He was on his feet immediately, his eyes searching simultaneously for any threats and a covered position. When no one immediately shot at him, he glanced up and saw he’d dropped about ten feet, maybe twelve. Could’ve broken an ankle or something, so he was lucky. Not an adjective often used to describe his life.
The room was vast, possibly taking up the entire square footage underneath the building, and he recognized it as the location where Liz was being held. Pitch dark, laser lights rotated, illuminating what he now realized was a huge paint ball course. Which meant he had an opponent—
He dived behind a chest-high wall just as the gunshot rang out, missing him by inches. It seemed this game wasn’t going to be played with paint ball guns, but real ones.
Fan-fucking-tastic.
If Kade was a praying man, he’d say a Hail Mary for Blane because there was no way he was going to get back to him in time. His brother was on his own. Maybe his Navy buddies would help him out. He hoped they would. Blane had trusted them.
There was another shot from his right and Kade ducked. One against two? That wasn’t very fair to them.
The strobe lights were playing havoc with his night vision goggles, so he ditched them and the rope he still had slung over his shoulder. Reaching down, he pulled a second pistol from his ankle holster. From the backpack, he grabbed as many full magazines as his pockets could hold as well as a couple other things, then ditched it. It would slow him down too much.
They’d seen him take cover here, and were now doing their level best to drive his ass out, so Kade obliged. The muzzle flashes had given away their positions, and they’d give away his, so he squeezed off a couple of return shots before bolting.
There was an elaborate labyrinth of walls to his right with only one opening. He ducked inside and took two rights, then a left before hitting a dead end.
A fucking maze. Shit.
Well, with any luck they’d followed him inside, and dollars to donuts he’d bet his IQ was higher than both theirs…combined.
Kade replayed what he’d seen of the room’s layout and the outside of the maze inside his head, then where he’d entered and the turns he’d taken since then. He retraced his steps, carefully peering around corners rather than rushing headlong.
He took a right then a quick left, measuring how far he was going with one part of his brain while the other was listening for anyone else. It wasn’t until he’d reached a T-intersection that he heard someone.
Kade paused, his lips twisting humorlessly at the man cursing under his breath.
Should’ve studied the map before you came in here, dipshit, he thought.
Holstering one gun and shoving the other into the waist of his jeans, he turned the corner. The man had his back to him. Perfect.
Kade was behind him in a moment and a second later, he’d snapped the man’s neck. Not an easy thing to do and it had taken Kade a while to get the technique down, but now he could perform the maneuver flawlessly. Unfortunately for the man.
Kade lowered his body to the floor rather than let it drop, dragging it off to the side. In the shadowy darkness, it was difficult to see the lumpy figure.
Weapon comfortably in his grip, he continued through the maze, not seeing anyone else. It looked like only one guy had followed him inside, which meant the other one was waiting.
Fuck. He’d be walking into an ambush again.
Well, he couldn’t stay in here all night. Taking a breath, he stepped around the corner, moving quickly away from the maze’s exit and looking for cover.
He saw the guy at the same time they recognized that he wasn’t their partner. They both fired their weapons and while the other guy had an assault rifle, Kade had better aim. Adrenaline was coursing through his veins and he didn’t pause to watch the man’s body drop to the floor, not when he spotted Liz.
The floor slanted down another ten feet and she was on a platform above him that stood maybe twenty feet high total, and suspended from a pole. It was attached one side to a wall, but the only way up to reach her appeared to be via a rope suspended to a twin platform about ten yards away. He’d have to either hang from the rope to cross it, or walk across like it was a fucking tightrope. Either way, he’d be exposed the entire time and unable to use his gun.
That was so going to suck.
Nothing he could do about it. What had to be done, had to be done, and the quicker he freed Liz, the quicker he could get back to Blane.
Kade was just about to step down the ramp toward the platform when someone shouted, “Wait!”
He spun around, weapon raised, and only just stopped himself from firing.
“What the hell are you doing?” he asked as Mannie ran up to him. “I told you to wait in the car.”
“I’m busy saving your ass, you giant dick,” Mannie retorted, pointing at nothing. “Look.”
Kade looked. Saw nothing but air. “What am I looking for?” he asked. “Your imaginary girlfriend?”
“Get down here,” Mannie said impatiently, yanking on Kade’s arm. “You can’t see it with your nose in the stratosphere.”