Into the Lair (Falcon Mercenary Group #2)(9)

She lowered her arm and took a running start. When she got to the wall, she leaped, doing a quick run up the stones. Her momentum carried her up, and she grasped the ledge with her fingers. Barely.

She hung there for several long seconds, catching her breath and praying she didn’t fall. Her hands ached, and she couldn’t even feel her fingers as she clawed for better leverage.

Her feet swinging, she boosted her body until she managed to scrape her elbows over the top, and then she used her arms to haul herself the rest of the way up.

As she rolled over the side, part of the stone by her head exploded, sending sharp pieces of rock into her face and neck. It took her a second to realize she was being shot at.

She dropped over the other side and took off running. She ignored the pain, her injuries, the fact that she had no shoes and that her clothing offered little protection from the bushes and shrubbery she flung herself through.

Only one thing mattered. Escape.

Sucking in mouthfuls of air, she ran, dodging tree branches and jumping over rocks. She didn’t know where she was running. That didn’t matter. As long as she was away from Ricardo, she could figure out the rest later.

She topped a slight rise and paused only to work the stitch out of her side before she started down again. She skidded to a halt when a large man stepped directly into her path.

A frightened moan escaped her lips. God, not him again. She glanced frantically around for the other one and sure enough, he was circling behind her.

Against Ricardo she had a fighting chance. Though bigger than her, he had a slim build. These two? Hulking masses of muscle-bound humanity. She’d bounce off them like a quarter.

She tightened her shoulders. No matter what, they weren’t taking her down without a fight, and she damn sure wouldn’t let them get close enough to drug her again.

Ian’s gaze traveled over Katie’s tense body as Braden circled behind her. He didn’t miss anything. Not the bruise on her cheek, the bruises around her neck and the fingerprint-shaped bruises marring her upper arms.

Her blue eyes were wild with fear—and determination.

He put a placating hand out. “Now, Katie—”

He couldn’t even get the words past his lips before she was off like a shot. Braden cursed as he gave chase. Ian took off after her as well. The last thing they needed was a damn long pursuit when de la Cruz’s men were going to be after them.

This was not how this was supposed to go down. They were supposed to go in, shooting anything that moved, and haul her out on the route they’d planned. She wasn’t supposed to have already escaped with Ricardo’s men all still accounted for. Difficult wench.

Braden managed to bolt ahead of her, effectively cutting her off. The moment she paused to change direction gave Ian the chance he needed.

He took her down with a tackle. Her cry of pain hit him right in the chest. Damn it, he hadn’t wanted to hurt her.

She struggled beneath him as he tried to pry most of his weight off her.

“Get off me!” she cried.

He grabbed her wrists, careful not to squeeze too tightly as he tucked both hands into one of his and held them over her head.

“Stop fighting me,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’m trying not to hurt you here.”

“I won’t go back to that bastard,” she hissed. “You’ll have to kill me.”

Braden made a noise that sounded like a snarl. Ian yanked his head up to see Braden scowling beside him. Ian glanced back down at Katie in surprise. She thought they worked for de la Cruz. And why wouldn’t she? They both showed up at the same time and both had made a grab for her.

He eased his hold on her and backed away, determined not to terrify her any more than he already had.

“Katie, listen to me. Gabe sent us.”

Her eyes widened in shock, and all the fight went out of her in one big whoosh. She stared dumbly at him for a long second as he rose to his feet. She scooted along the ground on her behind then picked herself up as if she was prepared to flee again.

Braden stepped forward, but Ian held out a hand to stop him.

“Is he alive?” she demanded.

There was so much fear in her gaze that he couldn’t stand the thought of telling her Gabe was dead. Right now his priority had to be keeping her alive.

Braden glanced over his shoulder as the staccato of machine gun fire sounded in the distance. Then to Ian’s surprise, he strode over to Katie, hoisted her over his shoulder and took off into the brush.

Ian jogged after them just about the time Katie started to fight. But it was her pained grunt when Braden hopped over a fallen log that made him pause.

“Braden, wait, you’re hurting her,” Ian called out.

Braden stopped and swung around to stare at his brother in surprise. Ian grimaced. Whether she was hurt or not wasn’t the issue. If Braden wasn’t killing her then Ian should have just let him go. The sooner they got the hell out of here the better.

But Braden eased her off his shoulder and set her on her feet, though he gripped her arm so she couldn’t take off. Her pale, shaken face and her short gasps of breath made it obvious that she was indeed in a lot of pain.

Braden cursed and touched her cheek with one hand. “I’m sorry, Katie. But we’ve got to get the hell out of here. Now. We can’t f**k around waiting for you to decide if you can trust us. It’s either your buddy de la Cruz or us. I need you to decide so we can escape without an ass full of lead.”