Under Fire (Love Over Duty #1)(95)

         
       
        

"You got to keep it together for a little while longer," he said as the gunshots continued elsewhere in the house. Beneath the sour, pungent scent of gunfire that hung in the back of his throat, he could smell burning. Something was on fire, and he prayed it wasn't their exit. He pulled the shutters open and looked outside. It was a straight two-story drop to the ground, which on a good day he'd do, but not with two women, especially when one already had a cast on her leg.

Fuck.

"All clear," Ryder shouted. "But we need to get our asses in gear. We got a fire."

Mac lifted Louisa's mom off the bed, and Six took Louisa's hand, pulling her out into the hall. Smoke had started to fill the stairwell, and Six, still in his goggles, lifted Lou. "Close your eyes and take a deep breath."

He hurried down the stairs, heard Mac's footsteps that told him he was right behind them. Six could just about make out the back door and he ran toward it. The thick, acrid smoke was beginning to burn his lungs as he ran through the open door into the rear yard and didn't stop until they were well clear.

Tears trickled down Lou's face as she blinked furiously. He placed her on the ground and raised his goggles.

He reached around in his pack and pulled out some water. "Here, drink some of this," he said gently. She took it from him and sipped on the cool liquid.

Ryder and Gaz hurried out the door. Pulling two men behind them. They laid them out on the dirt, then shouted to Mac to cover them before they jogged back inside.

"Thank you," she said as he pulled the long sleeve of his tee over his hand and used it to wipe her face.

"Did they hurt you, Lou?" he asked, his voice strained.

She shook her head, desperate to reassure him. "I was out of it for a long time, I think."

Six nodded and then grabbed her. He pulled her into his lap and hugged her tightly, pressing kisses to her hair and face.

Cabe hurried out with Vasilii over his shoulder. The man's hands were tied behind his back, and once Cabe dropped him to the ground, Six could see Vasilii was crying. The flames were beginning to rage harder in one side of the old building.

Two men stumbled out of the door, coughing and spluttering. They fell to their knees, their arms bound behind their backs.

It was a matter of a few moments before two dead bodies were lined up out of sight.

"Anybody see what happened to Ivan?" Cabe asked.

Ryder shook his head as he gulped down some water after running out of the house. "No sign of Ivan."

Six looked back over to the house. It wouldn't be long before it would be razed to the ground, but it would take forever to erase the image of a gun against her temple. He pressed his lips to Lou's neck, squeezed her tightly. "Thank fuck you're safe," he whispered over and over again. "I don't think I would have survived if anything happened to you." 

She pressed her hands to either side of his face. "I knew you'd come for me," she said, looking him squarely in the eye.

Six swallowed deeply and picked her up to take her to the truck. "Always. I'd come get you a thousand times over because I love you."

Lou ran her fingers along his jaw. "And I love you too."





EPILOGUE

SIX MONTHS LATER

"We have to get ready." Louisa giggled as Six turned her around and placed her palms firmly on the new side table she'd bought for the hallway that had been delivered less than twenty minutes earlier. She'd put a giant mirror behind it, something to do with it making the hallway appear wider. If he was honest with himself, even when she'd been explaining it to him before he'd gone away, all he'd been thinking about was taking her in front of it.

"It's an hour before we have to leave, and I promise you this won't take long," he said as he slid the hem of the cute red dress she was wearing up her thighs. Plus, he was prepared. He dropped the condom onto the table.

"You should go away more often," she said breathlessly, and he laughed. Twenty-one long days away from her was just about his limit these days. He'd been down in Colombia on a CIA-related case, offering clandestine cover for an operative who had infiltrated a major cartel. It had been long and exhausting, and since he'd arrived at his home  …  now their home  …  he couldn't get enough of Lou.

"No," he said, flipping her skirt over her ass and sliding her underwear down her thighs. Her ass looked so fucking delicious that he bent down and bit it playfully. "Three weeks is my limit without access to this," he said, running his fingers between her legs, delighted to find her already wet for him.