledging he’s in over his bald head, he lowers his chin in agreement. “Go save Katia and the baby.”

After I save my family.

I pat him on the shoulder and toss a parting dig. “If a hostile comes in, shoot them. Use either gun.”

This fucker is one step away from needing a coffin because he’s deadweight.

I double-time it from the engine room. “Mia, where am I going?”

“Take the hall on your left,” she answers.

Rounding the corner as instructed, I run smack dab into a solid chest attached to a beast of a man.

Before I can react, he grabs me by the neck and squeezes.

Very tightly.

He utters something in Russian; all I hear is the wordpakhan.

Before this mammoth can choke me out, I jab him in the eyes, one then the other. His grip on my throat loosens enough for me to twist my frame, bring my elbow between us, and slam it down to break his hold.

I land in a sturdy crouch in front of him, which gives me the perfect inspiration. Without giving him time to react, I rear back and punch him in the nuts with full force. He falls like a sack of lard, slamming into the bulkhead as he thumps onto the floor.

Damn. I hit him so hard that it mademenauseous. If he ever had a chance of fathering children, he just swallowed them from the inside out. Balls and all.

Racing footsteps move away from me. I catch sight of the back of a well-dressed man fleeing, and my gut seizes.

It’s Nikolai.

Thepakhanthe giant was addressing.

Running from me like a coward.

On the floor, the ogre I made into a eunuch rolls into a ball and wretches out the contents of his stomach—most likely his future children. I grab his wrists and restrain them with three sets of zip ties. He’s a big boy. And I won’t be babysitting him.

“Patterson, come get this fucker,” I yell as I finish up the third tie.

As soon as he’s secured, I remove his sidearm and tuck it into the back of my waistband. I race down the corridor toward Lenkov, my legs pumping harder than they have in thirty years. Once I’m close enough to see the gray streaks in his jet-black hair, a burst of adrenaline propels me faster. He’s ten years my senior and was likely never as fit as me, so I gain on him rapidly.

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