Heated Pursuit (Alpha Security #1)(44)
Instantly, her body melted into his hold.
Six feet away, one of Diego’s men stopped. Rafe reflexively pulled Penny closer as the man’s gaze passed directly where they were crouched, hidden. Her back to his front, they waited until the guard drifted out of sight before breathing a sigh of relief. And then Rafe’s body used that moment to physically express how happy it was to have her safe in his arms.
“Seriously, Rafe?” she whispered, obviously having felt the bulge of his erection tucked against her ass.
“Like a man can help it around you.”
“He can if he has even one functioning brain cell. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re up the jungle creek without a tour guide.”
“I noticed, but a Penny-induced erection takes more precedence.” Rafe could practically hear the roll of her eyes. “I’m guessing there’s no going back to get our luggage,” he joked dryly. “What happened?”
“What happened was that I’m pretty sure Diego’s clone recognized me from the alley, and you he just doesn’t like. What are we going to do?”
“There’s only one thing for us to do.” Like the snap of a finger, the compound lit up like the Vegas Strip. So much for the cover of darkness. “Fuck.”
“Rafe.” Eyes wide, Penny looked to him for directions.
“Let’s go.” He grabbed her hand, bursting through the cover of vines at Mach speed. He ran, dodging trees and limbs while Penny held on and followed like a track star. A moving target was a harder target, or so he hoped.
Nearby shouts echoed through the jungle and urged them to go faster. On their left, a faint beam of moonlight flashed off the barrel of a rifle. Their options deteriorated by the second. He gave Penny a small shove forward and directed her north. “You gotta run for it.”
“What? No!” Her eyes widened into bright green orbs. She latched back onto his hand and tugged. “I’m not going out there without you!”
“The hell you won’t! Go!” A bullet whizzed past his ear, cutting off his harsh demand. Goddamned mother-suckin’—
A guard popped out from behind a tree like a twisted version of a jack-in-the-box. Penny ducked, allowing Rafe’s fist to smash into his nose with a sickening crunch. It went steadily downhill. They needed to get the hell out of there. Yesterday.
One man turned into two, two into three. Rafe landed an elbow strike in one assailant’s throat that was immediately followed by a quick disarming kick to his friend’s left flank. And frustratingly, Penny’s feet remained planted two feet away as she dealt with her own opponent.
“Damn it, go!” Rafe barked.
“And where the hell would you like me to go? In case you haven’t noticed, there’s not a freaking metro stop!” she yelled over her shoulder, a moment before she slammed her foot directly across her attacker’s kneecap. Birds scattered at the man’s yelp, their wild calls a homing beacon for anything carrying a submachine and a bad attitude. With one man down, Penny efficiently turned to a second.
Her red hair, hanging in loose waves, swung around her face as she pivoted. A punch, a kick, a quick sidestep. She never stopped moving. With each second, her eyes glittered with both concentration and confidence. She looked like an Irish warrior princess, not even flinching when her new opponent landed a solid punch to her jaw. Instead, it slid off her. She reached out for a handful of the man’s danglies and let the momentum take her down into a quick roll.
The man screamed like a toddler and dropped to the ground while Penny quickly returned to her feet. Fucking beautiful.
Rafe reluctantly pulled his gaze away. Two more guards stood in front of him. A hasty rush brought fool number one into a headlock. Rafe squeezed, cutting off the man’s oxygen long enough to weaken his body before cannonballing him into his waiting friend.
A snap of a twig spun Rafe around just as Penny brought a rock down on the final sneak attacker’s head. The man dropped like a lead weight and took her attention with him.
Breathing ragged, face pale. She looked a second away from throwing up or passing out. Rafe took the rock from her shaking hands. His own hands were steady, but inside, his gut clinched with the fierce need to get her out of there. And safe.
In the distance, more shouts and directives could be heard.
Rafe cupped her jaw and forced her gaze upward. “You have to go. Now. No arguments.”
“But—”
“The more of Diego’s men we put down now, the fewer that will be after us later.”
“I can stay and help.”
Rafe shook his head. “I can handle the rest on my own, and quicker if I’m not worried about you, too. Go north.” He prayed she wouldn’t argue. “I swear: I. Will. Find. You.”
In an abrupt move he didn’t anticipate, she captured his face between her soft hands and planted a kiss on him that rocked him straight to his core. He savored what she gave him and took a bit for himself. The sweetness of her lips made it too damn easy to get lost, which would’ve been what happened if she hadn’t pulled away first.
Breathless, she murmured, “If you don’t, I’m going to kick your ass.”
“Sounds kinky.” Rafe’s mouth kicked up in a mischievous smirk that Penny’s frustrated growl quickly evaporated. He dropped his forehead to hers and breathed in her flowery scent. “I need you to trust me right now, Red. Believe me when I say that nothing is going to keep me from finding you.”