Page 62 of Killer Secrets (Tempting SEALs 5)

"Get Trevor on the ground," he yelled to Mendez as Cristo caught Kira. "Now."

He gripped the driver's-side door, pulling at it before cursing when it didn't open. Turning, he jumped into the back of the vehicle, climbing through the back partition to check Deke.

"How's Deke?" Mendez yelled.

"Alive." Barely.

Ian gripped the passenger door, forced it open then backed out as he dragged Deke's heavy, unconscious body across the seat. Mendez and Cristo helped lift him as wind from the helicopter's rotors beat around them.

"Boss, two speedboats," Trevor yelled as he rushed toward them, grabbing Deke's legs as Cristo and Mendez grabbed his upper body.

"Get him in the copter," Ian snapped. "Now. Call the villa and have the doc pulled in. Trevor, did you get any ID marks on those boats?"

"I know them, boss." He was walking backward, rushing Deke's lower body to the copter while the rest of them followed. "Both are rentals out of Oranjestad."

They loaded Deke quickly into the copter as Ian turned for Kira and nearly did a double take.

She was poised, shoeless, her hair whipping around her, an M-16 braced in her arms as she secured the area. Ian knew he had never seen anything so damned hot in his life.

"Let's go." He stepped to her quickly, pulled the weapon from her hands, and tossed it to Mendez. "Mendez, you and Cristo get to the villa double time." He pushed Kira into the front of the copter with Trevor before jumping into the cramped back with a still unconscious Deke.

His gaze stayed on Kira as the helicopter lifted off, banked, and raced across the island. He hated using air power.

"Tracking's on, boss, we're showing no locks. We'll make it."

The advanced radar and weapons detection equipment he'd had installed was his best insurance in case of emergency but it wasn't foolproof.

"Just get us there, Trevor," he called out, his gaze meeting Kira's as she turned her head and stared back at him worriedly.

She was in the middle of a war zone and he couldn't force her out or protect her. The knowledge of that ate at his guts and tightened his chest as anger burned inside him.

He wanted her out of here. He wanted her so far from this situation that there wasn't a chance of it touching her, and he knew it wasn't going to happen. She wasn't just a trained contract agent. She was a woman who had a hold on his balls which he couldn't seem to break.

Chauvinism, his ass. This was more than chauvinism, this was an emotion he couldn't conquer and couldn't force behind him. It was a mix of protectiveness and possessiveness, fury and worry. She was getting to him and he had no idea how to stop it.

* * *

Seventeen

THE HELICOPTER LANDED DIRECTLY BEHIND the villa. Men raced from the French doors that led to the pool area, M-16s and Uzis gripped in their hands, to surround the aircraft as Ian jumped from the side and motioned to several of the soldiers to ease the lead bodyguard through the opening and carry him into the house.

Kira accepted Trevor's helping hand from the pilot's door, her eyes on Ian, seeing the lines bracketing his lips and eyes, the barely contained rage that glittered in his gaze.

"The doctor is en route," one of the Fuentes soldiers that had converged on the villa shouted to Ian as the helicopter's rotors slowly eased and stopped. "Ramon called when they left town. Another three minutes at the most."

Ian nodded then turned, his hand latching around Kira's wrist and dragging her to his side before heading for the villa.

"Get him in his room and show the doctor straight to him. Get out to the limo and get it towed and ditch it. I want all evidence of this attempted hit wiped away. Understand that?" he snapped to the soldier.

"Sí." The soldier turned away, called several soldiers to him, and rushed to the attached garage rather than entering the house with the rest of the force.

As they moved through the informal patio room and into the wide hallway toward the foyer, Kira watched as Diego Fuentes came out from his study. He said nothing, but his expression was heavy, concerned. Black eyes were shielded by dark lashes, his lips tightly compressed. He was worried, and perhaps a bit frightened. Kira would have taken the time to reflect more on that if Ian wasn't pulling her quickly up the stairs in the wake of the soldiers carrying Deke.

"Go to our room," he ordered, his voice flat and hard as he unlocked the door and pushed her inside. "I'll be right back." The door closed in her face.

Kira rolled her eyes. There were some moods that she wouldn't mind opposing, but something in his eyes warned her to steer clear of pushing him much harder right now. Waiting would likely be the smartest decision. And when he came to her—She blew out a hard breath. She had seen that mood before, the racing adrenaline, the need for action. When he began coming down, he was going to be ready for more than tea and cakes.

She rubbed at the chill that raced over her arms and tried to still the excitement that began to claw at her stomach. He was going to be hard, confrontational. Ready to go head-to-head with the first person willing to give him the chance.

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