Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries #11)(36)

“I would be more comfortable with a gun in my hands,” Michael snarked. “We don’t always get what we want.”

Case heard the nasty ping of a bullet going through a silencer and then Michael groaned.

“Fuck,” Hutch cursed.

Mia gasped. “You said you wouldn’t hurt them.”

Case looked over at Fain, who had a line of sight on that side of the cabin. Fain touched his thigh and his hand suddenly looked like a gun. So Michael had taken a bullet. Shit. They needed to move.

“I said I wouldn’t kill them if you came in, but it’s not enough to have you here. I need the other two. Taggart and whoever the other * is,” the pilot said.

Fain frowned.

“Please don’t shoot anyone else. I’ll do whatever you want,” Mia said. Finally he could hear the panic in her voice. It had gotten real for her.

He would have done anything for her not to understand how real it could be.

It was time to go, time to save his friends and his girl. He held up a hand. Five. Four.

Fain nodded, his knife coming up. Take out the left and he would take out the right.

Three.

“You will, sweetheart,” the masculine voice said. “You’ll do whatever I want and let me tell you, I’m going to want a lot.”

“Stop,” Fain whispered. “Don’t you go psychotic on me.”

But he wanted to. How f*cking dare he threaten Mia with that. He’d made the last man who threatened to rape her bleed long and hard.

“We need him,” Fain whispered. “Keep your f*cking cool.”

But after, Case would cut off his balls and he wouldn’t be able to threaten any other woman like that, much less a Taggart woman.

Was he thinking about her that way already?

Two.

“Put on these handcuffs or Angela will blow your friend’s head off and then I’ll take out Malone anyway. I’ll lock us up in the cockpit and we’ll deal with the other two later.”

“What about Alan?” Angela asked.

“Taggart killed him or he would be here. This bitch is lying. She knows exactly where Taggart is.”

She didn’t but she was about to.

He gave Fain the go.

The mercenary didn’t hesitate. He stepped out and before anyone registered he was there, he’d planted his knife in Angela’s neck.

Case briefly saw the woman as she dropped the gun and reached for her throat. It was useless. Fain was damn good at his job. Angela pulled the knife out and the deed was done.

The world seemed to slow down, though Case knew he was moving quickly. Hutch looked across the cabin and then jumped for the side. Michael was already reaching for Mia to pull her away.

Case focused. One breath in. Turn and fire. He wasn’t firing with a gun, but he let that knife fly like it was a bullet.

He was rewarded with a groan as the knife lodged in the pilot’s shoulder. The pilot dropped his weapon and fell to one knee. Case stood over him with a gun.

“Don’t f*cking move. Both your partners are dead.”

“You did such a good job, babe.” Mia sounded bouncy and happy. “Really awesome. But you could have mentioned to Ezra about the blood on the carpet thing.”

“Later, Mia.” She thought her sunny attitude in the face of danger was going to save her ass? She was so wrong. “I want to know who you’re working for. Talk.”

The pilot pulled the knife out and blood started to flow. “I think not. I don’t think you’re going to use the gun and now I have a knife.”

“You’re outnumbered.” It should have been obvious.

The pilot paled. “Ah, but I also have one last duty.”

He turned and ran toward the cockpit, the door standing wide open.

“Shit.” If he let the pilot lock himself inside, god only knew where they would end up.

“Take the shot, Taggart!” Fain yelled.

Case let instinct take over. He fired into the man’s back and the pilot fell, dropping to his knees right in front of the control panel. His body slumped over it.

Case took a deep breath. The cabin hadn’t depressurized. He hadn’t f*cked them over. Yes, they were still in trouble, but he had a few hours to figure out how to land the plane. And what to do with all the bodies.

Case watched in utter horror as the pilot used his last breath to press a button on the panel and then pull down on a lever.

The plane went into a dive and Case realized they were about to die.

“Hutch! Can you get us out of this?” He looked over at Mia as the plane began to shudder. He reached for her, but she was moving even as the plane bucked up.

As cool as a cucumber, she pushed the dead guy out of the way. “Give it a sec. We’ll be fine.”

Hutch sat up, not looking at all like a man in a big hurry to save them. “You need help with that?”

“We’ll be good. Just needs to reconnect.” She sat down and he watched as she pressed a few buttons and the plane leveled out.

“What the hell?”

She grinned back at him. “This isn’t some Hollywood movie, Taggart. This is a top-of-the-line Bond Aeronautics jet. It course corrects and without some serious reprogramming, it’s * proof.”

Hutch stood up, straightening his clothes. “All that jerk was ever going to do was make us pee our pants. Which I did not do, by the way.”