Page 31 of The Captive
Garrison had already raised his rifle.“When I say the word—”
“No.It’s too risky!”
“I don’t have all night,” Le Clair shouted.“Give us the girl and you’re free to go.”
Rick had Le Clair in his sights.“Not going to happen,my friend.”
“Rick, please,” she pleaded.“Don’t shoot at them.”
“On the count of three, hit the ground, Miss Kelley.”
“They’ll let you go if you give me up,” she burst out.“If you do this, we’ll both get killed.”
“One.”
“Hand her over,” Le Clair demanded, sounding increasingly annoyed.
Her heart was beating so fast she was surprised it didn’t rip through her chest.“Rick, please.”
“Two.”
Her kidnappers shifted their weapons.Trained them onher.
Oh, God.She and Rick would both be killed if he went ahead with this suicidal plan.If it was just her, she might be willing to take her chances, but no way was she going to be responsible for Rick’s death.And no way inhellwas she putting her unborn child at risk.
She glanced at Rick, saw his mouth open, saw his lips begin to form the number three.
Without pausing to analyze her actions, Lana threw herself in front of Garrison’s rifle and shouted, “Stop!I’ll come back!”
* * *
Deacon’s heart jammed in his throat as he watched Lana dive in front of the mercenary’s rifle.Terror pummeled into him like angry fists, making his gun shake in his hand.What thehellwas she thinking?The damn woman was going to get herself shot!
When the silent alarm had gone off, Deacon had figured one of the other men had screwed up, maybe tripped a wire.But when he and Echo had been sent to investigate and discovered the bodies of Charlie and Yankee up in the hills, he’d realized this was no error.Charlie or Yankee must have triggered the panic button on their radios before getting their necks snapped, and now the entire situation had erupted in chaos.
“Please!”Lana was shouting, her blue eyes imploring Le Clair.“Nobody has to shoot anybody!”
Deacon could hear the faint muttering of the mercenary who’d nearly aided in Lana’s escape, but she ignored the man behind her.“I’m going to lay my gun down,” she said, her voice shaking in the cold night air.“And I’m going to walk over to you, all right?Everyone just put down their guns before someone gets hurt.”
Le Clair chuckled softly.The sound sent a chill through Deacon’s body.Lana was dead wrong.Someonewasgoing to get hurt.And the moment she was back in Le Clair’s clutches, Lana would realize the price of her sacrifice.
“Sounds fair,” Le Clair called.“Walk over to us nice and slow, princess.”
Deacon’s pulse drummed in his ears as Lana placed the handgun down on the grass.The man beside her still had his weapon trained on them.The dark hair on his upper lip curled downward as he frowned in frustration.But there was no stopping Lana.Deacon experienced an odd sense of pride, watching Lana walk across the brightly lit clearing.Her shoulders were held high, her refined features hard with determination.
“See, here I am,” she said calmly as she reached the men.“Just let him go like you promised.”
The moment she joined the group, Tango had an iron grip on her arm, keeping her in place.Without even blinking, Le Clair nodded at Kilo and murmured, “Do it.”
The deafening report of a rifle cracked in the air, followed by a soft thud as the man across the clearing slumped down to the ground, a bullet hole between the eyes.
Lana screamed in horror, the piercing sound cutting through Deacon like a hot, sharp blade.She shrugged out of Tango’s grasp, trying to hurtle toward the lifeless body lying twenty yards away.Tango yanked violently on her arm, forcing her to stay put.
With tears streaming down her cheeks, Lana spun around to shout at Le Clair.“You promised!You said you’d let him go if I came back!”
“I lied,” he said with a smirk.
Before anyone could stop her, Lana launched herself at Le Clair and started beating at his chest with small fists.“You bastard!You just killed a good man, you sick, twisted maniac!”
