A flurry of movement made Brick’s heart shoot to his throat.Two figures wrestled.There was blood.Blond hair.
Christ.
“Natalie!”
CHAPTER 23
Natalie whimpered asreality struck her.Keetan had pulled the trigger and the bullet hadn’t touched her.She’d shifted probably just enough for the shot to miss grazing her abdomen.
Keetan grunted and twisted, trying to pull his arm out from under her.If he gained more control over the weapon, she might not be as lucky.A warm light washed over them, making her blink.
Keetan tensed, then took advantage of her distraction and yanked the gun free.
She gasped.
“Natalie!”The booming male voice sent a tremor through her bones.
Her breath hitched.The top half of her body lay over Keetan as she stared through the hazy glow of a flashlight.Two men stood at the front of a boat training large rifles on them.Tears rushed to her eyes.Brick?It couldn’t be.Was she hallucinating?She pushed herself up, needing to confirm—to see his face.
Keetan sat with his back against the side of the boat, his free hand snaked beneath her.He pulled her back to his front so she lay on top of him, covering his chest like a shield.Cold steel pressed against her temple.“Throw down your guns or I’ll shoot her!”
Brick didn’t move.He kept the weapon trained on them.On Keetan.Taschen also held his rifle steady.
“Let her go, you sonofabitch,” Brick shouted.This time, there was no mistaking the rough and dangerous soldier behind the artillery.
“Over my dead body,” Keetan said, slurring his words.
“It will be your dead body in a minute, bud,” Taschen snapped.
They were so close.Their boats bobbing inches from each other.Brick braced his foot on the railing and looked ready to hop into their boat.
“I’ll blow her fucking brains out!”Spit hit her cheek.
Brick froze.
Terror hammered against Natalie’s breastbone and made her vision waver.A minute ago, she’d been sure this was her rescue.It might very well be her end.Emotion misted her eyes.
Brick had done it.He’d found her just in time.He’d fought and he’d searched, all for her.He was so good.So strong and capable.But the odds were stacked against them.
Alarm bells rang in her head.Keetan’s finger had just tightened on the trigger.
She met Brick’s eyes, silently conveying her love, her plea for him to cherish Bray like she knew he would.
Crack!
Natalie screamed and closed her eyes.But she felt no pain.She blinked.Keetan sputtered, his body convulsing.Brick had shot him.
She looked down at Keetan’s leg.A large bullet wound ate through his jeans right into the flesh of his thigh.
“Hands up!”Taschen bellowed.“Drop your weapon, Keetan.”
In disbelief, she felt him raise his arms in surrender.A choked gasp fell from her trembling lips.She tore herself from Keetan’s weak grip and got to her feet.
Brick placed his foot on the railing to leap onto their vessel just as Keetan swung the gun to her and fired.A second blast went off, but it was the first shot that ripped through her chest.
Shock coated her in armor, shielding her from the initial sizzle of her skin ripping open.But in a flash, hot, searing blood coated her skin.She staggered and hit the railing.Brick’s face came into view, his eyes wide with horror, his features twisted with pain.He landed on board, and the movement rocked the boat.
She flailed, trying to catch herself on the side of the boat, but missed.Her momentum sent her body over the edge, and her head smacked the metal rail.Freezing-cold water rushed into her nose and mouth as her vision went black.
