She glared at him.
“Free her from the rocks,” Radu ordered.
One merc moved toward her. She tightened her grip on the gun and steeled herself to actually shoot someone.
The man approached, and she whipped the gun up and fired.
He yelled, gripped his thigh, and fell.
Gemma fired more shots wildly down the tunnel.
She heard curses, then the gun was slapped out of her fingers. Radu appeared, and gripped her throat. He squeezed until she couldn’t breathe.
Shit. She gasped for air.
Atlas came out of the darkness, barking and growling.
Radu lifted his gun.
“Atlas, run,” she wheezed.
The merc fired, and she shoved at his legs. The shot hit the rock wall, and she caught a glimpse of the dog running into the tunnel.
Be safe, boy.
“Williams?” Radu said.
“Bullet hit my thigh.”
“He’s bleeding badly,” the other mercenary said. “I’ve put my belt around it.”
“Get him out of here. I’ll bring the woman.”
The two mercs hobbled off.
Radu crouched and started moving the rocks off her leg.
“Cause me any more trouble, and I’ll beat you unconscious.”
Charming. “You won’t get away with this.”
“I always get away, and I always get the job done. The paycheck for this job was one I couldn’t turn down.”
He got the last rock off her leg. Gemma whipped her legs up, ignoring a fresh surge of pain, and tried to kick him.
He knocked her legs aside, then reached over and slapped her face.
Her head rang and her eyes watered.
“Try that again.” He smiled at her. “I’d really like to hit you again.”
He meant it. She heard the pleasure in his voice, saw it in his face. Her chest constricted.
“Do that and I’ll make you regret it.”
Boone. His deep voice made her heart leap.
He came out of the darkness, gun raised.
Boom. Boom.
Gemma yelped, and watched Radu’s body jerk and then collapse. He hit the rock floor hard.
She scrambled backward. “Boone!”
Boone watched impassively as Radu collapsed and didn’t get up.
“Boone!” Gemma scrambled to her feet and almost collapsed. He caught her.
“Are you all right?” He pulled her close and breathed her in. She was alive.
“My leg was caught under some rocks, but I’m okay.” She let out a shaky breath and gave him a tremulous smile. “I’m so happy to see you.”
He pressed a hard kiss to her lips. She made a needy sound and kissed him back wildly.
When he broke the kiss, he took a second just to hold her. “Where’s Atlas?”
“He ran into the tunnels. I told him to run. Radu was shooting at him.”
“He’ll be okay.” Boone’s dog was smart.
“Shep?” she asked.
“Holding off the last of the mercenaries.” Boone slid a supporting arm around her. “Let’s get out of here. Lean on me.”
She hobbled a bit, but didn’t seem to be in pain.
“Wait.” She gripped his vest. “There are two other mercs here. I shot one.”
“You shot one?” God, she was something. “Don’t worry about it. I took care of them already.” They were trussed up in a side tunnel. He cupped her face. “Come on. Let’s get you out of this damn mine.”
“Yes, please.”
They slowly moved down the tunnel.
When they heard a noise behind them, they both stiffened. They turned, and Boone aimed his flashlight and Glock down the tunnel.
He saw Atlas loping toward them.
Boone grinned and lowered his weapon. “Hey, you.”
“Atlas,” Gemma cried.
The dog bustled around them, and they both patted him.
“He took good care of me,” she said.
Of course he did. Boone was starting to think that was the job of the Hendrix men—to protect Gemma Newhouse.
“Come on.” They hobbled the rest of the way and reached the exit. He shoved the door open, and they stepped outside, blinking in the sunlight.
Boone couldn’t hear any more gunfire down below, and he hoped that Shep was okay.
“It’s not going to be that easy.” Radu stepped out from behind a tree, gun aimed at them.
Fuck. “Hide,” Boone barked.
Radu made a sound. “There’s nowhere for you to hide.”
But the command wasn’t for him and Gemma. Boone knew that Atlas would have obeyed in an instant. The dog was hidden behind him and Gemma in the tunnel.
Gemma gripped Boone’s side and glared at the merc.
The man had obviously used a different exit from the mine. He wasn’t looking too good. He was coated in dust, with his ballistic vest hanging loose. Damn. Boone’s bullets hadn’t hurt him. Or maybe just a little. The man’s left arm hung loose by his side, and Boone saw blood dripping off the man’s fingers.
“Ms. Newhouse, walk to me.”
She shook her head. “No. You’ll shoot Boone.”
“I will shoot him if you don’t come here. Do it. Now.”
“Go,” Boone murmured.
He saw her face twist. She took two small steps toward Radu.
The merc grabbed her wrist and yanked her close. With her injured leg, he almost knocked her off balance. Asshole.
Radu hauled Gemma in front of him and pressed the gun against the side of her head.
Suddenly, a flashback slammed into Boone.
A Taliban soldier with his gun pressed to Julio’s head as he spewed obscenities in Arabic. Boone’s crushing sense of helplessness.
Breathe. You aren’t in that cell. He fought to focus. Gemma needs you. You aren’t helpless this time.
Gemma’s hazel gaze came into view, locked on his. She was afraid, but she wasn’t panicking. She looked at him—steady, sure, her gaze filled with trust.
She believed in him.
She knew the worst of the dark corners of his soul, and she still trusted him.
It steadied him, and his focus narrowed.
“I can’t leave you alive to keep messing up my mission,” Radu said.
“You need a new job,” Boone suggested. “One that doesn’t involve kidnapping innocent women.”
“Spare me the sermon.” Radu raised his gun.
“No!” Gemma cried.
Boone gave a sharp whistle, then threw himself toward the ground.
Time seemed to slow down—like everything had slid into slow motion. Gemma was yelling, and then Atlas sprinted out of the mine entrance. There was the loud report of a gun firing.
A bullet slammed into Boone’s chest with the force of a sledgehammer. He grunted, knocked off his feet.
He saw Atlas slam into Radu, taking the man to the ground. The merc’s screams filled the air.
Time clicked back in, and Boone landed flat on his back.
If there’d been any air left in his lungs, the fall would’ve knocked it out of him. But the bullet had already done that.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“No, oh God. Boone.” Panicked, Gemma raced across the ground and dropped down beside him.
She ran her hands over him frantically.
Radu had shot him.
Boone made a low, gasping sound. “O-okay. Hit vest.”
Oh. The air rushed out of her tight chest. His vest had taken the bullet. Thank God.
She saw him struggling to loosen the vest and helped him open it. Tears welled in her eyes.
She’d thought she’d lost him.
The world would be a much worse place without this good, honorable man in it.