Into the Lair (Falcon Mercenary Group #2)(10)

There was a brief flash of uncertainty in her wide eyes as she studied Braden first and then Ian. She glanced back toward the house, and her expression hardened.

“If you betray me, I’ll kill you,” she said in a voice that sent chills down Ian’s spine.

Funny thing was, he absolutely believed her.

“You can certainly try,” Ian said as he moved toward her again.

He took her arm and turned her in the direction of the SUV. Braden took her other arm and they hustled her up the incline. By the time they reached the SUV, Katie was stumbling to keep up. As he glanced down at her bare feet, he cursed to see one was bleeding. He hadn’t even considered her feet. He’d told Braden to put her down because she was in pain, and he had no idea the extent of her injuries, but in his boneheadedness he hadn’t considered the fact she’d been running through the woods with no shoes.

He reached for her, sweeping her into his arms as he walked the remaining distance to the truck. Her face went pale, and sweat beaded her forehead.

He stalked over to the SUV and sat her on top of the hood. Before she could utter a sound, he yanked at her T-shirt, baring her ribcage and br**sts to his view.

“Hey!” she shouted as she took a swing at him. She shoved furiously at the shirt, but he held tight.

“What the hell did he do to you?” Ian growled.

Her full, pink-tipped br**sts bounced slightly as she struggled to cover herself, but Ian’s gaze was drawn to the dark bruises that marred her belly. He put his hands over her ribs, checking for breakage.

Beside him, Braden muttered a dark obscenity as he stared at her chest.

Her hands trembled as she gripped the T-shirt, trying to pull it away from Ian.

“Can we just get out of here?” she asked in a shaky voice.

Ian gently arranged her T-shirt back over her stomach then plucked her off the hood of the truck. He carried her around to the passenger side and deposited her into the backseat.

“Stay down,” he ordered.

To his surprise, she complied, lying on the seat as Braden slid into the front seat.

Ian hurried around to the driver’s side and got in. He shoved his gun at Braden. Seconds later, he peeled out down the rugged path they’d taken to the ridge overlooking de la Cruz’s house.

As soon as he pulled onto the divide road, they were nearly run over by two black SUVs. He careened sharply to the left to avoid being hit and then stomped on the accelerator, fishtailing in the loose dirt.

“Holy f**k,” Braden spit out as he almost landed in Ian’s lap. Then he hit the deck when a barrage of bullets pelted the passenger door.

“What the hell did you do to piss him off so bad, sweetheart?” Braden called back to Katie.

“I’m breathing,” she muttered.

“Not for long if I can’t shake these ass**les,” Ian said grimly. “Anytime you want to take some heat off us would be nice, little brother.”

Braden cracked a grin. “Well, you do always say I’m too quick to start shooting shit. Figured I’d show some restraint.”

“Restraint, my ass. Now ain’t the time for it. Shoot the f**kers.”

Braden laughed, and Ian shook his head. How on earth he could always crack jokes in high-pressure situations was beyond Ian, but he was used to it by now. It used to drive Gabe up the wall, while Eli just chuckled and went on.

Braden cracked the window, angled his rifle and squeezed off several rounds. Ian checked his rearview mirror to see one of the SUVs hit the ditch. The bad news, however, was that two more had joined the chase.

“Son of a bitch,” Ian swore.

“I’d say the airport is out,” Braden said as he steadied himself for another shot. “We’re going away from Delta, and it’s not like they’re going to let us on a plane to calmly fly out of there.”

“Aren’t you the observant one,” Ian said snidely.

“Can we dispense with the adolescent bickering and get the f**k down the road?” Katie bit out.

“Aah, I’d almost forgotten about her,” Braden said cheerfully as he took out another SUV.

“We’re saving your sweet ass, so I don’t want to hear any bitching,” Ian said in a tight voice.

She snorted. Actually snorted.

“Would you like me to let you out so you can hitch a ride with your buddies back there?” Ian asked.

Braden arched an eyebrow as he glanced sideways at Ian. Ian ignored him.

“Don’t expect me on my knees with gratitude. I don’t know who the hell you are, only that you’ve chased me all over St. Louis, you drugged me, tied me to you in my bed and stole my cash. Now you show up here in Colorado and tell me Gabe sent you. That’s the only reason why I didn’t take your goddamn heads off back there.”

Ian laughed. He couldn’t help himself. “You talk big for such a little woman.”

He heard her hiss of anger and smiled even bigger, and all the while, Braden was looking at him like he’d lost his mind.

“Need I remind you that there are people behind us that would love to reshape our bodies with assault rifles?” Braden pointed out.

Ian grunted and focused his attention on the road. He needed to lose these ass**les and fast. Preferably before they picked up a police tail. And then there was the problem of their pilot waiting at the airport. They couldn’t very well lead de la Cruz’s men to the airstrip and expect them to let the airplane take off. Which meant that their departure from U.S. soil was going to be delayed.