Page 152 of Ensnared

Ifire back twice and look back atJasper, who’s pullingLuckybehind the truck.

“Bullshit.”

Holleringin wild relief,Ilean out to fire again andIring on empty. “Fuck.”

Itoss down my now uselessMK16 and tug myBerettaout of my belt.Itmaybehas the range to reach the far tree line.

Maybe.

Unlesssomething changes fast, we’re toast.

Chapter35

Beau

Survivaltip #224

Ifyou can protect your family,

you’ve done the best anyone could hope for in this life.

Ahunter leans out from behind his tree and pops off two more shots atJasper, andI’mgrateful.Itmakes it easy for that silent, deadly calm to take over, letting me shed the healer and become the killerIneed to be right now.

Wrappingmy hand over his mouth,Ipunch my knife between his ribs, angling precisely soIpuncture his heart.He’sthe third in the last fifteen minutes.

Ifelt forEden, when she took that life—Iunderstand her pain better than most.I’mnot likeDom, who can focus on a job and not flinch at the fallout.I’vehad a lot of different blood stain my hands, but the blood from delivering death never washes out the same way as blood from surgery.

Iwas born to save lives, though—and while sometimes that means picking up a scalpel, other times it means the knife.

Ilower the man to the ground, dismantle his gun and toss his ammo.It’sno use to me, not half so good as my own weapon and not easy to carry with the rest of my gear, butI’mnot about to let some other opportunist pick it up either.

Hearingmovement close by,Igrimace and move quickly behind a large boulder, watching as three men jog through the trees.Tryingto get a better angle,I’mguessing.Ihesitate for a moment, then let them pass.Threein close quarters is too risky; they’d have too much chance to alert others.Ineed to pick them off—it’s the only plan we have right now—and ifI’mcaught...

Well, ifI’mcaught,I’mnot going to have much to worry about anymore,Isuppose.

IheardJaspercall out forLucienearlier, and the blast that followed, butIhaven’t had a chance to get a visual.Ican only hope it was our damage.

Allowingmyself a moment,Iedge forward and look out at the massacre.Fromthis angle,IseeLuckylying between the truck and the burning barn.Burningembers rain down on the ground around him, and the fire lights him up well enough thatIcan see the dark stain flooding his chest.Mybreath stalls.

Heneeds medical attention.

Now.

But, almost as bad,Jasperseems to have abandoned the truck—and hisGod-given common sense—and is out in the open, moving toward him.IfIhadn’t just killed the hunter standing here, he would have had a short, clear shot toJasper’sskull.

Withsharp relief,IseeJayk’shead as he peeks around the shed.Heshouts atJasper, butIcan’t make out the words.Bulletsfly toward him.

Shit.Thisis bad.Somemighty kind of bad.

Theshots are coming from these trees though, ifIcan just take the hunters out maybe they’ll have a chance to make it back toBristlebrookandDom.

“Hey, you’re not—”

Heartthundering,Iwhip around and tackle the man to the ground before he can move from confusion to deadly force.He’sa big bastard, butI’mnot exactly light either, and he gasps as the breath is knocked from him.Iforce my hand over his mouth, and he punches my ribs as we grapple in the dirt.Grunting,Itry to get my knife up, but the move unbalances me, and he flips me on my back.

Ratherthan going for the kill though, he pushes up. “Whereare they all?” he snaps. “Whereare all the women?Families?”

Hepunches my ribs again, andIgroan.

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