Page 88 of In The Trenches (Owens Protective Services)

“Move where?” she asked incredulously. “Aren’t I safer with you?”

“Not if I’m drawing fire. Whenever I fire, you move over to the next boulder,” I nodded to the rocks beside us. “If anyone starts firing at you, you stop moving and take cover. When you get close enough to the trees, you run for it and duck down in the brush. Keep yourself hidden until I come for you.”

“Cash—”

“We don’t have time to argue about this. Do as I say,” I commanded.

She nodded, biting her lip as I finished preparing my rifle. Taking a deep breath, I slowly turned around the curve of the rock, sighting my first target. Most would go for the man making his way to us, but I had plenty of time to take him out. I needed to take out the targets that were still in the tree line first. They would immediately take cover, and make our escape more difficult.

With the first kill shot, I alerted them that I was close and armed. With the second kill shot, I gave away my position. I aimed again, this time for the man rushing for the shore, back to the trees. I glanced over at Beth and nodded. As I fired, she slipped under the water toward the next boulder. Bullets pinged off the rocks as they started returning fire. I needed to draw them in the opposite direction.

Taking a deep breath, I dove underwater and swam for the next boulder, in the opposite direction I sent Beth. When I came up, everyone had shifted positions again. There were two men standing within ten feet of each other. I took aim, firing rapidly as I took down one and then the other. I ducked back behind the boulder just as a bullet whizzed past my head.

When I searched for Beth, I couldn’t find her, but she came up moments later even further away. The man in the water was getting closer to me, but he still wasn’t my main target. I spun and took aim, but I wasn’t fast enough. A bullet sliced through the water, piercing my side. I gritted my teeth and took aim, firing two shots in rapid succession.

Between the darkness and the constant barrage of bullets flying my way, it was impossible to tell how many of them were left. Beth was moving further away, and luckily, no one had noticed her yet, but the hardest part was still to come. She had to make it into the trees without anyone noticing her.

I was going to make the same move as before, ducking under the water to get to my next position, but the river was shallow here. There was no place for me to take cover as I crossed. Sucking in a few quick breaths, I ran through the water, praying I didn’t take a bullet to the ass as I made my way to the next boulder.

Somehow, I came out unscathed. I pressed my hand to my pocket, thanking my lucky stars I hadn’t lost Betty. I pulled out my empty magazine and grabbed a second, shoving the used magazine in my pocket, then slammed the new one into place. I had time and patience on my side, while these men were using up all their ammo, hoping to hit something. I moved around the edge of the boulder, taking a headcount of everyone I could see. Ten men still stood on the opposite embankment, and I was on my last magazine. I would need to make this count.

Firing off two shots, I was about to take my third when I heard splashing. Quickly looking to Beth, I saw her running from her spot, up the embankment as the man I had left for last trudged in the water toward her. Tossing my rifle over my shoulder, I ran through the water toward him, tackling him around the waist as I took him to the ground. I flinched as a bullet landed a little too close to my head, hitting a low-hanging branch instead. The man kicked me off him, shoving me face first into the water and pressing his weight on top of mine. His hand was wrapped around my neck, forcing me to stay down as I struggled not to suck in water. My hand grappled at my side until I finally found the leather handle of my KA-BAR and yanked it from my sheath. Swinging back forcefully, I slammed the hard steel into the man’s side.

30

BETH

I ranfor the shoreline like he told me to. When I saw the man racing toward me through the water, I knew it was now or never. Even though my limbs were exhausted and I wanted to lay down and take a nap, I knew this was my last chance for escape. Water dripped from my clothes as I ran to the trees, ducking behind the first one I came across.

I watched in horror as Cash raced through the water, tackling the man to the ground as the men on the opposite shore started firing at him. I covered my mouth with my hand, terrified that I would start screaming at any moment. The man kicked at Cash, flinging him off his body and rolled over him, sitting astride him as he held him under the water.

I waited for him to come up, but the longer I waited, the clearer it became that he couldn’t maneuver his way out of this one. Quickly looking around, I found a rock, heavy in my hand as I picked it up. I raced back to the man just as he grunted and was flung to the side. I slammed the rock into his head, just as Cash came crashing out of the river, water dripping from him as he raised his arm and slammed his knife down into the man’s chest.

I stood back in shock, dropping my rock to the ground as I watched him climb to his feet and stomp out of the water, grabbing my hand as he raced to the trees. I was still in shock, barely able to think about what I’d just done or what Cash had. I could still feel the weight of my rock smashing against the man’s head, the sound of his skull cracking, though I doubt I did as much damage as Cash. We stopped suddenly, Cash shoving me to the ground under a bush. He held his finger to his lips, and then he was gone. I watched as he ran a few feet away and climbed a tree. He did it so effortlessly, as if climbing trees to kill people was a regular occurrence for him.

I stifled a laugh as I imagined him and his team doing training exercises with just this scenario. I really had to pull my shit together. I looked up in the tree again, watching as he laid himself across a thick branch and held his rifle in his arms. I didn’t understand how he managed to balance himself on a branch, let alone hold a rifle and aim straight at the same time. That’s why he was the professional and I was the scared shitless woman on the run.

The first shot had me nearly jumping out of my skin. I laid low and covered my ears. The second shot wasn’t nearly as scary as the first, but this time, I squeezed my eyes closed. With every report of the gun, I found myself cringing further in on myself. I kept waiting for someone to come running up behind me and grab me. It was clear Cash was good at his job, but there were so many of them, and I was a liability.

A hand on my shoulder had me shrieking in fear, until I looked up and saw Cash standing above me. His shirt was soaked in blood, but he didn’t look any worse for wear. I stood quickly, flinging myself into his arms and holding him tight. After all I had been through in my life, this had to be one of the most terrifying moments. And when he wrapped his arms around me, warmth and comfort seeped into my skin, despite both of us being drenched.

“It’s okay.”

“You got them all?”

“Pretty damn sure.”

I nodded against his neck, but I couldn’t peel myself away. I started shaking uncontrollably, hating the fact that I was about to start crying. I didn’t want to be that girl. I wished I could handle this stuff, that I could brush it off as if nothing happened and walk away, but that wasn’t me. And as the first tear fell, the pain and horror of the last few years washed over me like a waterfall until I was nearly crumbling in his arms.

“I’ve got you, kitten,” he murmured. “No one’s going to hurt you.”

That only made me cry harder. Tears blurred my vision so much that I didn’t even see the man walk up behind Cash. But he did. Spinning quickly, he shoved me behind him just as he pulled his gun, kicked the man in the chest, and then shot him in the head as he fell backward to the ground. I stared at the man, horrified by not what I saw, but how grateful I was that Cash had such great reflexes.

While I stood there like an idiot, Cash searched the rest of the area for any signs of more…what were they even called? Bad guys? Evildoers?

“We need to go,” he said, taking my hand in his again. I glanced down at our locked hands, feeling a rush of warmth wrap around me. I never thought I would want his hands on me, but now, I associated his touch with the feeling of protection. He had me, and nothing would harm me.

I followed along beside him as he pulled me deeper into the trees and away from the men that attacked me. But the further we walked away, the more the pain from my shoulder injury started to flare up. At first, I thought it was just exhaustion creeping in, but then my feet started moving more sluggishly, and the aches in my face and stomach from being punched and kicked started to really take hold. This was what he was talking about. The crash.

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