Page 67 of Over the Edge

The man fell back against her, and she braced against his dead weight, breaking the guy’s fall toward the truck bed enough to prevent a loud thud. The smell of iron filled the air around her. They would have to work fast, now. Someone would smell the blood in a few more seconds.

Trevor pointed at her and then at the unconscious man he’d knocked out with the crowbar first. Then Trevor swiped his index finger across his throat.

Trevor wanted her to kill the guy.

A wee bit different than diving into a fight to save his life.

But this was also what she’d signed up for when she’d joined the SEALs. And when she’d stowed away on Trevor’s mission to rescue Kenny. She wanted her shot at the big leagues, and this was it.

She whirled and followed Trevor’s order.

“What the—“ she heard Mansur exclaim.

Two quick gunshots rang out from the right side of the truck. Then two more.

She raced to the back of the truck, swinging left as she jumped. She landed prone on the lowered tailgate and spotted her first target about twelve feet away. She double tapped her handgun and he dropped to the ground.

She swung her weapon left in time to see the second guard on her side just swinging up his AK-47 into a firing position. Without taking time to aim carefully, she doubled tapped her trigger again, sending two shots into the guy, who was about fifteen feet away.

Her target depressed the trigger of his weapon and sprayed the side of the truck with lead as he toppled over backward. The muzzle of his weapon jerked up into the air, firing into the sky as the guy fell. His weapon went silent.

“What in the mother of all hells are you doing?” Mansur shouted.

Trevor’s voice came from the other side of the truck, clipped and terse. “Shut up, Mansur, or we’ll take you out, too.”

Anna scanned the valley beyond her side of the truck. As far as she could see, it was still and silent. Nobody close by was responding to the sounds of gunfire. “Clear,” she called out.

“Clear,” Trevor responded. “Except for your fiancé wannabe.”

She strode around the back of the truck to join Trevor and gave Mansur a critical once over. The guy looked terrified out of his mind. “He is emphatically not my fiancé. Are we agreed on that?”

Trevor grinned briefly, but for his part, Mansur nodded frantically, his frightened stare never leaving the handgun held comfortably in her right hand.

“What happened to the guys in the truck?” Mansur finally choked out.

“We neutralized them.” She added, “Would you like us to drag them out of the truck before you drive on to wherever you’re going?”

“Yes—umm, no—umm, yes,” Mansur mumbled.

Trevor said dryly, “You look like you’re going into shock, man. If you feel faint, you should sit down. Put your head between your knees.”

She muttered under her breath in English, “And kiss your own ass while you’re at it.”

A snort of laughter escaped Trevor. “Play nice, Anna. The man just saw you shoot two men, and he was contemplating forcing you to marry him. His life is passing before his eyes right about now, as it dawns on him just how violently you would have divorced him.”

A faint groan from Mansur made it clear that, if he hadn’t been thinking about that exact thing before, he certainly was, now.

“We probably ought to get moving,” Anna said low.

“Are you okay?” Trevor asked her, sounding concerned.

“Trevor. I’m a U.S. Navy SEAL. Yes. I’m okay. Stuff like this is my job, in case you forgot.”

“It’s one thing to train for it. It’s another to do it.”

“The Valkyrie’s training prepared us for violence. What’s it going to take to convince you women can do this job?” she snapped.

“I’m just not used to seeing a woman engage in violence like a SEAL.”

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