His grip on her throat loosened. A wet, gurgling sound escaped his lips. He staggered backward, looking down in disbelief at the knife protruding from his torso.
Lily gasped for air, rubbing her bruised throat as she watched him sink to his knees. Blood bubbled from his mouth, his eyes already glazing over. The knife had found his lung, possibly his heart.
She had killed a man.
The reality of it hit her like a physical blow. She had taken a life. Ended someone's existence. The fact that it was self-defense, that he had been trying to hurt her, didn't change the fundamental horror of what she'd done. Bile rose in her throat.
For a moment, she stood frozen, staring at the dead man at her feet. Then the distant sound of gunfire jolted her back to reality.
Blade.
He must have arrived at the cabin, run straight into the ambush. The remaining men had engaged him.
Ignoring the trembling in her limbs, the nausea churning in her stomach, Lily bent to retrieve the dead man's weapon. It was a Beretta, similar to the one she'd field-stripped for Blade. She checked the magazine. Nearly full.
Then, using the ringing gunfire as a guide, she began to run toward the cabin. Toward Blade. Toward danger, rather than away from it.
Because that's what you did when you cared about someone. You ran toward the fire, not away from it.
The gunfire grew louder as she neared the cabin. Through the trees, she could see muzzle flashes, could hear men shouting to each other. She slowed her approach, moving more cautiously now, trying to assess the situation before rushing in.
From her position at the edge of the clearing, she could see Blade's truck parked haphazardly in the driveway, driver's door open. Blade himself was nowhere in sight, but the sporadic gunfire suggested he was pinned down somewhere, exchanging shots with the remaining attackers.
She counted three men still active. The leader, clutching his bloodied shoulder, barking orders from behind an SUV, and two others using trees for cover as they fired toward the side of the cabin.
Blade must be around the corner, using the cabin's structure for protection. Three against one. Not good odds, especially since they had him pinned.
Lily took a deep breath, steadying herself. She could help even those odds.
Moving silently along the tree line, she circled to get a better angle on the men. The leader was her primary target. If she could take him out, the others might lose coordination, might make mistakes.
She raised the Beretta, sighting down the barrel at the leader's head. He was partially protected by the SUV, but his injured shoulder and part of his head were exposed.
Her hands trembled. Taking a life in the heat of desperate struggle was one thing. This felt different. This was colder, more calculated.
But necessary,she reminded herself.To save Blade. To save yourself.
She squeezed the trigger.
The shot went wide, striking the SUV's window instead of the leader. Glass shattered. The leader ducked completely behind the vehicle, now alert to her presence.
"The girl!" he shouted. "East side! Take her alive!"
One of the other men immediately changed direction, moving toward her position with his weapon raised.
Damn it.
She fired again, forcing the approaching man to take cover behind a tree. But she'd given away her position now. Her advantage of surprise was gone.
"Lily?" Blade's voice called from somewhere near the cabin. "Lily, is that you?"
"Blade!" she shouted back. "Three men! The leader is injured!"
A burst of automatic fire answered her, forcing her to duck behind a thick tree trunk as bullets splintered bark inches from her head.
"Stay down!" Blade called. "I'm coming to you!"
"No!" she yelled. "They'll cut you down in the open!"
