Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries #11)(124)

Theo stiffened behind her. “I can handle that *.”

Santos moved back, though he never took his eyes off Ezra. “I suspect there’s more than one * waiting for you. Damn it. Does the bitch have a tracker on her? I never thought to look.”

“Give me the girl, Santos, and you might make it out of here alive.” Ezra lined up his shot.

“Back in the plane, boys. We’re leaving now,” Santos ordered.

A shot crashed through the hanger and Ezra’s body jerked around and he went to the ground as Theo dragged her back. Victor was on the stairs of the plane and he hopped down, ready to fire again.

Ezra was down. Oh god. She hoped Case stayed somewhere safe. She was right back where she’d been in Colombia and all she wanted was for Case to be safe. She would go with Santos, do anything, endure anything so Case would live.

And she suddenly realized he was out there thinking the same damn thing.

Case wasn’t going to protect himself. He was about to make himself a big damn target. And that meant she couldn’t get on that plane.

Ezra sat up and took his own shot and then chaos reigned.

Her world suddenly filled with gunfire as the team came out of hiding. She caught sight of Sean and Ian Taggart, but she didn’t see Case.

He would be there. He would be right in the thick of the fight.

Theo’s arm tightened around her waist and he hauled her up and back as he began to retreat.

To her right, Robert rolled away, firing as he looked for cover.

She had to get to cover, too. She needed to get to that office. It was where Ezra wanted her to go so that meant it was where Case wanted her. Out of the action so he could do his job.

He would sacrifice Theo to save her. She had to take herself out of the equation so her man never had to make that choice. She loved him too much to make him sacrifice.

Unfortunately, that meant getting the f*ck away from Theo.

“Stay calm,” Theo whispered in her ear. “I’ll have you safe in a moment.”

Theo popped off two quick rounds his oldest brother’s way. Ian Taggart moved quickly for a big man. He rolled off to his left to the safety of cover the Humvee he’d been hiding behind offered.

Theo was the real danger because no one was willing to take him out, but he was damn good at his job.

She thought about everything Ezra had taught her. Defense wasn’t hot. It wasn’t emotional. It was a cool decision to win a battle.

She let Theo drag her, giving him nothing at all to work with but her dead weight.

“Damn it.” Theo forced her up, managing to get her to the stairs.

Mia watched as Victor laid out a pattern of fire to allow Theo to haul her up. She brought her elbow up and back, hitting his solar plexus hard. Mia’s knees hit the concrete. No time for pain, though it flared through her system. She had to make it to that door where the intensely large Aussie was no doubt holding her brother back. Thank god. The last thing she needed was Drew out here trying to get to her.

She shoved off the ground, trying to sprint for the door.

An arm wound around her, dragging her back up. “We have to get back to the plane.”

He was so stubborn. Just like his brother.

“Erin! Erin loves you. Erin misses you so much,” she screamed over the wail of gunfire.

It was mean, but she knew how to hurt him. Nothing affected him so much as the very sound of Erin’s name. She heard him hiss, but he kept moving. He dragged her up the stairs.

“Erin had your baby, Theo. She had your son and she’s on her way here.” She couldn’t let up. She wasn’t as strong as Theo, but she had other weapons at her disposal. “Erin wants to see you so badly.”

He stumbled back, briefly letting her go.

She immediately took off. The office. She had to make it there. If she could only make it there.

A dark object came out of nowhere, shoving straight into her gut. She heard someone scream, a masculine voice calling out her name. But she was falling backward, all the air whoosing from her lungs in a single, painful rush. She felt herself hit the ground and then she was looking up, the world a bit unfocused as Theo gripped her, hauled her up. Someone—she thought it was Robert—was giving him cover. Her world upended as Theo tossed her over his shoulder like a bag of grain. She had the briefest glance at what was happening around her and then her whole world stilled, slowing down and focusing on one point. Case. He was running toward her, his face a mask of horror as he tried to get to her.

And then he stopped and dropped to the ground as a bullet hit him squarely in the chest.

Mia screamed as she watched him fall.

Theo moved more quickly this time. Mia used her fists, pounding at his back, her only thought to get back to Case. She held her head up, trying to see what the hell was happening. The gunfire was rapid, filling the world with rage. She watched as Victor’s head ripped back and his body fell. Liam O’Donnell was advancing, a gun in his hand as he took down Victor and seemed to be heading toward Case’s body.

His body. That had been a solid heart shot.

Someone was screaming. They were louder than the damn gunfire. That wail was terrible and she tried to close her ears to it.

“Please stop.” Theo shoved her down on the seat she’d occupied before. “Stop screaming.”

She looked up at him. His face was white and there was blood on his shirt. She wasn’t sure where it had come from.