He released her hand, aimed his rifle, and fired a sustained automatic burst. Some remaining terrorists scattered under that barrage of gunfire.
“Stay low,” Neal cautioned then sprinted out of the building.
After a wild glance around her, Laurie ran after him, barely pausing to snatch up a rifle with a thirty round magazine from a dead terrorist. Flinching at every bullet that whined past her head, she followed Neal’s zigzag course until they reached the far edge of the compound and darted into the surrounding trees.
Laurie stopped and hid behind a tree, struggling to catch her breath. Her lungs burned from unfamiliar exertion and her legs ached. Her feet throbbed as she stared around the tree trunk into the compound. Neal grabbed her hand but she yanked free and studied the violent pandemonium they had left behind.
Only when she spotted Damien behind a jeep did she realize she was looking for him. He was engaged in a gun battle with a terrorist behind a truck. She shifted her gaze past him.
Another terrorist approached, rifle raised. She sucked in a harsh breath and her heart nearly stopped. Damien had lied to her but she would not let him die—not shot in the back by a terrorist coward.
Behind her, Neal fired several shots at terrorists scrambling between the trees. Laurie dropped the pistol onto the dirt at her feet and raised the unfamiliar rifle. She would forgive him anything if fate would only let her make this shot. She centered the sights on the terrorist behind ALWAYS A WARRIOR Patricia Bruening
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Damien and pulled the trigger. The blast rang in her abused ears but the terrorist dropped.
Damien spared a brief glance over his shoulder then returned to his gunfight.
Keeping the rifle, eyeing Damien intently, she retrieved the pistol and shoved it into the back of her waistband. The terrorist behind the truck staggered back as red spots bloomed on his chest. He toppled backward and lay still. Satisfied, Laurie turned back to Neal, who stared at her in shocked admiration for a second. With a slow incredulous shake of his head, he grabbed her hand and ran, dragging her behind him. Her heart pumped more adrenaline into her blood, her muscles, and her nervous system as she yanked her hand free.
The battle sounds faded behind her as she neared a clearing big enough to land a helicopter. Laurie started across it, in search of a hiding place, but Neal snagged her wrist and halted her.
“Rendezvous point,” he explained, showing no signs of physical exertion.
Dragging air into her burning lungs, Laurie leaned weakly against a tree and waited. Her side hurt like fire from the punishing run. Her legs ached. Her throat felt as though she breathed in razor blades and every breath grated on her ears.
“Where did you learn to shoot like that?” Neal demanded. Curiosity gleamed in his eyes.
She shrugged indifferently. “Damien.”
But her heart broke again as she looked up into the cloudless blue sky. The rhythmic thumping of the rotors whipped the air, and her ears, before the helicopter came into sight over the treetops. She let out a ragged sigh and sagged against the tree. The ordeal was finally over.
Half a dozen soldiers poured out of the trees to converge on the helicopter. A jeep roared into the clearing and screeched to a halt. She barely heard other jeeps among the trees.
The helicopter rotors stirred up wind and dirt, stinging her bare skin and nearly deafening her. She started to follow Neal toward the helicopter but recognized Damien in the jeep. Her heart soared before she could prevent it. He was alive! He had survived! He jumped down, dragging a bound and gagged man behind him. He handed the prisoner off to a pair of soldiers.
Inexplicably desperate to make sure he was unharmed. Laurie changed direction and ran toward him. Just as he turned, she plowed into him and threw her arms around him. He caught her in arms of steel and glared down at her.
“Get the hell out of here!”
Machine gun fire erupted from the trees. Damien shoved her to the ground so hard the breath erupted from her lungs. Firing rapidly into the trees, he covered her body with his full weight, squashing her into the dirt. The helicopter rose into the sky and hovered. Damien waved it off and it easily outran the gunfire.
Silence dropped momentarily around them. Struggling for air, she squirmed under him.
He was so heavy! He shifted slightly and she nervously met his icy glare.
“Stay still,” he snarled and slowly rolled off her. “Stay down.”
She flattened herself on the ground and peered anxiously through overgrown grass and weeds. She found nothing but knew beyond a doubt they were surrounded. A burst of excited foreign words shattered the silence. Laurie cringed and gripped the rifle so tight and hard her hand ached.